Concerns about how to attract high-achieving students.

Nguyen Thanh Duy (a 12th-grade student specializing in Physics) won a Silver medal at the International Physics Olympiad and a Bronze medal at the Asian Physics Olympiad, and also received 500 million VND (400 million VND for the Silver medal and 100 million VND for the Bronze medal).

It is known that the total prize money from Hai Phong city alone to reward the four students who won international and regional awards this year is 1.5 billion VND, and 1.2 billion VND to reward the school's management board, teachers who directly taught the students, and the teaching staff who participated in teaching the award-winning students.

Previously, in 2023, Bac Ninh province also spent a huge amount of money to reward teachers who coached gifted students and gifted students who won prizes in regional and international competitions in the 2022-2023 school year, totaling over 3.4 billion VND. Each student who won a gold medal at the International Olympiad received 500 million VND.

Meanwhile, Hanoi, one of the localities with the most national and international awards, does not yet have a mechanism to set prize money exceeding the standard amount like the aforementioned provinces.

"This year, Hanoi has two students from Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted and Chu Van An High School who won gold medals in the International Chemistry and Biology competitions. This is a very proud achievement, as it's been three years since Hanoi last won a gold medal. This requires extraordinary effort from both the students and the teachers who guided and mentored them."

"To honor the efforts of both teachers and students, and to encourage them to strive even harder, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training has proposed that the City People's Committee approve a special reward framework for this achievement, even if it may not be as high as the rewards given by other provinces to students who have achieved similar results," said Tran The Cuong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training.

Educational institutions compete to "retain" talented students.

To retain and cultivate top-performing students in teaching and learning, provinces and cities are implementing reward mechanisms worth billions of dong. Meanwhile, educational institutions are also fiercely competing to attract talent, and there are numerous complaints about unfairness in this process.

According to regulations from the Ministry of Education and Training, specialized high schools under provincial or city administrations are not allowed to prioritize students who have won prizes in provincial or city-level student excellence competitions. However, specialized high schools affiliated with universities are not subject to this regulation and allocate approximately 10% of their admission quota to students who have won prizes in these competitions.

"Every year, our school loses a significant number of high-achieving students in the city-level gifted student competition to specialized schools affiliated with universities, even though our school has invested in their education throughout their four years of junior high school," shared the principal of a specialized high school in Hanoi.

Not to mention, many private high schools, international schools, and financially autonomous public high schools have generous incentive policies, rolling out the red carpet to attract talented students.

This is a practical issue that has led teachers, students, and parents in several localities, including Hanoi, to repeatedly petition the Ministry of Education and Training regarding the need for a fair mechanism for students who win high prizes in provincial and city-level student competitions during the entrance examination period for the first grade, in order to motivate and encourage them as well as educational institutions of all types.

It is understood that the Ministry of Education and Training has considered, researched, and evaluated specific factors to ensure sustainable and comprehensive recognition of students' achievements, helping them learn genuinely, develop real competencies, and meet the practical requirements of the current educational environment.