On the afternoon of November 29, the Ministry of Education and Training announced the plan for the high school graduation exam from 2025. The exam will include two compulsory subjects: Math and Literature. In addition, candidates will take two additional optional subjects, which must be from the subjects studied in grade 12.

At first, Hoang Minh, an 11th grade student at Tam Phu High School, Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City, was excited because he had fewer subjects to take, which reduced the pressure of studying. But when he learned that he could not take more than two elective subjects, the male student became worried.

Minh is studying Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economic Education and Law at school, in addition to the four compulsory subjects of Math, Literature, History, and English. If following the current exam plan, Minh can choose the Natural Science combination (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), using the scores of these subjects to apply for the two combinations B00 (Math, Chemistry, Biology) and A00 (Math, Physics, Chemistry). But with the new plan, Minh can only apply for one of the two above combinations. The male student is worried because "one choice is always riskier than two".

Meanwhile, if a candidate wants to apply for the combination D01 (Math, Literature, English) and A01 (Math, Physics, English), he/she only needs to take Physics and English in the optional section. Minh finds this unfair.

"With the same exam and number of subjects to choose from, some students can apply for two combinations, while I can only apply for one. I am definitely at a disadvantage," Minh said.

Thanh Phong, an 11th grader at Vo Truong Toan High School in Ho Chi Minh City, is also worried. Phong plans to choose Physics and Chemistry for his graduation exam and university entrance exam in group A00 (Math, Physics and Chemistry) but is not sure about his career path.

"I'm also quite good at Biology and plan to try to apply for the medical field. But the Ministry only allows a maximum of 2 elective subjects, so I can only choose B00 or A00," Phong said.

Many teachers and admissions experts are also concerned about the new exam method, in the context that most universities use graduation exam scores for admission. The percentage of candidates passing university entrance exams based on these scores is about 50-60%.

Mr. Dinh Duc Hien, Vice Principal of FPT Bac Giang Primary, Secondary and High School, said that the 2+2 exam plan reduces pressure, but not completely because it reduces students' options for university admission. Even if the Ministry has "created conditions" by only having to study that subject in grade 12, candidates can register for an optional exam, but not all schools can provide the full combination that candidates want to study.

"For example, if you want to study Medicine, but the school cannot provide a combination that includes Biology, it means you cannot choose to take the Biology graduation exam," said Mr. Hien, believing that this greatly affects the rights of candidates.

More specifically, Mr. Lam Vu Cong Chinh, a Math teacher at Nguyen Du High School, Ho Chi Minh City, said that the Ministry's regulations are somewhat disadvantageous to candidates applying for university admission using natural science subject combinations.

He assumed that students choose Chemistry and Biology as two elective subjects, they can only be admitted to the B00 combination. Similarly, candidates choosing Physics and Chemistry can only be admitted to the A00 combination or the C01 combination (Math, Physics, Literature), but this combination is not as popular.

"It is unclear how universities will adjust their admissions. In the immediate future, limiting the choice of exam combinations will affect career choices, requiring candidates to carefully determine," said Mr. Chinh.

Dr. Pham Tan Ha, Vice Principal of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City National University, assessed that the new graduation exam plan will force universities to calculate appropriate admission plans. This arrangement must be based on the actual subject selection of students in the new program.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Phong Dien, Vice President of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, also said that universities will have to worry about balancing the admission combinations, because the number of candidates choosing traditional natural combination such as A00, B00 may decrease. The reason is that according to an unofficial survey, the number of students choosing to study Physics, Chemistry, and Biology at the same time in high school is not much; not to mention that being allowed to choose only two subjects at most may make students tend to choose English and another subject, in order to increase the number of university admission combinations.

This is also a concern of admissions representatives of many other universities such as Nha Trang and Mining and Geology. Experts all agree that limiting the combination of subjects can prevent universities from recruiting the right students with the ability in the subjects needed for the training program.

However, some experts say that we should not be too worried, because there are still solutions.

Associate Professor Dr. Bui Duc Trieu, Head of Training Management Department, National Economics University, acknowledged that the number of combinations does not fully reflect the quality of admission. According to him, the previous university entrance exam only had a few traditional admission combinations, but still recruited excellent students.

Meanwhile, in the recent past, the application of too many admission methods has caused confusion in university admissions, as the Ministry has mentioned many times.

"It's time to review and reduce the selection combinations," said Mr. Trieu.

According to Mr. Nguyen Phong Dien, universities have proactively diversified their admission plans to prepare for changes in the 2025 high school graduation exam. The proof is that most schools consider transcripts, combine certificates with exam scores, and use the results of competency assessment exams. Candidates can apply for 1-2 combinations based on graduation exam scores, and use many other methods.

At Hanoi University of Science and Technology, the thinking assessment test has been gradually expanded and used more widely, similar to the capacity assessment test of two national universities. According to Mr. Dien, these tests erase the impression of subject combinations, ensuring content related to Math, Literature and other subjects, promoting the thinking ability of learners.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Thuy, Director of the Department of Higher Education, said that the admission regulations have remained stable over the past two years, clearly stating the general rules and requirements for schools to organize admissions regardless of the content or form of the exam.

"Therefore, regardless of the high school graduation exam, schools must still ensure fairness between admission methods and recruit candidates who meet the requirements of the training program," said Ms. Thuy.

In the long term, Dr. To Van Phuong, Head of the Department of University Training, Nha Trang University, said that it is necessary to help students have an early orientation and vision of their major, in order to choose subjects in high school. This will help universities choose suitable students, and candidates themselves will not have to take many exams but still choose the major they like.

"Universities need to soon issue admission guidelines, which introduce the required subjects for each major. High schools also need to coordinate career orientation for students," said Mr. Phuong.

Thanh Hang - Tam Le

*Student's name has been changed