Few students choose

In 2025, 12th graders will take the high school graduation exam according to the 2018 General Education Program with many changes compared to 2024 and earlier.

According to regulations, students will take 4 subjects, of which two are compulsory: Math and Literature. The remaining two subjects students can choose from among the following subjects: Foreign Language, History, Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economic and Legal Education, Technology and Information Technology.

Thus, from 2025, candidates can choose elective subjects without following the combination of Natural Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) or Social Sciences (History, Geography, Civic Education) as before. Notably, Information Technology is included for the first time as an elective subject in the high school graduation exam. This increases opportunities for students in choosing subjects for graduation exams and university admissions.

However, up to this point, many students are hesitant and hesitant to choose Information Technology for the upcoming high school graduation exam. The reason is that they still do not know how universities will build the admission combination.

Although he really likes IT, Nguyen Trung Kien, a student at Nguyen Trai High School (Hanoi), said he is researching and waiting for universities to announce their enrollment plans for 2025. From there, he will decide whether to choose a combination of subjects and use the results for university admission.

“If universities do not consider this subject, it will be difficult for us to decide on our choice for the 2025 High School Graduation Exam,” Kien said.

According to some high schools, because most universities have not announced their enrollment plans for 2025, schools are having difficulty in orienting students' learning and arranging review sessions. Many students plan to choose Information Technology for university admission but are hesitant or switching to another subject because they do not know that the university admission combination includes this subject.

Need to announce the admission combination soon

With the new exam plan, many universities said they plan to include new subjects in the admission combination for majors with training programs that are close to the subject content of high school.

Associate Professor, Dr. Ho Si Dam, former senior lecturer at the University of Technology - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Editor of the 2018 Informatics program, said that universities need to develop new and early announce the subject combinations for university admission.

As for students, they will proactively choose subjects from grade 10 that suit their wishes. High schools will promptly adjust and determine appropriate subject combinations for students to choose to study and take exams. This will also help universities have a source of quality candidates.

For the first time, Information Technology is an optional subject in the high school graduation exam. Professor Pham The Long, Editor-in-Chief of the 12th grade Information Technology textbook series, the Connecting Knowledge with Life series (Vietnam Education Publishing House) affirmed that many universities will come up with admission plans that take into account learning outcomes and exam scores in Information Technology.

To help students choose the right combination of subjects, including Information Technology in the 2025 high school graduation exam and the following years, Professor Pham The Long said that schools and teachers need to organize early career counseling for students, especially from grade 10, so that they can better understand the professions and the role of Information Technology in many fields.

In addition, building a practical integrated curriculum also plays a very important role. Schools need to create conditions for students to see the application of Information Technology through practical lessons, from programming, data analysis to office IT skills.