VietNamNet Bridge – Statistics released after the last day of registration for university entrance exams showed that more students are aiming for mid-ranking universities rather than vie for limited slots in the most competitive schools.

Statistics released after the last day of registration for university entrance exams showed that more students are aiming for mid-ranking universities

Ngo Kim Khoi, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Education’s University Department, said that local education and training departments will finish the classification process and transfer the students’ exam registrations to universities and junior colleges by early May.

Khoi said that universities and junior colleges must not accept registrations after the deadline except in the case that students are required to present more documents or adjust some information in their applications. Students do not have to come directly to universities and junior colleges to submit documents or change information. They can do that just before the exam days.

Universities report that there has been a considerable decrease in the number of registrations made directly by students this year, especially to the universities which require the top scores in the entrance exams.

Meanwhile, MOET offices in big cities and provinces have reported that 2/3 of examinees are registering to take university entrance exams, and the rest aim for two year colleges. The figures differ from place to place. Cities and provinces that traditionally have high ratios of students passing the university entrance exams, for example Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nghe An and Thanh Hoa, have seen more registrations than the previous year.

Statistics also show that students now tend to avoid top universities which require high marks from the entrance exams, or have low enrolment quotas, while they tend to register to mid-class universities to raise the likelihood that they will not miss out on college entirely.

Staff of the Hanoi MOET office cite two reasons for the decrease in the number of registrations to take university entrance exams. First, weaker students dare not register to take exams to universities any more; instead they register to enter junior colleges, a ‘safer way. Second, students now can study at junior colleges first, and then transfer credits to universities. As such, they can take a ‘roundabout route’ to higher education instead of going directly to universities.

MOET reports that this school year only 70% of high school students have registered to take exams to universities and junior colleges. Educators speculate that the decrease in university applications this year reflects the effectiveness of the career consultancy work. Students have realized that a university degree is not essential for them to make their way in the world. A lot of students have decided to study at vocational schools instead of universities.

VietNamNet/VNMedia