VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training on June 25 said that the two separate exams, the high school final exam and university entrance exam, will still be organised in 2010.

“In 2010, the ministry will have to deal with a lot of works like reviewing curriculums and textbooks, building up the strategy on education development for the period from now to 2020. Therefore, we have decided not to start the 2-in-1 exam scheme in 2010,” Hien said.

Chief Secretariat of the Ministry of Education and Training Tran Quang Quy admitted that the ministry’s plan to organise one exam instead of two has not been hailed by the public: “The ministry needs to listen to the opinions of people on important policies.”

The announcement has come as a surprise to everyone, because just a few months ago, the ministry affirmed that 2009 would be the last year the two separate exams would be organised.

Hien said at the press conference that the “Ministry of Education and Training is ready to organise one exam, but the public does not agree.”

A lot of experts and educators have voiced their opposition to the ministry’s plan on education forums. They said that the goals of the two exams are different, and thus should not be merged into one.

A quick survey conducted by local newspaper VnExpress showed that only 39 percent of readers approved of the 2-in-1 exam, while 61 percent opposed it.

Also at yesterday’s press conference, the Ministry of Education and Training announced that 83.8 percent of students passed the high school final exam.

Nam Dinh province in the north was the locality which had the highest percentage of students passing the exam, at 98.26 percent, while Son La province had the lowest figure at 39.07 percent.

Most localities (50 out of 63) had higher percentages of students passing exams than last year, while 13 localities had lower figures.

Director of the Planning and Finance Department under the Ministry of Education and Training Nguyen Van Ngu said yesterday that the adjustment of tuition fees for university education would begin in the 2009-2010 school year, while the new tuition scheme for general education would not begin until the 2010-2011 school year.

VietNamNet/VNE, DT