Educators and experts have spoken highly of the university entrance exam questions this year, saying that they for the first time enabled students to be creative.

MOET, according to experts, succeeded in its efforts.

The difference between questions this year and questions from the past can be seen in the literature exam question for C-group examinees (for C-group, students have to take literature, history and geography exams).

The question on this year’s literature exam included a quote from former US President A. Lincoln in a letter to his son’s teacher, advising him what to teach his son: “In school, teach him it is far more honourable to fail than to cheat”. Students were asked to consider the sentence and write an essay of 600 words at maximum to express their thoughts about the importance of honesty in examinations and in life.

Similarly, the literature question for D-group examinees (for D-group, students have to take mathematics, literature and foreign language exams) asked examinees to write an essay to express their thoughts about the opinion: “A person who has lost faith in himself will certainly lose many other valuable things” (excerpt from “Dam thanh cong” – “Daring to succeed” by the Tre Publication House).

The two questions were described by literature teachers as ‘open questions’ which allow students to express their viewpoints while giving them room to show-off their creativity.

In addition, the question for C-group examinees involved a burning issue now, with MOET having launched the movement of “saying ‘no’ to exam fraud and the ‘achievement disease’ in education and training”.

The interesting exam questions have also been applauded by many people who have criticised the old-fashioned way of setting exam questions that MOET has been following for the last many years.

However, teachers have said that these sorts of questions create difficulties for teachers in marking exam papers. The questions themselves, moreover, involve concepts which are inarguably difficult for young people to articulate upon.

As for the question for the C-group exam, students had to mention a lot of issues in their essays. First of all, they had to define ‘honesty’ and tell how honesty was significant to them and other members of society. Moreover, they also had to analyse circumstances in which it is necessary to be dishonest. This is really a difficult requirement for students who are young and do not have much life experience.

Similarly, the question for D-group exam, according to Le Dinh Vinh from the Hanoi National University, was a bit abstract.

“Adult people would find it difficult to talk about self-confidence, let alone students,” Vinh said.

Therefore, Vinh thinks that the answers provided by the Ministry of Education and Training should be ‘flexible’; there should be only some 3-4 big issues students need to mention.

Meanwhile, teachers who mark exam papers will also have to try to be flexible.

It is generally held though, that this is a positive step forward for the educational system of Vietnam; for there was once a great city that was not built in a day…Do you know which one?

VietNamNet/TN