Six years ago, in 2016, at the working session with the then Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha, the HCM City Education and Training Department asked for special mechanisms, under which centrally run provinces and cities could examine students, appraise them and recognize the completion of general education. 

Under the city’s proposal, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) would periodically organize the assessment of education quality in cities/provinces in accordance with international standards (PISA, PASEC…) and make public the assessment results.  

HCM City also wanted the autonomy in adjusting the teaching periods of subjects on the basis of ensuring standard knowledge and skills, in compiling integration teaching curricula and diversifying the examination and assessment of students that fit the teaching situation in reality, depending on types of schools, including schools for the gifted and schools following modern advanced model.  

In 2018, at the online conference reviewing the 2017-2018 academic year and deploying the tasks of the 2018-2019 academic year, the HCM City Education and Training Department once again made the proposal. 

In 2021, in the report on the implementation of Resolution 16/NQ-CP dated June 8, 2012 and Resolution 54/2017/QH14 dated November 24, 2017, the department once again asked for a special mechanism, under which MOET allows centrally run cities/provinces to organize exams to assess students and recognize their completion of general education. 

Most recently, in the report to the city’s People’s Committee on the education and training development in HCM City in 2021-2025 with the vision towards 2030, the department asked MOET to assign HCM City People’s Committee to take responsibility of implementing all the steps of organizing exams and recognizing students’ completion of general education in the city. 

Under the proposal, exam questions will be compiled by the education department in accordance with the exam question structure and format set by MOET. 

Self-determination is the issue which has been discussed over the last two years, when the Covid-19 pandemic developments are complicated. 

According to Nguyen Ngoc Son, an education expert, the 2015 Education Law and the 2019 amended law clearly stipulate that if students pass the exams, they will be granted diploma, but don’t specify what kind of mode the high school finals must apply. 

An education expert in HCM City said it is legal to ask for the right to organize high school finals and recognize the completion of general education. However, the worry is that the input students’ quality is not equal if students do different exam questions. 

Le Huyen