Vietnam's university admissions policies fuel costly IELTS race among high school students
University admissions policies that convert IELTS scores into English exam marks or bonus points have triggered a surge in demand for the English proficiency test, turning it into a potential deciding factor for tens of thousands of applicants.
Vietnam's university admissions policies have led to a costly race among high school students to obtain IELTS certificates, according to a report by VnExpress International. Students like Thang, a sophomore at a Hanoi university, have spent significant amounts of money on IELTS preparation courses and private tutoring to improve their scores, which can then be converted into bonus points for their university admission scores.
This trend began in 2015 when the Ministry of Education and Training allowed students with recognized foreign language certificates to be exempt from the corresponding subject in the high school graduation exam and use their certificates for score conversion. Many universities now accept IELTS scores of 5.0 or higher, or equivalent qualifications, converting them into English marks of 7-10 and adding bonus points.
The report highlights that students like Thang and Ngoc Hoai have spent over VND100 million and VND30 million, respectively, on IELTS preparation courses to improve their chances of getting into a mid-tier university.
Brief written by urgent.news from VnExpress International's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
