Is the minimum admission score and benchmark score below 15 a violation of the regulations?

Some universities set the minimum admission score below 15, which is considered below average and is low compared to the general level. So can the admission score be below 15?

Recently, the public was surprised when many universities lowered their admission threshold scores compared to 2024, only 15-16 points in the method of considering high school graduation exam scores. It was even more surprising when some universities determined the threshold score below 15.

What does the Ministry of Education and Training stipulate about the minimum admission score?

Specifically, many majors at Quang Trung University (Gia Lai province) only take the floor score of 13, such as business administration, accounting, finance - banking, construction engineering technology, hotel - restaurant management, tourism - travel service management. The remaining majors take 14 points including English language, information technology, public health .

All majors of Thanh Dong University ( Hai Phong City) have a minimum score of 14, except for health majors. In 2024, the school will also have this minimum score.

Universities are free to determine the minimum scores for admission to majors other than education, health, and law. However, if the minimum scores and benchmark scores are too low, it can cause difficulties for students and schools in the training process.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

Most majors at the University of Social Work also have a minimum score of 14, some majors have higher minimum scores such as English 14.5 (combination D14), psychology and social work 15.5 points (combination C00), economic law 18 points for all combinations (because this major must follow the regulations on input standards of the Ministry of Education and Training). Meanwhile, last year, all majors of the school had a minimum score of 16.

Hung Yen University of Technical Education also has a floor score of 13-14 points, a sharp decrease compared to 2024 when the floor score of the school fluctuated from 15-19 points. Meanwhile, Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City, has a floor score of 12 for all majors, a decrease of 3 points compared to last year.

According to Master Nguyen Thi Mai Binh, Head of Training Department of Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City, the Ministry of Education and Training only regulates the minimum admission scores for health, teaching, and law majors, while the remaining majors are determined by universities.

"The admission regulations clearly state that, based on quality assurance requirements, training institutions shall determine and announce the entry threshold for majors, groups of majors and admission methods at least 10 days before the registration deadline. For the entry threshold for teacher training and majors in the health sector with a practice license, the entry threshold determined by the training institution must not be lower than the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training," said Master Mai Binh.

If the benchmark score is below 15, will it affect the quality of training?

Regarding the benchmark score, according to Ms. Mai Binh, the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training stipulate that the admission score is determined so that the number of students admitted to each major and training program is consistent with the announced quota, but not lower than the input threshold.

It is known that in 2024, all majors of Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City will have a benchmark score of 15, equal to the floor score set by the school. Thanh Dong University also has a benchmark score equal to the floor score of 14, except for the health major.

Many majors at Hung Yen University of Technical Education last year had admission scores equal to the floor score, such as refrigeration and air conditioning, garment technology, economics, chemical engineering technology, food chemistry technology, all 15 points... Some majors had higher admission scores, 15.5; 16; 17 points, but these were also the floor scores. Only the English language education major had admission scores 5.74 points higher than the floor score and the Chinese language major had admission scores 4 points higher than the floor score.

That shows that most of these schools last year had benchmark scores for many majors equivalent to the floor scores.

Talking about this year's benchmark scores, Master Nguyen Thi Mai Binh said that because up to this point the school does not have data on registered candidates, it is not possible to predict how many.

According to Dr. Huynh Ngoc Hao, Director of the Central University of Construction in Da Nang, schools that set a floor score below 15 and set a benchmark score equal to this level do not violate the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training.

"Although schools determine that the input may be low, it is important that both students and schools make efforts in the teaching and learning process, but this may only be suitable for majors in social sciences and economics. As for engineering, technology, and natural sciences, low input can cause difficulties for both students and schools and will affect the quality of training," said Dr. Ngoc Hao.

The head of the training department of a university in Ho Chi Minh City also said that for STEM majors (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), if candidates have too low scores, it will be difficult for them to have enough capacity to pursue their studies for 4 years at university. "They cannot study, leading to boredom and dropping out of school, which will be a waste for themselves and for society," the head of the department said.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/diem-san-xet-tuyen-va-diem-chuan-duoi-15-co-vi-pham-quy-che-185250728170657118.htm