Deputy Minister Nguyen Vinh Hien

Recently, the Ministry of Education and Training was instructed that to provide their students with marks based on year-end tests, the rest of the education process being exempt from hard grading. 

The decision has had varied reactions from the public, some of whom think that marks are a sign of their children's progress. However, many educators think that it is more constructive to give suggestions and advice to students and parents in order to better their school experience. 

Deputy Minister Nguyen Vinh Hien explained that the new instructions have an aim to make both students and teachers to scrutinise themselves in order to make class time more valuable. "Classifying students by their marks is unfair and may cause negative effects on some students because each student has a different set of talents. We should create academic results that are in tune with real goals to achieve the full potential of every student," Hien added. 

On the other hand, many parents have expressed worries that soft comments may not be accurate. In response to the public criticism, Hien said that all new rules always cause controversy. He said that the current system is the reason for parents making their children take extra classes or pushing them to learn ahead of their curriculum. 

He went on to say that students could be discouraged by marks that are not 100% accurate and be a discouragement in the learning environment. 

The ministry now plans to issue rules of guidance for teachers. Students will be given comments on both academic results and extracurricular activities. In addition, students would be able to review themselves and give comments to their classmates.

Hien went on say that a pilot programme conducted in certain schools that have shown good results. Year-end tests would still be given marks, but teachers would now be restricted from grading a zero. In the end, Hien said, "These tests will no longer hold such a preeminent role in the educational lives of students."