The high schools in HCM City are now reorganizing their classes to prepare for the 2015 finals.
Students have been asked to register for and choose the exam subjects, though the finals are not scheduled until six months later.
The students choosing the same exam subjects will be put into the same classes so as to obtain the best exam results.
In Quang Ngai province, the survey found that very few students registered to take social science subjects for the finals.
Most of the provincial high school students prefer natural sciences, especially physics and chemistry.
Under the current regulations, math and literature are compulsory exam subjects, while the others are optional.
Nguyen Van Thanh, headmaster of the Van Tuong High School in Quang Ngai province, noted that the decisions by students to choose natural sciences instead of social sciences was foreseeable.
However, unlike many other educators, who think the indifference to social sciences is a problem of national education, Thanh said that there was no need to be too worried.
“I don’t think students choose to attend natural science subjects for the finals because they don’t have necessary historical and geographical knowledge or because they do not love Vietnamese history,” he said.
“And there is no need to worry that students will not spend appropriate time on social science subjects and they will only cram for subjects likely to be exam subjects,” he added. “The learning records of students can show their abilities in different subjects.”
A high school teacher in Hanoi noted that students are more “pragmatic” than their grandparents and parents.
“Students should not be criticized for not choosing history and geography for their finals,” he said. “They make the correct decision when saying ‘no’ to social sciences, because social science subjects cannot help them find good jobs.”
Which subjects to choose for the finals is now a hot topic in internet education forums. There are so many students choosing natural science subjects that people have questioned whether geography and history need to be taught at general schools.
An 11th grader wrote that although he will not sit high school finals until 2016, he is sure that he will not choose social sciences.
“The adults are being unethical encouraging us to study social sciences when they know well that social science knowledge cannot help us find good jobs and money to live,” he wrote.
