This is a key change in the new circular on foreign language proficiency test licensing, issued by the Ministry of Education and Training on 5/9 and effective from 12/10.

The ministry clarified that these certificates are not part of the national education system but are documents validating results from foreign language assessment bodies.

Provincial People's Committees will approve and manage foreign language proficiency testing within their jurisdictions, publishing lists of approved organizations.

Test takers at an IELTS exam. Photo: British Council Vietnam

Test takers at an IELTS exam. Photo: British Council Vietnam

As of April, the ministry had issued 185 decisions approving foreign language test centers in Vietnam. Popular certificates include: IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, HSK (Chinese), DELF - DALF (French), JLPT, NAT-TEST (Japanese), and TOPIK (Korean).

Besides study abroad and employment purposes, Vietnamese universities use these certificates for admissions, often combined with academic transcripts or entrance exam scores, depending on the program.

IELTS score conversions at over 70 universities

Late last year, the Government Inspectorate concluded that the Ministry of Education and Training had lax management, allowing unauthorized foreign language testing and certification between August 2018 and September 2022, causing public concern.

Over 146,000 IELTS certificates from IDP and Aptis certificates from the British Council were deemed improperly issued. However, the ministry later validated these certificates for use by students and institutions.

Le Nguyen