After the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH), Vietnam National University, Hanoi, announced its admission scores on 22/8, many prospective students were shocked. The university had defined the D66 subject combination as Literature, English, and Civic Education, instead of Literature, English, and Economic and Legal Education as previously published.
Nguyen Thanh Mai from Hanoi said that with a score of 25 in the D66 combination – 8.75 in Literature, 6.75 in English, and 9.5 in Economic and Legal Education – she applied for International Studies. With the major's admission score being 23.5, Mai was certain of her acceptance.
However, upon reviewing the listed exam subjects for the D66 combination, she discovered that Economic and Legal Education had been replaced with Civic Education, resulting in her rejection from all her desired programs at the university.
"I was shocked, I cried all afternoon and haven't dared to tell my family," Mai shared.
Similarly, Bui Thi Ha from Hung Yen applied for Journalism with the same combination but was rejected despite exceeding the admission score of 25.2 by almost 1 point.
"On 23/8, I was resting when I received an acceptance notification from another university lower on my preference list. I was stunned and, upon investigating, discovered the subject combination error," Ha said.
Ha mentioned being part of a group of about 150 applicants who used the D66 combination for USSH, all facing the same predicament.
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University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Photo: USSH |
University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Photo: USSH
According to the students, the university's admissions plan and announcements initially listed Economic and Legal Education as part of D66. On 7/6, the university corrected this to Civic Education on its website. However, this information was not posted on its Facebook page, leaving many students unaware. Furthermore, a subsequent announcement the following day regarding admission combinations continued to list Economic and Legal Education within D66.
"We focused on studying Economic and Legal Education from the beginning and were not informed of the change to Civic Education," Ha explained.
On the morning of 24/8, a representative from the USSH's Department of Training confirmed receiving complaints from students and parents. The university admitted to a "subject name error" within the D66 combination. Specifically, while the D66 combination included Civic Education, the university mistakenly listed it as Economic and Legal Education, which belongs to the X78 combination (Literature, English, Economic and Legal Education).
"We are awaiting instructions from the Ministry of Education and Training on how to handle the situation," the university representative stated.
On its Facebook page, the university posted an announcement instructing students who applied using the D66 and X78 combinations to submit their information before 5 PM on 26/8 for assistance.
Civic Education was a subject in the previous national high school curriculum (2006). This year's high school graduates followed the new curriculum (2018), in which Civic Education is replaced by Economic and Legal Education.
Previously, the university faced controversy for removing the C00 combination (Literature, History, Geography) from consideration in 17 out of 28 majors. Following student backlash, the university reinstated the C00 combination.
This year, USSH's highest admission score is 29 for the C00 combination, led by Psychology. Three majors have admission scores of 28 and above: Journalism, Oriental Studies, and Public Relations. Public Relations has the highest score at 28.95, a decrease of 0.15 points. Southeast Asian Studies and Japanese Studies share the lowest admission score of 21.75.
Binh Minh
