Vietnam allows another English certificate for university admission

The new recognition means that in addition to certificates such as IELTS or TOEFL, PEIC will now also be used for university admission.

The PEIC certificate is an international standard for English proficiency, covering listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. The test is divided into levels corresponding to the six levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) to assess learners’ abilities and progress at each stage of language proficiency improvement.

PEIC certificates are issued by Pearson Education, and the test is widely conducted in many countries around the world.

They are also recognized by businesses, universities, and government agencies in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa.

In Vietnam, the PEIC certificate is organized by EMG Education, a strategic partner of Pearson Education. EMG Education and Pearson have been approved by the Ministry of Education and Training to jointly organize the certification exam.

Currently, the fee for a four-skill PEIC test is VND1.2 million (US$50) per candidate.

Since 2017, the Ministry of Education and Training has exempted the English test from the high-school graduation exams for students with IELTS or TOEFL certificates, while more students choose IELTS qualifications.

For this year’s exam, the ministry designated that an IELTS score of 4.0 translates to a perfect score of 10 on the English graduation exam.

In 2021, over 28,600 students used their IELTS scores to skip the English test. In 2022, that number rose to over 35,000, and then nearly 47,000 this year.