IELTS scoring glitch forces major Vietnam universities to recheck accepted students

IELTS said the incident affected tests taken between August 2023 and September 2024 due to an "internal technical system error."

Only about 1% of all tests were impacted, according to the organization, though it did not release an exact number. More than 4 million IELTS tests are taken globally each year.

On Nov. 13, Banking Academy and HUIT said they would re-examine all English-language certificates submitted by this year's admitted students.

At HUIT, Rector Nguyen Xuan Hoan said the school will set up a council to reassess cases where IELTS scores have changed, both for admissions and graduation requirements.

He acknowledged the process will be difficult without official data from testing providers.

"Students whose scores increased will likely inform the school to reclaim their benefits, but the opposite is much less certain," Hoan said.

The Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City plans to extract data on students admitted with IELTS scores from last year to now and require them to update and resubmit their score reports if any changes occurred. The school said it hopes the British Council and IDP, the two IELTS organizers in Vietnam, will cooperate and provide data to ensure an objective review. The university said it will keep student information confidential.

Other schools, including Hanoi University of Science and Technology and Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, said they are monitoring the situation but have not received guidance from the Ministry of Education and Training.

A university leader in Hanoi called the situation "complex," noting its impact on undergraduate admissions, high-school graduation assessments and graduate-level entry and exit requirements. Even a 0.5-band difference can affect whether a student meets admission cutoffs or graduation standards, he said.

"It could lead to unfairness among candidates," he added.

On Nov. 12, posts on Threads in Vietnam about changed IELTS scores went viral, with many candidates sharing emails they received from the British Council and IDP.

The two organizations apologized and said the issue affected scores in Reading and Listening. Affected candidates can request a full refund of the test fee of more than VND4.6 million ($175), or retake the exam for free. Old scores are no longer valid. The deadline to confirm is before May 2026.

IELTS scores play an increasingly important role in Vietnam. Beyond study-abroad and immigration purposes, more than 70 universities converted IELTS scores into English-subject points for the 2025 admissions cycle, combining them with high-school graduation exam results, transcripts, or priority bonuses.

Many institutions, including Banking Academy, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy and the University of Economics and Law, have seen applicants using IELTS certificates increase by 1.5 to 4 times in recent years.