Standardized exams have a long history here. They were initiated in 1075 to determine entry into the civil service under the Confucian model. Not sure what it was before that.
That got suspended in the early 20th century (e.g. during the French colonial period), and was replaced later after with modern written Vietnamese. University enrollment has gone from about 3% to 30% in the last 20 years. The education industry is booming currently.
Whether there are opportunities for all these graduates is an open question! Hopefully there will be.