VietNamNet Bridge – Forty one students in Thanh Hoa province agreed to pay VND1 billion in exchange for the recognition that they can meet the requirements to attend the entrance exams to the Economics University’s master training course.

The headquarter of the Thanh Hoa Continuing Education Center

In late 2013, the Thanh Hoa provincial Continuing Education Center joined forces with the Economics University, a member school of the Hanoi National University, to organize a class to prepare the students the required conditions to attend the entrance exams to the master training course.

Some officers of the continuing education center told the 41 students to pay VND1 billion to “angle for” the recognition. Each of the students had to pay VND28 million on average.

A student, who asked to be anonymous, said the suggestion made by the officers was applauded by all the students, because the money could be considered as a “promise” that they would pass the exams.

He said that the officers promised to give the exam questions in advance, so that the students could obtain the highest possible exam marks.

The students were willing to pay money partially because they hoped they could attend the Economics University’s training course right in Thanh Hoa province. Under the current regulations, if 80-90 percent of the students pass the exams, the school would agree to set up classes right in the locality instead of requesting the students to go to Hanoi.

However, the students did not receive what they were promised. Only seven students passed the exams. The exam questions provided by the continuing education center were quite different from the real questions. As a result, the students could not do the exams well as expected.

“One of the three officers of the continuing education center gave the documents and forecast exam questions to the monitor at 11 pm of September 13, 2013, asking to forward the documents to other students,” the man said.

“But the forecast exam questions were quite different from the real ones. We were told to focus on the questions in the chapter about merchandise, while the real questions were about monetary,” he said.

“As a result, only seven students passed the exams,” he concluded.

The case would have fallen into oblivion if the officers of the continuing education center had agreed to pay the money back to students.

However, the officers tried to delay the payment. Only when some students sent private letters to the high ranking officials, could the money come back to their students’ pockets.

The officers once refused to pay back the VND189 million to the seven students passing the exams and only accepted to give it back after a lot of arguments.

Dao Phan Thang, Director of the continuing education center confirmed with Lao Dong newspaper that his center cooperated with the economics school to organize the special class for the students, who were the workers at the provincial state agencies.

However, he denied his involvement in the “affair.”

“The students of the class contacted the center’s officers personally. This was not the school’s plan and not my instruction,” he said.

The center’s board of management served a strong warning over two officers Le Thi Lien and Bui Si Hong, and reprimanded Le Trong Son.

Lao Dong