The feedback of the competition organizer is posted in Facebook

One of the two students in the allegation of ‘copying works’ in the 2023 Genius Olympiad competition yesterday posted on her personal Facebook the feedback of the competition organizer that received a complaint letter from parents.

The organizers wrote to the student that a recent project submitted for the Genius Olympiad had been found to contain a high level of similarity to an original submission by another student. Both students were supervised by the same teacher. After conducting a thorough investigation, we have determined that the student work in question has 3-4 sentences which are exactly the same as the original work and has 3-4 sentences very similar with only rearranged words. In addition, a text comparison tool identified that fraudulent work has 86 percent similarity with the original work.

In the organizer’s letter, it said that in light of this discovery, we have taken the necessary steps to revoke the award associated with this fraudulent submission. The student's recognition and any related accolades have been rescinded. We believe that it is essential to maintain the credibility and fairness of the Genius Olympiad, and fraudulent submissions undermine the values and principles upon which this competition is built.

The organizer stressed that they took such matters very seriously and will continue to take measures to ensure the integrity of the competition. They encouraged all participants, supervisors and employees to remain vigilant against all forms of misconduct, including plagiarism and fraud. In the future, they will take steps to prevent plagiarism and fraud.

In addition to the recall of the prize, the organizer warned that the teacher involved in the case will not be allowed to submit any projects to participate in the Genius Olympiad 2024

However, at the moment, the official website of the competition has not shown any announcement related to the incident.

Earlier, on the morning of July 11, the Chief of Office of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training Ho Tan Minh said that the city Department of Education and Training had asked Gia Dinh High School in Binh Thanh District to report the details of the case and have the right solution, according to the regulations for state employees.

The Principal of Gia Dinh High School was required to review relevant contents and implement the process of handling officials who go abroad for improper purposes. The Principal must assume responsibility for the loose management of teachers.

Moreover, Mr. Ho Tan Minh said that based on public opinion related to the case of teachers and students of Le Van Tam Secondary School and Gia Dinh High School participating in the Genius Olympiad Competition 2023 in the United States, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training asked its education division in Binh Thanh District and Gia Dinh High School to clarify the responsibilities of the individuals involving the case, sending their reports to the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City before July 14.

In addition, the school ought to seriously verify the role and responsibilities of officials in a controversial incident that has adversely affected the reputation of the city's education sector.

Genius Olympiad is an international high school project competition in science, engineering, art, short film, music, creative writing, robotics and business.

Source: SGGP