No place for cheating in education
Lessons from recent scandalous high school graduation exam
Son La caught in high school exam cheating scandal

Nguyen Huu Bang, chief inspector from the Ministry of Education and Training.

The 2019 National High School Exam will be being in the next few days. Can you tell us how the Ministry is preparing, particularly the inspection work?

In the past, the MoET has organised eight inspection teams led by the Ministry’s leaders to the localities to understand the situation and remove obstacles.

Inspection results showed the localities closely followed the new points of this year's regulations such as installing cameras where exam papers were being kept and assigning universities to preside over multiple choice questions. Chairmen of province’s People’s Committee also took charge as head of the exam’s steering committee in many localities.

Localities have coordinated with universities to ensure there were enough trained staff.

There are 1,980 testing centres across the country.

Back up plans have been considered by mountainous provinces in case of emergency including flooding which may affect travelling of supervisors and students.

Abnormal situations are also taken into account by the localities, such as how to arrange medical care in case supervisors and candidates fall ill.

I have to admit some localities still face difficulties in terms of human resources, especially in places where violations were detected last year due to the change of staff.

What are the ministry’s solutions to help the above-mentioned localities solving the issue?

The MoET has asked universities to work closely with the localities in organising the exams. We also plan to send inspection teams to those localities to help them comply with regulations.

What are the MoET’s renovations in terms of inspection work after the cheating scandal last year?

The exam process consists of many stages, from setting tests, organising exams, supervising and assessment. Each stage is important and so is the inspection work.

We have instructed all localities to comply with the Law on Inspection, strictly follow new points in this year's regulations. Leaders of department of education and training have undergone training to set up plans and organise inspection forces at their localities.

The ministry has increased the inspection force at assessment councils. This year, there are at least three inspectors at each council including two from the university and one from the department of education. The department’s inspector will be arranged so that he or she will not be on duty at the localities where they work. More inspectors will be dispatched to big provinces and cities with large a number of candidates such as Hanoi and HCM City.

The Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha said people were the decisive factor in the fight against exam fraud. So how will this be applied in the inspection work?

This year's regulation clearly stipulates that inspectors will be jointly responsible for violations at the places where they are inspected. We have also thoroughly reminded localities. On Tuesday (June 18), we sent a document to directors of education and training departments across the country, requesting them to comply with the Prime Minister's urgent dispatch on the prevention of the negative phenomenon while performing duties of inspectors.

As the head of the inspectorate of the education sector, what do you want to say to candidates and their parents before the upcoming exam?

High school exam is very important for all candidates after 12 years of study. Students should keep calm and be confident while taking part in the exam because the tests were made based on basic knowledge. Complying with the exam’s regulations is a must for students.

As the exam takes place in such a hot weather so it is necessary for candidates to ensure their health to perform your best in the exam. I wish the students good luck at the upcoming test!

VNS