Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha has accepted responsibility for the recent score manipulation in the national high school examination in some provinces, pledging to seriously deal with those violations.

Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha

At the Government’s monthly meeting on August 1, he reported on the national exam held in late June, saying that the violations in northern Ha Giang and Son La provinces were very severe. His ministry has reported this issue to the Government leaders and is working closely with the Ministry of Public Security to handle the wrongdoings and involved persons in a strict and timely manner.

Nha added those violations should not be cited as the reason for rejecting all test results or proposing the national exam be terminated.

The ministry has reviewed the exam organisation and realised some shortcomings, he said, noting that it will continue to overhaul technical issues to ensure that all steps in the future examinations will be monitored strictly and conducted objectively and transparently.

The official said reforming examinations and methods for assessing education outcomes is a breakthrough to help improve education-training quality. Since the high school graduation and university entrance tests were combined into one in 2015, the national exam has been improved, ensuring objective results and reducing pressure on students and society. 

At the meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc spoke highly of Minister Nha’s acceptance of responsibility, asking the ministry to continue absorbing opinions to better the exam organisation in the time to come.

The last examination was taken by 5,400 students in Ha Giang. Of the 11 students with the highest scores nationwide, the province contributed three. Regarding the physics test, 65 students scored nine or higher. The abnormal result caused many to question the results, as the province does not typically perform so well.

Inspections revealed that 330 multiple-choice tests of 114 students in Ha Giang were adjusted up by more than one point each.

Meanwhile, Son La had more than 10,300 students sitting for the national exam this year with the average score of 4.21, the lowest in the country. The rate of students in Son La achieving nine points or more in maths and physics, however, outnumbered that of other localities that traditionally perform better.

Several persons have been arrested for involving in the score skewing in the two provinces. –VNA