VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has released a legal document, stipulating that those, who have evidence about exam cheating must not spread out the evidences under any form.

Exam cheating was discovered at the Doi Ngo High School in 2012

The MOET’s decision on allowing examinees to bring some kinds of cameras and recorders with themselves to the exam rooms has been praised as a wise move to help fight against the exam cheating.

However, its decision that those, who have evidences about exam cheating must not spread out the evidences have been violently criticized, because it violates the current laws.

The Circular No. 04 released by the ministry said that the people who have evidences to prove the cheating at exams, have the responsibility of showing the evidences to the competent agencies, while they must not be spread out in the public.

The “competent agencies” which are on the right positions to receive the reports and evidences are the central steering committee on high school final exam, or the steering committees at the provincial or municipal levels and education inspectors.

The ministry’s decision has been facing the strong opposition from the public. Van Nhu Cuong, Headmaster of Luong The Vinh, a people founded high school, described the decision as “funny.” He affirmed that people have the right to express their viewpoints and provide evidences in different ways and through different channels. They would have to take responsibility about their behaviors and the evidences they provide.

Do Viet Khoa, an educator who became well known after he denounced the wrongdoings at the exams some years ago, when commenting about the new regulation, said it would be better to make public the information about the wrongdoings, so as to receive the support from the public in the fight against the exam cheating.

He said that while MOET raises a campaign of struggling against the wrongdoings in education and training by allowing to bring cameras and recorders to exam rooms, it has tried to stamp out the campaign by stipulating that the evidences must not be handed over to non-competent agencies, including press agencies.

“The newly released decision of MOET clearly violate the Journalism Law and the Law on Complaint and Denunciation, and deprives people’s civil rights,” Khoa said.

The former teacher of the Van Tao High School in Ha Tay district, when asked about the “experiences” of denouncing the wrongdoings of the school, said that he many times came to meet the leaders of the Hanoi education department, but no one received him.

Khoa said he himself believes that it would be better to provide information and evidences to local press agencies which would put expose the truth to the public and ensure that the problems “would not fall into oblivion.”

Lawyers and the lecturers from law schools have also confirmed that the MOET’s decision has violated the current laws. Tran Quang Trung, MA from the HCM City Law University, affirmed that press agencies also have the functions of receiving the information relating to the wrongdoings.

In the latest news, Minister, Chair of the Government Office Vu Duc Dam, when answering the questions from the press at the press conference on February 28, affirmed that the MOET’s decision violates the current laws and that the ministry must amend the legal document.

Van Chung – Le Huyen