Over 866,000 students across the country gathered at 2,364 testing locations on June 21 afternoon to complete all registering procedures for the three-day National High School Exam, the most important exam students spend 12 years preparing for.

Students review lessons before the National High School Exam

The exam is scheduled to run from June 22 to June 24.

Candidates will take five tests: math, literature, foreign language, natural science (including physics, chemistry, biology) and social science (including history, geography and citizen education).

Associate Professor Mai Van Trinh, head of the Department of Testing and Education Quality Assurance, said the tests include 60 percent basic knowledge.

The 40 percent ‘knowledge’ portion of the tests will be used to classify the levels of candidates. It goes toward university admissions, Trinh said.

As of 2015, high school graduation and university entrance exams have been mixed into one national exam called the national high school exam.

The results of the exam are considered for both high school graduation and university admissions.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga said this is the first year the ministry assigned each locality to chair the exam under instructions from the ministry.

Ga said the ministry has sent representatives to cooperate with localities to organise and ensure a smooth exam for candidates.

This year, all supervisors will take lucky draws before a test to choose their testing room. The move is expected to ensure a transparent exam, he said.

Each testing room only has 24 candidates. In previous years, the number was 30-40 candidates, he said.

Trinh said the ministry has also published sample tests before the real tests so that candidates could prepare more fully.

“This is the first time the ministry has done this,” he added

Candidates are allowed to bring recorders and video cameras into the testing rooms with the conditions that the recorders do not transmit information and receive audio signals, he said.

The purpose of the movement is to allow candidates to record violations in the testing rooms and send to authorised agencies, he added.

Ga said the ministry’s inspection teams have visited localities to check their preparation for the exam.

Nguyen Huy Bang, chief inspector of the Ministry of Education and Training’s Office, said two hotlines will receive complaints and feedback from candidates, parents and others. People can contact 04 3623 1285 and 0923 006 757. Faxes can be sent to 04 3869 3145. Inspectors will verify and deal with violations based on the complaints and feedback.

The hotlines will be operated 24 per hours daily until July 6 when the test-marking activities finish, he said.

Ten inspection teams will randomly visit testing locations, he added.

This year, the Department of High-Tech Crime Prevention under the Ministry of Public Security also participated in the national high school steering committee.

The police force worked with the department of education and training to prepare for incidents related to hi-tech violations during the exam.

In Hanoi, the city administration has even planned for incidents of flood, thunderstorms, food poisoning.

The health sector has conducted more inspections to ensure food hygiene and safety. It arranged medical staff and medicines to be ready at testing locations in case of food poisoning and emergencies. 

Additionally, mobilised medical teams stand at the ready.

The Hanoi Youth Union made plans to deal with flooding during the exam. The voluntary team of up to 10,000 members was tasked to provide assistance if necessary.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, temperatures in the country will range from 23-35 degrees Celsius during the next three days.

Hanoi and HCM City are the two localities with the highest number of candidates, with 72,939 and 71,469 respectively.

In a related movement, the Hanoi Education and Training Department on June 21 announced results of the high school entrance exam.

Candidates can access hanoi.edu.vn to search the results. Around 76,000 students in Hanoi attended the high school entrance exam on June 16.

VNA