VietNamNet Bridge – Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Canh Luong, Vice President of the Hanoi University of Technology, has been denounced of plagiarizing a dissertation 20 years ago.

A lecturer of the Hanoi University of Technology has sent a letter of denunciation and associated evidences to newspapers’ editorial boards, affirming that Luong plagiarized dissertation to obtain the title of doctor of mathematics – physics science.

The denouncer, Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, is now a lecturer of the Mechanical Engineering Institute, an arm of the Hanoi University of Technology.

In Thanh’s letter of denunciation, he wrote that Luong defended his PhD thesis in 1996 and that nearly 100 percent of the content of the thesis was copied from another dissertation, prepared by Associate Professor Dr. Dang Van Khai 10 years before, or in 1986.

Thanh, showing the two copies of the theses, pointed out that the two theses are nearly 100 percent the same, except some words and signs.

Thanh affirmed at the meeting with Giao duc Vietnam’s reporters that he has conducted an investigation himself and has collected enough evidences.

“I just tell the truth. I do not scare. I do this to protect the school’s reputation,” he said.

Both the theses are being stored at the National Library. Luong’s thesis bears the library code LA 96.664.1, while Khai’s LA 86.0029.1.

It is still too early to make a conclusion if Dr. Nguyen Canh Luong plagiarized 20 years ago. The final conclusion will only be made by competent agencies and the inspection council.

However, reporters, when comparing the two theses of Nguyen Canh Luong and Dang Van Khai, have found a lot of strange similarities.

The arguments and information in the paragraphs the reporters chose randomly to read in Luong’s thesis are really concessive with that in Khai’s thesis.

When reporters contacted the Vietnam National Library to learn more about the two theses, they were told that the theses have been digitalized, which means that everyone can find them on the library’s website.

Thanh has affirmed that he is always ready to be present before the scientific council to discuss about Luong’s and Khai’s theses. He is also ready to meet the leading scientists in the field to clarify his arguments shown in the letter of denunciation.

Just two months ago, the public was stirred up by the news that the Ministry of Education and Training revoked the doctorate of Hoang Xuan Que, Deputy Head of the Finance & Banking Institute, an arm of the Hanoi National Economics University, after discovering that Que plagiarized the dissertation.

However, the plaintiff, Dr. Hoang Xuan Que, denied the accusation, saying that he did not plagiarize the dissertation. Que, who received the support from some scientists, decided to take legal proceedings against the Ministry of Education and Training for its decision of revoking his doctorate.

The final judgment has not been made by the State. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education and Training stated that it has all evidences necessary to do that.

The plagiarism cases put into the open recently have caused big worries about the qualifications and the morality of scientists and university lecturers. Both Que and Luong now hold important positions at the two of the most prestigious universities in Vietnam.

GDVN