Involvers of exam cheating scandal in two Vietnam provinces punished

Tuan Minh 14:45, 2019/04/12

The scam was only found out after Hoa Binh and Son La had abnormally high percentages of students with mark 9 or higher in mathematics in 2018 high school exams.

Vietnamese authorities have imposed severe punishments against involvers of an exam cheating scandal in two northern mountainous provinces of Son La and Hoa Binh after public indignation, local media reported.

Dinh Hai Son, a former police officer in Son La, has been arraigned for his role in the exam scam, Tuoi Tre Online reported on April 10. Son was earlier stripped of his police title and his major rank. Son is prosecuted for abusing of his position while on duty in accordance with Article 356 of the Criminal Code.

Before Son, a number of officials had been arrested and prosecuted for their involvement in the scam.

Illustrative photo. Source: Internet

Following the abnormal test scores of the 2018 national high school exam in Son La, the police found out the exam results of 44 students had been falsified.

Among these, the outstanding case is N.A.T., the son of a rich family in Son La city. The student recorded scores in mathematics, physics and foreign languages of 9-9-9 out of 10, respectively, but the reevaluation of their tests showed N.A.T.'s scores were 0 - 0.25 - 0.2, which means he failed the exams.

The remaining 43 students are children of officials working in the education sector, police force, tax authorities, provincial leadership and some wealthy families in Son La.

The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) asked Son La’s Department of Education and Training to updated test results. Based on the revised results, it is expected many students now studying at universities will be desqualified and expelled.

According to the list sent by the Hoa Binh’s Department of Education and Training, police universities and academies will expell 28 students with falsified exam results.

Abnormally high test results in Hoa Binh and Son La

The scam was only found out after Hoa Binh and Son La were among the provinces in the country having the highest percentages of students with mark 9 or higher in mathematics in 2018 high school exams. The percentages were much higher than the national rate and the rate of localities that have a better history of learning.

The results of the exams were used to decide whether the students could be admitted to the universities the had applied for.

For example, in 2018, Hoa Binh had more than 8,900 candidates in the maths exam, of them 27 candidates got mark 9 or higher, accounting for 0.3%. Son La had more than 10,250 candidates and up to 30 candidates with mark 9 or higher, accounting for 0.29%.

Meanwhile, the rates of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were 0.1 and 0.04, respectively, lower than the above-mentioned two provinces. The rates of Hoa Binh and Son La provinces were also five times higher than the national average rate (0.06%).

An inspection team led by Mai Van Trinh, head of the Authority of Examination and Quality Management under the MoET, revealed that 64 contestants (of them 63 students from the 2018 entrance exam and one from 2017) had their test results falsified.

Trinh stressed that this is a very serious infringement that distorted the test results and caused serious impact on the society.

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