Safe and serious.

(Baonghean) - After nearly two days, the first phase of the 2014 university and college entrance exams has concluded. This phase of the exam in the Vinh examination cluster was conducted seriously, objectively, and in accordance with regulations, with no incidents occurring…

Candidates complete the necessary procedures before entering the final exam at the examination site. Vinh University. Photo: Nguyen Khoa

The exam is highly selective.

Chemistry and English were the last two subjects in the A and A1 exam blocks. It wasn't until the 85th minute, with only about 5 minutes left, that a few candidates began leaving the exam center at Huynh Thuc Khang High School. As soon as they exited the school gate, all of them were greeted with applause from the volunteer students of Huynh Thuc Khang High School, who formed two long lines. While the specific results were still unknown, this warm welcome truly moved many of the candidates.

Candidate Vuong Kha Phieu, a 12th-grade student from Ly Tu Trong High School (Ha Tinh City), taking the entrance exam for the Banking Academy, was one of the first candidates to leave early and received much attention from parents. Phieu herself was quite relaxed, confidently stating that she answered over 40 out of 50 questions on the Chemistry exam, including the difficult, differentiating questions. Commenting on this year's exam, Phieu said: "The exam was of moderate difficulty, quite good, with many highly applicable questions requiring candidates to not only grasp the theory but also understand practical situations, such as questions in the field of medicine. Regarding the differentiating questions, the inorganic chemistry sections were quite difficult. However, with good overall knowledge, it was still possible to answer them because they were all within the 12th-grade Chemistry curriculum."

At this same examination center, many candidates applying to the University of Labor and Social Affairs also completed their English exam with cheerful and optimistic spirits. According to candidate Hoang Thi Quynh Trang, this year's English exam was quite long but not too difficult. However, she was a little confused in the reading comprehension section, which dealt with scientific topics, including some areas she was unfamiliar with, such as radio. Some others suggested that if time allowed, the reading comprehension section could be easily answered by carefully reading the sentences, as the ideas between them were interconnected.

On the morning of the final exam day, the weather was milder, so at many exam locations, many parents brought their luggage so they could go home immediately after the exam ended, partly to save money. Many parents confided in us that, although very worried, they were no longer as anxious as in the previous days, only hoping their children would do their best on the exam. Whether they win or lose, succeed or fail, luck is only a part of it; the results of 12 years of schooling already reflect their children's success. Some were optimistic, thinking, "If we lose this round, we'll try again," meaning if they don't get into university, they can go to college or vocational school... Taking advantage of this mindset, at some exam locations, after the last exam, many universities and colleges came to distribute flyers and registration forms.

On the last day, Mr. Phung Quang Minh, Team Leader of the Truong Thi Ward Youth Volunteer Team, returned to the ward's health station to visit the mother and son of disabled candidate Nguyen Xuan Hoang and five other families who had been provided free accommodation during the exam period. Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung from Nghia Dan shared: “After the first phase, my son and I will continue our journey to Hue for the second phase of the exam. It will probably be even more difficult there because it's a foreign land. I just hope to continue meeting the enthusiastic volunteers like we did back home.” The sincere gratitude of the people made the volunteers working in the “Exam Support” program feel relieved and relieved of the worries they had been experiencing for the past week. The image of nearly 1700 young volunteers at the Vinh exam cluster left a positive impression on the candidates and their parents during their time in Vinh City for the exams.

Candidates were overjoyed after completing their final exam. Photo: Nguyen Khoa

Serious, safe, and in accordance with regulations.

According to the Vinh examination cluster report, at the end of the first phase of the 2014 university and college entrance exam, in 835 examination rooms across more than 41 examination centers in Vinh, only one candidate taking the exam for Vinh University was disqualified. This confirms that this year's exam was conducted seriously, safely, and in accordance with regulations. During the exam, although an incident occurred involving the leaking of the math exam questions on Facebook just one hour into the exam, thanks to the intervention of the Vinh examination cluster's invigilation council and the PA 83 police force of the Provincial Police, the matter was quickly verified and confirmed to be the 2011 math exam.

Evaluating the results achieved after the first exam session, Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Xuan Khoa, Rector of Vinh University and Chairman of the Vinh Cluster Examination Board, said: In the first session, Vinh University arranged sufficient examination rooms for 41 examination points belonging to 8 clusters and 7 affiliated points. The facilities of the schools are all multi-story buildings with secure fences, clean restrooms, adequate lighting and fans, and no examination points experienced any power or water supply problems.

Furthermore, Vinh University also did a good job preparing documents for the examination supervision, promptly adjusting any unreasonable aspects in the arrangement of invigilators and cluster leaders at the examination sites. Personnel preparations were thorough, with nearly 2,400 staff members assigned to invigilation duties. The invigilators were students who received full professional training and underwent evaluation before being selected. Security at the examination sites and during the transportation of exam papers and answer sheets were ensured and implemented in accordance with the Ministry's regulations. In addition, the Inspection Team from the Ministry of Education and Training, in collaboration with the Vinh examination cluster's Inspection Team, conducted effective inspections, detecting no cheating or use of cheat sheets. Some invigilators or staff members who did not comply with regulations were promptly reminded and corrected. As the head of the examination center at Nguyen Truong To High School and having delegated the examination supervision duties to Vinh University for three years, Mr. Tran Van Thang, Vice Rector of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, assessed: "Despite the heavy workload of simultaneously managing the examinations for nearly 20,000 candidates from 68 universities nationwide, Vinh University has done a good job of preparation. We are completely reassured. Nearly 400 more candidates from our university will continue to take the exam at the Vinh examination center in the second phase."

In the upcoming second phase, the number of candidates will decrease to approximately 15,000 compared to the first phase. However, the Vinh examination cluster steering committee has determined that this will be a complex and challenging exam due to the large number of examination centers, multiple subject groups, and numerous essay-based subjects. Therefore, immediately after the first phase concluded, during the summary evaluation, representatives from universities and colleges expressed concerns about invigilation, the time allocated for exam paper distribution and completion, the use of scratch paper for candidates, and the posting of excess exam papers. Learning from these shortcomings, Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Xuan Khoa stated: After the first phase, the Vinh examination cluster invigilation council will review all invigilators, and only those who performed well in the first phase will be selected again. Furthermore, it is requested that family members and candidates pay close attention during the second phase, prohibiting the use of any materials or mobile phones. Ideally, we should avoid repeating regrettable mistakes that negatively impact the results and efforts of the candidates throughout their 12 years of high school.

My Ha