What were the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Education recommended after the exam cheating meeting?

On the afternoon of April 23, the National Assembly's Committee on Culture, Education, Youth and Children had a working session with the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Public Security on the issue of handling violations in the 2018 national high school exam and preparations for the 2019 national high school exam.

Overview of the working session. Photo: National Assembly Electronic Information Portal.

This morning, April 24, Mr. Phan Viet Luong (Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and Children) informed VietNamNet about the content of this working session.

Accordingly, the written reports of the two ministries are mostly information that has been published in the press.

The Ministry of Education and Training has reported on the number of candidates and the number of exam papers discovered to have had their scores altered or raised in the three provinces of Hoa Binh, Son La, and Ha Giang.

The Ministry of Public Security said that finding the original test scores is very difficult and complicated. Currently, the investigation agency has only been able to restore the scores because the test was multiple choice, so it is not known which circle belongs to the student and which circle belongs to the person who corrected the test.

Propose that the Ministry of Education and Training fully review the candidates involved, adjust the regulations, and strictly punish the leader.

According to Mr. Luong, after listening to the explanatory report and based on the opinions expressed, the Standing Committee of the Committee made specific recommendations to the ministries.

Specifically, with the Ministry of Education and Training, the Committee proposed to review and summarize all candidates related to the score correction.

In addition to the 12 candidates in Hoa Binh and Son La whose real scores are still enough to pass the entrance exam and are continuing to study, it is necessary to fully count the number of candidates, including Ha Giang province.

"The Ministry of Education and Training must have a firm grasp of the number of these subjects, so that if there is fraud, it will be handled strictly and completely, without leaving anyone behind," said Mr. Luong.

At the same time, the Committee also requested the Ministry of Education and Training to review and compare regulations for candidates such as the use of illegal graduation certificates, and evaluate how to implement them for students with real scores but meeting the standard score and currently studying.

The Committee basically agrees with the explanation of the Ministry of Education and Training that the students will still be allowed to study for the time being. After the investigation results are available, the final decision will be made based on that and other regulations.

Mr. Phan Viet Luong: "The Ministry of Public Security must support and participate with local units to ensure fairness among provinces." Photo: Thuy Nga

Along with that, the Committee also requested the Ministry to review, amend and supplement the examination regulations accordingly, overcome and handle violations related to cheating scores like the 2018 exam to ensure fairness. It is possible to study regulations related to parents and relatives.

"The regulations must be adjusted so that in case parents or relatives are found to have altered scores, the results can be canceled, regardless of whether the candidate's actual score is enough to pass or not," said Mr. Luong.

In particular, the Committee also requested the Ministry to coordinate with agencies in handling the responsibility of heads of units that allow violations to occur. For example, if the deputy director of the Department of Education and Training, the head of the examination department, or a specialist violates the law and is prosecuted, the responsibility of the director of that department must also be considered.

According to Mr. Luong, it is necessary to rectify violations in the education sector to deter other places when the 2019 national high school exam is approaching. Requesting the Ministry of Public Security to speed up the progress and soon announce the investigation results. Regarding the Ministry of Public Security, Mr. Luong said that the Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children requested to speed up the progress and soon announce the investigation results.

"Like in Ha Giang, the investigation time has been quite long, more than 9 months, so it must be completed soon and announced to the public."

Request the Ministry of Public Security to clarify whether or not bribes were given and received.

The Committee also noted that the Ministry of Public Security must investigate and clarify the violations and violators, especially those of parents and relatives in positions of authority, to protect the reputation and promote the exemplary role of Party members and officials.

“Are there people who abuse their positions and power; are there people who give and receive bribes? The investigation agency must pay special attention to this result,” Mr. Luong said.

The Committee also suggested that attention should be paid to ensuring fairness in investigations between provinces. Currently, in some provinces, the Ministry's security investigation agency is involved, but in others, the local authorities themselves do it. The Ministry of Public Security must support and participate with local units to ensure fairness between provinces.

“We need to be proactive, not allowing any cover-up, bias, or pressure to affect the investigation results. The two ministries must always be proactive in explaining and providing full information for public opinion to monitor and supervise, ensuring objectivity and accuracy in the handling process,” said Mr. Luong.