Son La candidates' exam scores show signs of interference

At 10:30 p.m. on July 21, Mr. Mai Van Trinh, Director of the Department of Quality Management - Head of the working group of the Ministry of Education and Training, went to verify the unusual signs in the exam scores of candidates in Son La province and shared the initial results of the work.

"There were some violations of exam regulations, especially in the marking stage. Among them, there were signs of interference that changed the exam results of candidates," said Mr. Trinh.

A representative of the Ministry of Education said that the Ministry of Public Security and the Son La Provincial Police have presided over the investigation of violations in this locality. The Ministry's working group is evaluating a number of Literature exam papers.

There is no information yet on which subjects will be assessed or the expected completion time. Mr. Trinh affirmed that "he will make every effort to have a final conclusion soon."

That same evening, a representative of the Internal Political Security Department (A83) - Ministry of Public Security confirmed that initial violations were discovered in the organization of the exam in Son La. This exam council had not strictly followed the procedures for marking, preserving, and sealing the exam papers. The steps of preparation for the exam supervision and marking "all had problems".

Previously, on July 18, from analyzing exam data and receiving information from public opinion, Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha signed a decision to establish a working group to Son La to verify irregularities in exam scores. The working group, including officials from the Department of Quality Management, the Ministry of Education Inspectorate, and A83 of the Ministry of Public Security, arrived in Son La on the afternoon of July 19 and worked through the night.

The mountainous province of Son La has more than 10,300 candidates taking the national high school exam, with an average score of 4.21 for all subjects, the lowest in the country. The average score for Math, Geography, and Civic Education is last among 63 provinces and cities; Foreign Languages ​​and Physics are 62nd; Literature, Chemistry, and History are 61st, and Biology is 51st.

However, the percentage of Son La candidates scoring 9 or higher in Math and Physics is far higher than some localities with a tradition of good learning. In Math alone, Son La has 30 students scoring 9 or higher in Math, accounting for nearly 0.3%. Meanwhile, this percentage in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Nam Dinh is 0.04; 0.1 and 0.06 respectively.

In Physics, Son La had 13 students scoring 9 or higher, accounting for 0.97% of the total of nearly 1,340 candidates taking the exam. Meanwhile, with 37 times more exam papers (49,680), Ho Chi Minh City only had 39 students scoring 9 or higher, accounting for about 0.08%, 12 times less than Son La.

In the list of 11 candidates with the highest scores in the country, Son La has a female student with two 10s in History and English.

Responding to the press on July 19, Director of Son La Department of Education - Mr. Hoang Tien Duc affirmed that the entire process of organizing and grading exams in the locality was strictly implemented, without any irregularities. The students' exam scores were higher than last year "thanks to the efforts of teachers and students themselves".