Director of Nghe An Department of Education and Training: Ensuring the best conditions for the High School Graduation Exam

Before the exam took place, Nghe An Newspaper interviewed Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh - Director of the Department of Education and Training, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Steering Committee for the 2022 High School Graduation Exam about the preparation work and new points of this year's exam.

Don't be subjective in the preparation process.

PV:The high school graduation exam is an exam held annually nationwide. Although the nature does not change, the organization form does not have many fluctuations, but the common saying every exam season is "do not be subjective so that the exam can take place in the most normal way". So how has Nghe An province prepared for this exam this year, sir?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:According to the summary, Nghe An province has nearly 37,000 candidates registered for the 2022 High School Graduation Exam, making it one of the provinces with the highest number of candidates in the country, after Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Thanh Hoa. To organize this year's exam, Nghe An has arranged 69 exam sites, located at 68 high schools and 1 middle school in 21 districts, cities, and towns, with up to 2,600 exam rooms.

In addition, waiting rooms have been arranged at the examination sites, each examination site has at least 1 spare examination room to organize the examination for F0 candidates if they wish to take the exam. Nghe An mobilized more than 5,300 staff to perform the examination supervision work. Up to this point, it can be said that the preparation for the exam has been basically completed in terms of facilities and mobilizing human resources to participate in the examination supervision, examination services, and building plans to ensure safety at the exams.

Review time of teachers and students of Boarding High School for Ethnic Minorities No. 2. Photo: My Ha

In preparation for this year's exam, Nghe An has also established a provincial Steering Committee and Mr. Bui Dinh Long - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee will be the Head of the Provincial Steering Committee for the 2022 High School Graduation Exam. The Head of the Steering Committee has also assigned and assigned specific tasks to each member.

In addition, relevant provincial and district agencies, departments, and branches have issued full guidance and direction documents on the preparation and implementation of the exam. The province has also issued a directive on strengthening direction and coordination in organizing the 2022 High School Graduation Exam and university and vocational education admissions.

Nghe An is a province with a large number of candidates, a large number of whom are from mountainous districts, living far from their families, with extremely difficult living and accommodation conditions. In the past, in preparation for the High School Graduation Exam, schools have made efforts to "keep" students in school, focusing on reviewing for candidates. Before the exam, localities also reviewed, made lists and had plans to support candidates in difficult circumstances, families with preferential policies, students with disabilities; candidates residing in areas affected by natural disasters and did not let any candidates drop out of the exam due to economic or travel difficulties.

In addition, Nghe An Provincial Youth Union has also developed a plan and mobilized members to form "Exam Support Teams" to support candidates in traveling and accommodation. This is also a meaningful activity that has been maintained by Nghe An for many years and has left many beautiful impressions in the hearts of parents and students.

Instructions for students to register online at Nguyen Truong To High School. Photo: My Ha

PV:In a recent working session with the Examination Steering Committee of Nghe An province, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son said that a successful exam must meet three requirements: safe exam questions, honest exam questions, accurately reflecting students' learning outcomes, and reliable results - accurately reflecting candidates' work. So, with the first requirement, how has Nghe An prepared to ensure the printing, transportation, and storage of exam questions and papers are safe?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:Printing, transporting and preserving exam papers and test papers are always the top concerns in all exams. Up to this point, the Department of Education and Training has coordinated with the Provincial Police to select a location to print and copy exam papers to ensure safety and confidentiality in accordance with current exam regulations. In addition, the arrangement of personnel for printing and copying is also ensured in accordance with regulations. The processes from printing, transporting, handing over exam papers, preserving exam papers and test papers are all protected and monitored by the police force.

Instructions for students to register online at high school. Photo: My Ha

To ensure absolute safety for this work, the Department also requires all examination sites to fully prepare facilities, equipment, and means for the exam and develop a plan to ensure safety at the examination sites. At each examination site, there is 1 cabinet for storing exam papers, 1 cabinet for storing exam papers that are safe and secure, with 24/7 surveillance cameras. Immediately after the final exam is completed, the District Examination Steering Committee will arrange vehicles for the examination site head and security police to transport the exam papers according to regulations. All rooms containing exam papers are sealed.

In order to prepare for the exam to take place smoothly, safely, and in accordance with regulations, the Department has organized training for all forces participating in inspection and examination. In addition, the provincial police also trained the forces participating in the High School Graduation Exam on the exam regulations, especially on preventing high-tech cheating devices.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training inspects preparations for the High School Graduation Exam at the exam site of Le Viet Thuat High School. Photo: My Ha

Create a good mindset for candidates

PV:Sir, the High School Graduation Exam is one of the most important exams, recording the results of 12 years of general education of students. The Ministry's view is that the exam will be increasingly stable to limit pressure on candidates. Particularly this year, how is the exam organized and what are the new features?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:The 2022 high school graduation exam is still chaired by the Department of Education and Training and has university officials and lecturers participating in inspection and testing at all stages.

This year, the Ministry's policy is that the 2022 High School Graduation Exam will be organized basically the same as in 2021. The exam content is within the current high school education program, mainly the 12th grade program; not including the streamlined content to serve teaching and learning to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic as announced by the Ministry.

The exam is designed to ensure that it meets the requirements and purposes of the High School Graduation Exam, which is to assess the learning outcomes of learners according to the educational objectives of the general education program; to use the exam results to consider recognition of high school graduation and to serve as a basis for assessing the quality of teaching and learning in high schools as well as the direction of educational management agencies.

Review session of students at Kim Lien High School (Nam Dan). Photo: My Ha

The 2022 enrollment plan will basically remain stable as in 2021, however, there will be some expected adjustments. That is, registration for the High School Graduation Exam and University and College admission must be done on the Ministry's information portal and the National Public Service Portal. All candidates' admission wishes to schools are filtered together on the system and candidates are admitted to the highest wish when meeting the school's conditions.

In my opinion, these changes create more convenience and fairness for candidates in the process of registering and enrolling in universities. Through the implementation in Nghe An, candidates are all proficient in registering on the software of the Ministry. In addition, although this year the registration for admission is later than previous years, the time for candidates to think, choose, and change their wishes will help candidates have more advantages in choosing schools, majors, and careers in the future.

PV:As we all know, the 2021-2022 school year is a particularly difficult year for the education sector, especially for final year candidates. So, in order to prepare candidates well, what guidance and support has the Department of Education and Training provided to help candidates study and review effectively?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:Since mid-April, the Department has issued a document guiding revision. In particular, it requires schools to review the curriculum of subjects/educational activities for the 2021-2022 school year according to the school's educational plan. In addition, there are solutions to supplement knowledge and skills for students affected by the Covid-19 epidemic so that they can participate in year-end tests and assessments.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training inspects exam preparation. Photo: My Ha

This school year, there is another point that the Department implements quality assurance, ensures general education and will evaluate the output standards of schools. The Department has also assigned responsibility to each specialist in charge of each subject. If any subject does not achieve the set results, the average score is not equal to the average score of the previous exam, the quality does not improve, then the individual must take responsibility. We also assign responsibility to the leaders of the schools and each principal must also be responsible for the learning outcomes of the students. Therefore, the preparation forhigh school graduation examThis year is not just a review time but a whole process.

In order to help 12th grade students review and take mock tests for the High School Graduation Exam, this school year the Department has also built a question bank according to the structure of the high school graduation exam of the Ministry of Education and Training and used the LMS system to organize online review and mock tests for 12th grade students in the whole province. Therefore, at any time, any day, candidates can take the mock test completely free of charge. After the mock test, the units analyze the mock test results for each subject and each student to have a form of advice for students to review, practice test-taking skills, and continue to use the system to self-study in the remaining time before the exam day.

With this full preparation, I hope candidates will be calm, confident, and have a solid mindset to enter the exam and achieve the highest results.

PV:In addition to the university admission method based on high school graduation exam results, this year many universities have added many other admission methods. Many universities use the results of competency assessment tests from Hanoi National University, Ho Chi Minh City National University, and University of Technology. So, in the coming years, what changes will the education sector make in teaching and learning to adapt to the new admission methods, sir?

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh:We know that from the next school year, 10th graders will study according to a new program to develop their abilities. Therefore, I think that in the coming years, the organization of graduation exams will also be adjusted to develop students' abilities and be consistent with the current university entrance exam format.

PV:Thank you Professor Thai Van Thanh!