Among the three suspects taken into custody is Dang Huu Thuy (right) - Deputy Principal of To Hieu High School, Son La City. Photo:Minh Hoang.

Those who had previously received training and possessed the expertise to update exam scores into the Ministry's common software were prosecuted and arrested. To secure personnel, the Department had to transfer a specialist from the secondary education department and request the Ministry to provide rapid "training." Furthermore, a deputy director of the department had to take on this task as well.

1. In Son La, in connection with the exam cheating case, the Security Investigation Agency of the Son La Provincial Police has prosecuted 7 defendants, including a deputy director of the Son La Provincial Department of Education and Training; a head of department, a specialist in the Examination and Quality Management Department; a deputy principal of To Hieu High School, and a deputy head of the Political and Ideological Department of the Son La Provincial Department of Education and Training. Thus, 5 people from the education sector alone have been prosecuted. The director of the Son La Provincial Department of Education and Training is also about to retire.

2. In Ha Giang, the police have prosecuted five suspects in connection with exam cheating. Among them are two deputy directors of the Ha Giang Department of Education and Training. The director of the Ha Giang Department of Education and Training has also recently retired.

Furthermore, while the case was still under investigation, the Son La Department of Education and Training faced a serious personnel crisis when a deputy director allegedly had a child on the list of those whose scores were inflated. The Inspection Department of the Son La Department of Education and Training had three staff members, but the head of the department was also allegedly a child on the list of those whose scores were inflated, the deputy head had retired, leaving only one specialist.

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Education and Training, officials and specialists in the sector, even those whose children are only believed to be on the list of those whose scores were inflated, are not allowed to participate in training or any organizational aspects of the national high school graduation exam.

In Ha Giang, the police have prosecuted five suspects in connection with exam cheating. Among them are two deputy directors of the Ha Giang Department of Education and Training. The director of the Ha Giang Department of Education and Training has also recently retired.

With the national high school graduation exam approaching, the fact that key personnel for the exam in these localities are being prosecuted, arrested, or retiring will pose a significant challenge for the education sector.

Trust has been affected.NVH is a first-year student at a university in Hanoi. H. is from Son La and took the 2018 national high school graduation exam. During the recent holiday, H. went back to Son La to visit, and she said that there seemed to be a lot of buzz and rumors everywhere about students being rejected by universities.

H. said that her classmates had a lot of fun studying and taking the exam. She heard from her classmates at Son La Specialized High School that when the exam results were announced, some suspected that high-scoring students had cheated, and these students even spoke out against the accusations.

But now, after being sent back from police academies, these students have even locked their Facebook accounts.However, according to H., the resentment she and her classmates felt after taking the exam has only been partially relieved. The disadvantages they have suffered since the exam are still far from over.

"The negative impacts and consequences of cheating cannot be erased simply by expelling a student."

H. said.

Among the 44 candidates from her province whose scores were boosted, H. knew some were independent candidates, meaning they were her older classmates. One of them, who failed the 2017 exam and had studied Geography at a specialized school in Son La, scored exceptionally high in 2018, even though the exam was in subjects unrelated to his specialized subject.

According to H., among the candidates who were rejected, only NDA decided to study abroad, while some others said they were determined to take the exam again in 2019.

Reportedly, among the 25 candidates from Son La who were forced to drop out of police training schools, 12 were conscripted police officers, meaning they were independent candidates.

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