Let's handle the score-fixing by football rules!

When a student “study hard” and pass the exam, people say that “a carp turns into a dragon”. If that student fails, they are encouraged that “studying is talent, taking the exam is fate”. Because to get good results in the exam, in addition to effort, it also depends on many factors, including luck. It was like that in the past, and it is still like that now, but the word “fate” has changed its meaning.

The valedictorian of the Army Officers Academy I in Hoa Binh got 28.2 points (Math 9.2, Physics 9, Chemistry 9.25 + regional score) but the assessment score was (Math 1, Physics 0, Chemistry 0). This is truly a "talented soldier", if he can't fill in a single 80-question multiple choice test correctly, no bomb or bullet can hit him.

Another “future teacher” in Hoa Binh, a double valedictorian of Hanoi Pedagogical University from Hoa Binh, had her score raised by 14.85 points. And there are many other “rich kids” who were at the peak of their glory but suddenly returned to the dead end. The pain and heartache is that most of these candidates were targeted to study in fields such as the Army, Police, Medicine...

In recent days, public opinion has been "heated" by the announcement of the Ministry of Education and Training's assessment scores for questionable exams in some provinces. The result is that 114 candidates in Ha Giang with more than 330 exams had their scores increased. Hoa Binh had 63 candidates in 2018 and 1 candidate in 2017 with 140 exams had their scores increased. Son La had 44 candidates with 95 multiple choice exams and 2 Literature exams had their scores altered.

We feel pain and regret for the candidates who were robbed of the fairness and transparency of a national exam. We are even more shocked and hurt when we learn that some parents whose children had their scores raised are “comrades” holding high and important positions in some localities.

It is understandable that public opinion is questioning whether this is the first time such a "earth-shattering" score-raising incident has occurred? Or is this just the first case to be discovered? And how should this incident be handled to avoid negative consequences in the education sector in particular and society in general in the future?

Personally, from the perspective of a sports reporter, if the National High School Exam were a football tournament, this would be no different from an organized case of "match-fixing, match-fixing, and score-fixing". In addition to the solutions that the authorities are implementing, should this case be handled according to the Football Law of FIFA and the Vietnam Football Federation - VFF?

VFF's disciplinary regulations clearly state in Articles 54 and 55: When a match is found to be fixed (collusion, points giving, match-fixing...), a fine of 50 to 100 million VND will be considered. And if "Betting, match-fixing, betting brokerage, gambling related to football" is found, "participation in football activities will be banned for a period of time or permanently".

Once the investigation finds out which subjects "colluded, raised scores, ran scores" or were involved in the "match-fixing, match-fixing" case in the National High School Exam, it is clear that the parents of those "rich kids" cannot be innocent.

In the US, public opinion was also shaken by the score-fixing scheme to get into prestigious universities such as Georgetown, Yale, and Stanford. When the case was brought to light, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) prosecuted the cheating parents for bribery. In addition to being fined millions of dollars, those involved in the score-fixing scheme to get into US universities, if convicted, could face up to 20 years in prison.

It seems that the Americans have soon applied the “match-fixing” law in football to handle these cases to promote fairplay, honesty and nobility. And Vietnam?