Hoa Binh province announces that 5 officials have children whose scores were artificially inflated in the 2018 national high school graduation exam.

Five officials and Party members whose children received inflated scores in the 2018 national high school graduation exam are: Bui Van Thang (former Director of the Department of Transport), Tran Van Tiep (Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), Do Hai Ho (Director of the Department of Science and Technology), Nguyen Anh Tuan (Deputy Director of the Tax Department), and Pham Hong Hai (Director of Bao Viet Hoa Binh Company).

During the investigation, all the officials affirmed that they "did not interfere in raising their children's exam scores."

However, the Hoa Binh Provincial Party Committee's Inspection Committee stated that the official whose child received inflated exam scores violated regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training. Candidates using illegally inflated exam scores to register for universities and academies violated admission regulations. Therefore, the official whose child received inflated scores violated the regulations on exemplary conduct for officials and Party members issued by the Central Committee.

The Hoa Binh Provincial Party Committee's Inspection Committee has requested Party committees at all levels to consider and discipline the five aforementioned officials and Party members, and to report back before August 10th.

On July 31st, the Hoa Binh Provincial Party Committee's Inspection Committee proposed that the Standing Committee submit to the Provincial Party Committee a request to consider issuing a warning to Mr. Bui Van Cuu (Vice Chairman of the province, Head of the Steering Committee for the 2018 National High School Examination in the locality) for allowing irregularities to occur, such as inflating scores for 65 candidates.

Regarding the exam cheating scandal, Mr. Bui Trong Dac (Director of the Department of Education and Training, Deputy Head of the Examination Steering Committee, Chairman of the 2018 National High School Examination Council of Hoa Binh province) has been recommended for dismissal. Mr. Nguyen Duc Luong (Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training) and Ms. Dinh Thi Huong (Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training) have been recommended for a warning. Colonel Nguyen Thanh (Deputy Director of the Provincial Police, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for the 2018 National High School Examination) has been recommended for a reprimand.

In the 2018 National High School Graduation Examination, Hoa Binh province had over 8,900 candidates. The results raised suspicions among the public due to the unusually high number of high scores. During the university admissions season, many candidates from Hoa Binh were admitted to police and military schools – schools with significantly higher admission scores than the general average.

On August 3, 2018, the Hoa Binh Provincial Police initiated a criminal case.Abusing one's position and authority while performing official duties.To investigate irregularities at the 2018 National High School Examination Council in the locality, the Security Investigation Agency (Ministry of Public Security) has so far prosecuted and detained 8 officials and teachers, including Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh (Head of the Examination and Quality Assurance Department) and Ms. Diep Thi Hong Lien (Deputy Head of the Department).

By March 12, 2019, the Ministry of Public Security had completed its investigation, and the Ministry of Education and Training announced the re-evaluation scores (re-scoring when there were doubts) of the candidates. The results showed 63 people...In 2018 and for one person in 2017, there were changes, with the re-evaluation scores decreasing compared to the published scores. Specifically, 56 candidates with 140 multiple-choice test papers had their scores changed by 0.2 to 9.25 points per subject.