More than 300 multiple choice tests in Ha Giang had their scores altered.

The press conference is over.As the last person to speak at the press conference, Mr. Vu Van Su, Director of the Ha Giang Department of Education, said: "We have a great responsibility to the people of Ha Giang. Immediately after discovering the incident, we took action with a determined spirit, working day and night in a short time to come to a final conclusion. We try our best to give real results, creating trust for candidates and parents. When we clarify, we will take responsibility to the extent of our responsibility."

Mr. Vu Van Su, Director of Ha Giang Department of Education. Photo:Duong Tam

14:05:"This is a painful lesson for Ha Giang"

Vice Chairman Tran Van Ong Quy shared that when the Ministry of Education announced the exam scores, he was very happy because the scores were high but worried whether they were real or not. "When I learned the truth, I was very sad. However, we have returned the real scores to the candidates, as expected by the people of Ha Giang and the whole country. This is a painful lesson for Ha Giang education," he said.

Mr. Tran Duc Quy, Vice Chairman of Ha Giang province.

According to Mr. Quy, with the support of the Ministry of Education, the Department is correcting the violations. Currently, the Department has replaced all the assessment scores for the scores announced on July 11, which does not affect candidates' registration for the entrance exam on July 19.

"The responsibility of the Ha Giang Examination Council, the Director of the Department of Education... when we clarify, we will handle it accordingly, not hide it. If parents fix scores for their children, when there are accurate results, there will be a final conclusion," he said.

14:00:'The incident in Ha Giang is ugly, but that doesn't change the national high school exam'

Mr. Mai Van Trinh informed that the whole country has gone through 4 years of organizing the national high school exam with two goals: graduation and university and college admission. Since 2017, the Ministry has started organizing multiple-choice exams, except for Literature, following a very strict process, in coordination with universities.

In 2018, the Ministry added technical solutions to enhance security and accuracy, such as sealing the exam bags with thin stamps and signatures of the invigilators and deputy heads of the exam sites. In Ha Giang, inspections also found no exam bags that had been opened in advance.

The exam plan has been relaxed, reducing pressure and costs, and the vast majority of people consider the exam extremely serious. "The incident in Ha Giang is an extremely ugly thing, but because of that black spot, we will not change the exam, which is evaluated lightly and supported by everyone. Of course, in the following years, the Ministry of Education will make adjustments to make the exam better," said Mr. Trinh.

13:55:"I take responsibility," said Vice Chairman of Ha Giang.

Mr. Tran Duc Quy, Vice Chairman of Ha Giang presented: "As the head of the exam steering committee, I accept responsibility. There are things we cannot control despite our strong direction, due to lack of expertise and lack of expertise, which has created loopholes. The motive of Deputy Head of Department Luong is not pure."

When asked how many children of provincial leaders took the exam, Mr. Quy said that there were many candidates, but "I don't think any leader said that my child had to go to a certain university. If there were any mistakes, where they were, and how they were handled, we will continue to clarify and respond to public opinion."

Regarding the handling of officer Luong's responsibility, Mr. Quy affirmed that after the final conclusion of the police, if prosecution is required, it will be prosecuted, if dismissal is required, it will be dismissed...

13:50:It only took Mr. Luong 6 seconds to edit a case.

Mr. Nguyen Cao Khuong, Deputy Head of Department 4, A83 of the Ministry of Public Security, a member of the working group, informed about the process of scanning multiple-choice test papers every year that Mr. Vu Trong Luong was directly in charge of and he used a computer to scan. Mr. Luong downloaded all the data to his computer, there were many phone numbers sent back and entered the scores according to those phone numbers... 6 seconds for one case to edit the score for a candidate.

The inspection process of the Ministry and the Department is not strict enough when Mr. Luong handles all the candidates' exams while the supervisory board members sit there. The participating members basically do not understand the operation, so this process is bypassed by Mr. Luong.

Mr. Nguyen Cao Khuong.

Mr. Luong had time from 12:00 to 14:38 on June 27 to move all the boxes of multiple choice test papers and computers to the Examination Room. During these 2 hours, he opened the sealed lock, took the papers out of his bag and corrected the answers.

No individual has been found to have coordinated with Mr. Luong during those two hours. Mr. Luong’s computer still has the 2017 exam score data and serves the investigation of the working group (Mr. Luong voluntarily handed over the computer to the working group). After receiving comments from the Minister of Education, the authorities will continue to investigate.

13:44:Deputy Head of the Department of Examinations intervened in the exam

"The act of raising the candidates' scores during the exam marking process is a very serious violation of the exam regulations. Verification shows that Mr. Vu Trong Luong, Deputy Head of the Examination and Quality Management Department of the Ha Giang Department of Education, directly interfered with the candidates' results. The authorities are continuing to investigate, clarify, and consolidate the records to handle the individuals involved," said Director Mai Van Trinh.

13:42:All multiple choice exams have their scores altered.

The results of the assessment show that the candidates’ test results are basically unchanged. However, many exams have lower assessment results than the announced results. Specifically as follows:

- There are 102 Math exams that have increased from 1 to 8 points (the assessed score is 1; the announced score is 9).

- There are 85 Physics exams that have increased from 1 to 7.75 points (the assessed score is 1; the announced score is 8.75).

- There are 56 Chemistry exams that have increased from 1 to 8.75 points (the assessed score is 0.75; the announced score is 9.5).

- There are 8 Biology exams that have increased from 1 to 4.25 points (the assessed score is 4.75; the announced score is 9).

- There are 9 History exams that have increased from 1 to 7.25 points (the assessed score is 2.5; the announced score is 9.75).

- There are 3 Geography exams that have increased from 1.25 to 3 points (the assessed score is 6; the announced score is 9).

- There are 52 English tests that have increased from 1.4 to 7.8 points (the assessed score is 1.2; the announced score is 9).

There were a total of 114 candidates, with more than 330 exams, whose announced total scores were more than 1 point higher than the assessed score. Many candidates had total scores that were more than 20 points higher than the assessed score. Some candidates had their total scores increased by up to 26.8 points, even 29.95 points higher than the assessed score.

The assessment also shows that some exams have scores that are 0.2 to 1.0 points higher than the announced scores. In particular, there are 3 Civic Education exams with scores that are 5.75 points higher than the announced scores.

13:40:102 Math exams with different scores than actual

Director Mai Van Trinh.

On July 15, the Ministry of Education established a review board. The results showed that the candidates' test results basically did not change, but many tests had higher scores than the actual scores. There were 102 Math tests with a difference of 1 to 8 points, meaning that the score was 1 point but the announced score was 9 points. There were 85 Physics tests with a difference of 1 to 7.75 points.

In particular, there was a candidate whose total score was increased by 26.8 points compared to the assessed score. The Council decided that the assessed score results would be used to replace all previously assessed scores. These results would be used to consider high school graduation and university, college, and intermediate school admission according to regulations.

13:35:Literature subject results are accurate, no cheating

At the beginning of the press conference, Director Mai Van Trinh informed that after public opinion reflected irregularities in the exam scores of Ha Giang, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Security stepped in. On July 13, the Ministry of Education established a working group to direct the inspection and verification of irregularities in Ha Giang, including members of the two ministries.

Results of the essay test in Literature, comparing test results, score reports, results are completely accurate.

The multiple-choice test, confirming that the original scanned data before July 3 is still intact and not replaced, but the scores of some candidates are unusually high. Ha Giang has requested to review all multiple-choice tests in this province.

13:30: Press conference begins

The press conference was chaired by representatives of the Ministry of Education - Director of the Department of Education Quality Management Mai Van Trinh; Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Chairman of the Ha Giang Examination Council Tran Duc Quy.

Director of the Department of Education Vu Van Su and other professional staff were also present. About 30 local and central newspapers and radio stations came to report.