Irregularities in the national high school graduation exam scores in Ha Giang.

Statistics from the 2018 National High School Graduation Examination show that the average scores for all nine subjects in the mountainous border province of Ha Giang were among the lowest in the country. Specifically, Mathematics, Biology, Geography, and Civic Education ranked 62nd; Physics and Chemistry ranked 59th;Literature, Foreign Languages, and History are ranked last.

However, the number of students scoring 9 or higher in science subjects was unusually high. Ha Giang had 57 students with such high scores.MathsStudents scoring 9 or higher accounted for over 1% of the total number of test-takers (5,430). Meanwhile, localities with a tradition of strong performance in natural sciences such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Nam Dinh had significantly lower rates of high scores in Mathematics.

Specifically, Ho Chi Minh City has 14 times more candidates taking the Math exam (78,030) but only 32 exam centers.Those aged 9 and above account for 0.04%. This rate is only 0.1% and 0.59% in Hanoi and Nam Dinh, respectively.

The number of failing grades in Mathematics (from 0 to less than 1) in Ha Giang is very low, only 22 points, accounting for 0.4%. In contrast, Ho Chi Minh City has 538 failing grades (accounting for 0.68%), and Hanoi has 41 failing grades.

Compared to 2017, the number of failing grades in Ha Giang remained unchanged, but the number of grades of 9 and above increased 2.59 times.

Meanwhile, this year's national high school math exam was assessed by students and teachers as being longer and more difficult than in previous years. Across the country, only 2 students achieved a perfect score of 10 in math, while 640 students scored 9.

In the subjectPhysicsIn Ha Giang, 65 candidates scored 9 or higher, accounting for 6.7% of the total number of candidates. The number of failing scores was only 1 (0.1%). This is in stark contrast to the results in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Specifically, Ho Chi Minh City has 283 times more failing scores than Ha Giang (nearly 0.6%), but the percentage of scores of 9 or higher is 95.7 times lower. Similarly, Ha Giang has 23 times more high scores than Hanoi.

Compare the percentage of Physics scores in Ha Giang, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Nam Dinh.

SubjectChemistryIn Ha Giang, the percentage of candidates scoring 9 points or higher is 6.3%, which is many times higher than in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

These irregularities have led to public doubts about the accuracy of the national high school graduation exam results in Ha Giang, as well as the seriousness of the invigilation and grading process. Ha Giang is a mountainous province in the North, with over 80% of its population belonging to ethnic minorities such as the Mong, Tay, Dao, and Nung. Its remote location makes encouraging children to attend school very difficult.

Representing the Banking Academy – the school that co-organized the 2018 National High School Examination with Ha Giang province – Mr. Pham Quoc Khanh affirmed that the 200 faculty members from the school participating in invigilation, inspection, supervision, and serving as deputy heads of examination centers all acted seriously and in accordance with regulations. These are mostly personnel with many years of experience in invigilation and a high sense of responsibility throughout their time working at the school.

Before heading to Ha Giang to supervise the exams, the Banking Academy organized two thorough training sessions covering all aspects of the national high school graduation exam regulations, noting any changes. "We are confident that all staff and lecturers of the school will conduct the exams according to the correct procedures and regulations," Mr. Khanh said.

Compare the number of scores of 9 or higher in the 4 subjects across 5 localities.

In an interview with the press, Vu Van Su, Director of the Ha Giang Department of Education and Training, affirmed that the organization of the exams, invigilation, and grading were all conducted seriously and under the supervision of inspectors and PA83 (the relevant agency).

On the evening of July 12th, the Ministry of Education and Training issued a document requesting the Steering Committee for the 2018 National High School Examination in Ha Giang province to review all stages of the examination. The report must be submitted to the Ministry before July 17th.