Review basic knowledge for high school graduation exam students

(Baonghean) -Nghe An Newspaper had an interview with Dr. Thai Huy Vinh, Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Education and Training about preparations for the 2015 high school graduation exam.

Dr. Thai Huy Vinh had an interview at Nghe An Newspaper's studio about students' questions during this exam season.

Computer class at Quynh Luu 1 High School. Photo: Tran To

PV:Dear Dr. Thai Huy Vinh. Public opinion believes that this year's high school exam will be more convenient for teachers, students and the organization of the exam. So how exactly will it be convenient?

Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:For students, it will be more convenient because it will reduce the hassle, cumbersomeness, and expense due to fewer exams as well as the number of subjects they will take. As for the organization of the exam, the Department of Education and Training and staff and teachers will define the review as well as the goals to try to do well in the exam, creating the most favorable conditions for students.

Review time for 12B grade students, Tuong Duong 1 High School.

PV:Basically, how is this year's exam different from previous exams?

Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:This year's exam has many differences compared to previous years. First of all, the national high school exam replaces the high school graduation exam and the regular university and college entrance exam. Second, the organization of exam clusters has two forms: exam clusters chaired by universities in coordination with the Department of Education and Training and exam clusters chaired by the Department of Education and Training in coordination with schools. And many new points in the exam regulations have also changed, for example: no high school graduation is accepted, only passed or not passed.

PV:This year there is a new concept of national high school graduation exam clusters and local exam clusters. So can you tell us more about these two exam clusters?

Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:This year, in the province, candidates will participate in 1 of 2 exam clusters. The first exam cluster is chaired by Vinh University in coordination with the Department of Education and Training, which we call the national exam cluster. This exam cluster is for candidates who both want to take the exam to graduate from high school and also want to enter universities and colleges. For this exam cluster, candidates will gather at the center to take the exam. The second exam cluster is called the local exam cluster, chaired by the Director of the Department of Education and Training, in coordination with the school where the students registered to take the exam. This exam cluster is for candidates who only take the exam to recognize graduation, and do not want to enter universities and colleges. This exam cluster is organized at many local exam sites, to create favorable conditions for students to take the exam as soon as possible.

Candidates at Vinh University's exam site for the 2014 university and college entrance exam. Photo: Nguyen Khoa

PV:Can you tell us the main subjects applied in this year's exam and are there any differences between the high school graduation exam and the university and college entrance exam in the exam questions?

Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:The national high school exam has 8 subjects, including: Math, Literature, Foreign Language, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, History. Candidates who take the exam to graduate from high school will take 4 subjects including Math, Literature, Foreign Language and one elective subject from the remaining subjects. Students who wish to take the exam to enter university or college will choose a combination of subjects according to the requirements of the universities. This year's exam has 2 types: multiple choice and essay. There are subjects that are both essay and multiple choice such as Foreign Language. The content of the exam is in the high school program, mainly grade 12. The Ministry of Education and Training will not issue the exam structure but will issue sample exams, that is, the exam matrix, and it is expected that the sample exams will have 2 types of questions for students who only graduate and students who wish to take the exam to enter universities and colleges. Thus, the high school graduation exam results have 2 purposes. The first purpose is to consider high school graduation, the second purpose is to get data base for admission to universities and colleges.

PV:Yes, so how is the marking coordinated, Doctor?

Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:The marking work is stipulated in Articles 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 of the National High School Examination Regulations, including the examination area, the marking board, the essay marking, the multiple-choice marking, the test marking and possibly the inspection marking of the Ministry. Regarding the results, after the marking results are available, the Chairman of the Examination Council will send a report to the Ministry, and the Chairman of the Examination Council of the university examination cluster will send the results of the students taking the high school graduation exam to the Department so that the Departments have candidates taking the high school graduation exam. At the same time, those schools also send the certificate of exam results to the Departments, accordingly, each candidate wishing to be admitted to universities and colleges will receive 4 papers: the first paper is used to enroll the first wish; the remaining 3 papers are used to enroll additional wishes later.

PV:This year, there are students who have not taken the graduation exam last year or have had the results, but will register for the university entrance exam. How will the Department arrange for them to participate in this exam?

Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:The concept of independent candidates has also changed this year. The first group of independent candidates are students who have completed the high school program but have not yet taken the graduation exam, or have taken the graduation exam but have not passed in previous years. When registering for these groups, the Department will have an official dispatch guiding them to register at high schools and continuing education centers in the province to create the most convenient conditions for them to register, with confirmation from the local authorities. The second group are those who have already graduated from high school or graduated from vocational secondary school, professional secondary school or equivalent, the Department will have instructions for them to submit their application to the Department of Education and Training.

PV:Nghe An is one of 38 national exam sites for this year's high school graduation and university and college exams. In your opinion, how has the preparation work been carried out in the province?

Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:Nghe An is one of 38 units designated by the Ministry to be the national high school exam cluster, with Vinh University as the host, students taking the exam in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, with an estimated 50,000 students taking the exam. We are very confident because Vinh University has a long tradition, is one of 16 schools established as a national key school and has 13 years of organizing the "3 common" exam cluster at Vinh University. With that experience, I am confident that the exam will take place seriously and safely.

As for Nghe An province, it has prepared exam plans. The first is to disseminate and study the regulations for managers, teachers and students. The second is to do a good job of widespread propaganda on mass media. The third is to guide schools to organize teaching and learning to complete the program, then evaluate and classify students, and organize review sessions for students. The fourth is to prepare mentally to wait for the Ministry's official instructions on organizing the exam this year. The Department of Education and Training will organize the formation of 2 exam clusters: 1 exam cluster in coordination with Vinh University to organize the national exam cluster; 1 exam cluster chaired by the Director of the Department is a local exam cluster. According to initial data reported by schools, there are currently 11,555 students who only registered for the exam to graduate from high school, with no desire to enter universities or colleges. We are planning about 24 exam sites. The preparation of plans for exam protection and safe exam organization in Nghe An in recent years has been very good, therefore we will coordinate with Vinh University as well as proactively carry out the exam at the province's exam cluster safely, seriously, and in accordance with regulations.

PV:Before this year's exam, what recommendations does the Doctor have for students to master the knowledge they have learned to be confident in the exam?

Dr. Thai Huy Vinh:In light of the changes in this year's exam, my advice to students and parents is, first of all, to be assured of the fairness and other advantages of the exam. Second, students should continue to study and review well. Third, to especially master the knowledge and skills of the exam subjects that are mainly in the 12th grade curriculum. This year, the Ministry did not issue review instructions and exam structure, but students must master the basic knowledge and know how to apply that knowledge in practice, because the exam is always based on knowledge to develop students' qualities and abilities. Therefore, students need to prepare well mentally and feel secure in reviewing well.

PV:Thank you, Doctor!

PV(Perform)