Deputy Director of Son La Department of Education prosecuted in exam score cheating case

On July 31, the Investigation Security Agency (Son La Provincial Police) prosecuted Mr. Tran Xuan Yen (Deputy Director of Son La Department of Education, Vice Chairman of the Examination Council, Head of the Multiple-Choice Test Scoring Team) and Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Nga (specialist of the Examination and Quality Management Department, member of the Multiple-Choice Test Scoring Team); Cam Thi Bun Son (Deputy Head of the Political and Ideological Department, member of the Multiple-Choice Test Scoring Team); Dang Huu Thuy (Vice Principal of To Hieu High School, member of the Multiple-Choice Test Scoring Team); Lo Van Huynh (Deputy Head of the Examination Department, member of the Steering Committee, member of the Examination Council, Head of the Secretariat) to investigate violations at the 2018 National High School Examination Council of Son La province.

5 defendants are being investigated for the same crimeTaking advantage of position and power while performing official duties, according to Article 356 of the 2015 Penal Code. Three people were arrested; Mr. Yen and Ms. Son were released on bail and banned from leaving their place of residence.

Son La has more than 10,300 candidates taking the 2018 National High School Exam, with an average score of 4.21 for all subjects, the lowest in the country. However, the percentage of candidates scoring 9 or higher in Math and Physics in the province far exceeds some localities with a tradition of good learning. Among the 11 candidates with the highest scores in the country, Son La has a female student with two 10s in History and English.

Given the above unusual signs,The working group of the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Public Security, when verifying, discovered that the multiple-choice test papers of many candidates showed signs of being erased before the original test data file was sent to the Ministry of Education and Training.

When grading 110 essays on Vietnamese Literature, the working group recorded that 42 papers had their scores reduced compared to before. Immediately after that, the 5 officials were identified as being involved in this matter.

The Department of Quality Management (Ministry of Education and Training) when verifying pointed out 6 major violations of the Examination Council of the Son La Department of Education, focusing on the stages of exam management and grading. Specifically, the Examination Council copied scanned multiple-choice test image data onto a CD without proper authority and arbitrarily took it out of the exam storage area. It is currently unknown where this file was taken and who gave permission.

Second, the Son La Provincial Examination Council loosely managed the multiple-choice test scoring area; the room storing test papers and test documents was not sealed; the lock on the room storing test papers and test documents, and the boxes containing multiple-choice answer sheets were not properly sealed.

Third, the multiple choice test scoring process is not in accordance with regulations.

Fourth, the computer used for marking the test was not sealed. At the time of the test, this computer was in normal use in the office of the specialist of the Examination and Quality Management Department, Son La Department of Education.

Fifth, some candidates' multiple choice answer sheets showed signs of being altered.

The final violation is the handover of test papers between testing locations and the Examination Council, the preservation of multiple-choice test papers at the Examination Council, and the handover of test papers between the Secretariat and the Marking Board which did not comply with regulations.