Students in Saigon review for exams 3 times a day

More than 71,500 candidates in Ho Chi Minh City are studying hard for the national high school exam in the next few days, many of them studying from evening until 1-2am the next day.

Nearly a dozen classrooms of grade 12 at Thanh Nhan High School (Tan Phu District) were still lit up, even though it was past 9 p.m. on June 16. For more than a month, the school had students review for the national high school exam three times a day. Teachers compiled questions for all subjects based on the sample exam questions previously published by the Ministry of Education.

Although they have to study continuously, most students say they are not under much pressure or tired. Appearing quite confident, Phan Thi Ngoc Phuoc said she wants to enter the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City. Currently, the female student has mastered and solved the basic exercises of the program fluently.

"I've been used to this intense study schedule since 10th grade. Now I study at school with teachers supervising me. So the extra classes at night seem normal," the female student said.

Wishing to enter the University of Architecture in Ho Chi Minh City, Dinh Ngoc Bao Tin studied Math, Physics and drawing at the same time. "The teacher assessed my drawing to be about 6-7 points, I just need to try hard in the remaining two subjects so I'm not too worried," Tin laughed.

According to Mr. Hoang Ba Tinh (General Manager of Thanh Nhan High School), the school regularly solves test questions so that students can gradually get used to the new way of setting questions this year. "Teachers will review difficult lessons and supplement knowledge for students who are still weak," he said.

Thanh Nhan High School students review for the national high school exam on the evening of June 15. Photo: Thao Ly.

Some other private high schools are also applying a rather tight review schedule for 12th grade students, as the exam date approaches.Meanwhile, in public schools, this is a combination of in-class and at-home learning.

"Every day I review my lessons from evening until 1-2am the next day. I know it's not good for my health, but the time left is too short, I have to try because I don't want to disappoint my parents," said Tran Kim Khanh (Tam Phu High School, Thu Duc District).

Nervous about the way this year's exams are made - most of the subjects are multiple choice, Pham Huynh Phu Quy (Le Minh Xuan High School, Binh Chanh District) often goes online to download sample exam sets, solve them himself and grade them. "Even though I did well on the practice tests, I'm still very worried because I feel much more nervous sitting in the exam room than at home," Quy said.

At Nguyen Du High School (District 10), 12th grade students have also had their exam review sessions organized by the school since the end of May, divided into natural and social science groups. At the end of this week, teachers and students will finish their exam review sessions at school. The subject groups have agreed on the content and built a common review outline for students, closely following the high school program.

"In addition to referring to sample exam questions, the school also prepares advanced exercises to help students achieve high scores for university admission," said Principal Huynh Thanh Phu.

Grade 12 students in Ho Chi Minh City review for the national high school exam. Photo: Manh Tung

Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat (Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City) said, the city has nearly 71,500 candidates registered for the national high school exam, a decrease of 8,500 candidates compared to the plan at the beginning of the year. Of which, more than 3,000 candidates registered for the exam only to be considered for high school graduation recognition and nearly 5,700 independent candidates. All preparations for this year's national high school exam are progressing on schedule.

"HCMC mobilized about 9,000 exam invigilators, half of whom were sent from 9 universities, the rest were teachers from the city," Mr. Dat informed.

Previously, at the meeting to prepare for the 2017 national high school exam, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu (Vice Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee) requested the Department of Education to prepare the best plan to ensure the safety of candidates, teachers, exam papers and exam locations. The city will minimize the need for candidates to travel from home to exam locations.

Things to know about the national high school exam. Graphics:VNE

From June 22 to 24, approximately 860,000 candidates nationwide will take the national high school exam and university and college entrance exams. Of these, more than 643,000 (75%) will take the exam to obtain university entrance exam results.

According to VNE