High school graduation exam will take place in 2 days, exam questions will be reduced

Reporting at the Government meeting this morning (May 5), Minister Phung Xuan Nha said that in the 2020 High School Graduation Exam, candidates will have to take 3 compulsory exams: Math, Literature, Foreign Language and 1 optional exam out of 2 combined exams: Natural Sciences and Social Sciences.

Regarding the exam time, candidates will take the Literature exam in 120 minutes, Math in 90 minutes, Foreign Language in 60 minutes, Natural Science and Social Science in 50 minutes for each component subject (total of 3 subjects is 150 minutes).

The exam was organized in 2 days with 4 sessions instead of 2.5 days like previous years.

Independent candidates participating in the 2020 High School Graduation Exam not for the purpose of considering recognition of high school graduation can take independent exams, combined exams or component subjects of the combined exam according to their wishes.

The high school graduation exam will take place in 2 days.

The Ministry of Education and Training develops and provides exam questions to localities to organize exams simultaneously throughout the country, to ensure a common quality level in considering and recognizing high school graduation.

Regarding the organization of the exam (invigilation, grading, and review), the Minister said that provinces and cities are responsible for organizing the exam in their localities to ensure safety and seriousness. Localities establish examination councils to organize exams for all local candidates according to the regulations of the high school graduation exam issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

The examination council carries out the stages of printing, invigilation, grading, review and recognition of high school graduation according to the regulations of the examination; each examination council has examination locations arranged to ensure maximum convenience for candidates. The staff participating in the organization of the examination are local staff and teachers (the invigilators and supervisors will be teachers from the province and there will be cross-exchange of teachers between schools).

The results of the high school graduation exam will be used by the Departments of Education and Training to consider recognizing high school graduation. Students who complete the program but do not take the exam or do not pass the exam will be granted a certificate of completion of the high school program by the principal of the high school or the director of the continuing education center according to the provisions of the 2019 Education Law.

Grade 12 students return to school, rushing to prepare for the High School Graduation Exam.

Top schools with high competition can organize their own entrance exams according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training for admission. These exams are organized by schools independently or jointly into admission groups. Schools can also organize admissions multiple times a year as they do now.

Minister Phung Xuan Nha commented: "Shortening the exam time to 2 days with 4 exam sessions will make the exam more concise and lighter than previous years; the exam questions will be designed to suit the purpose of considering high school graduation recognition and the announced streamlined program content (in terms of content, difficulty, and exam time) will also reduce pressure on students."

However, this option also has some limitations such as localities must proactively organize the exam while there is not much preparation time, so errors may arise, affecting the safety of the exam. The Ministry of Education and Training will strengthen solutions to overcome this limitation.

In addition, university and college admissions may be disrupted because many schools do not have enough time to fully prepare for this option. Admissions to many schools and training programs may be affected by virtual wishes; candidates from the provinces may have to gather in big cities to take entrance exams for some schools.

"Based on the current epidemic control situation and forecasts for the coming time, and on the basis of assessing the advantages and limitations of the plan, the Ministry of Education and Training will carefully prepare to coordinate with localities to organize the 2020 High School Graduation Exam safely and seriously," said the Minister.