Deputy Minister of Education: It will be difficult to get a score of 9-10 on the national high school exam

On the afternoon of June 24, 925,790 candidates will come to complete procedures to start the national high school exam tomorrow - the final exam in a student's life, deciding the future career of each student. Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do discussed the exam preparation work.

-Through inspections of localities, how does the Deputy Minister assess the preparations for the national high school exam?

- To prepare for the exam, the National Steering Committee for Examination and Admission 2018 was established with the Minister of Education as its head. The Ministry has issued regulations and documents detailing the exam organization process, and sent official dispatches requesting relevant ministries, branches, and provincial/municipal People's Committees to coordinate in preparation.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Huu Do.

63 provinces/cities have established provincial exam steering committees headed by a vice chairman, assigning specific responsibilities to each department and sector, ensuring the best organization of the exam. Some places have also established district exam steering committees, helping to prepare and organize the exam at the exam sites carefully.

The Departments of Education have organized training courses on exam procedures for invigilators and inspectors; carefully reviewed the material conditions of exam sites...

The police of the provinces/cities have implemented security measures for the exam, especially the security of exam questions, transportation of exam questions and papers, and ensuring safety for the areas where exam questions are printed and graded. The police have also made public high-tech devices that can be used for cheating in exams and have provided instructions to help invigilators identify them...

Through actual inspection and reports from localities, all preparations for the 2018 national high school exam have been completed.

- The leak of Hanoi's 10th grade entrance exam questions has raised public concerns about the security of the national high school exam. What has the Ministry done to prevent the incident from happening again?

- This year, the Ministry of Education has directed localities to pay attention to controlling high-tech equipment, have plans to protect and secure exam papers, and especially thoroughly inform candidates and invigilators about items allowed into the exam room.

Both the invigilator and the candidate are absolutely not allowed to bring mobile phones or broadcasting devices into the examination room. Whether they use them or not, they will still be recorded, have their test results cancelled and be held responsible.

We also require that before distributing the exam papers to candidates, the invigilators must remind candidates once again that they are not allowed to bring high-tech devices, so that any candidates who forget to bring them into the exam room will voluntarily send them out. Candidates who are later found to have brought devices with them are intentionally violating the exam regulations and must accept the highest level of disciplinary action.

In the first meeting of the examination site (morning of June 24), the heads of the examination sites need to especially emphasize that the invigilators must fulfill their responsibilities properly and completely. Anyone who has relatives or siblings participating in the exam must voluntarily resign from taking the national high school exam. If each invigilator fulfills his/her responsibilities, cheating on the exam will be difficult to happen.

Candidates taking the 2017 National High School Exam. Photo:Quynh Trang.

-In previous exam seasons, there were still complaints that exam supervisors were not serious and were lenient in allowing candidates to exchange answers with each other. In this year's exam, how was this work thoroughly communicated to the exam councils?

- When inspecting all stages at the local level, the inspection team of the National Steering Committee and the Ministry's inspectors pay special attention to the preparation work for the exam.Instructions for implementing regulations on national high school exams and graduation recognition in 2018The Ministry of Education has clearly requested that Departments of Education and universities must organize examination guidance for teachers, staff and lecturers assigned to invigilate exams.

On the morning of June 24, in the first meeting of the examination site, the head of the examination site will once again thoroughly explain the examination regulations, functions and tasks of each member of the examination site, from the head of the examination site, deputy head of the examination site, secretary, supervisor, invigilator...

Each examination site has a monitoring team and two examination inspectors, one from the locality and one from the university. With such a thorough approach and guidance, when entering the examination site, the officers are fully aware of the regulations and procedures and take the examination seriously.

-The number of candidates registering for the 2018 National High School Exam increased by more than 60,000 compared to last year, which means the number of exam questions will increase, and errors in the printing process are also likely to occur. Through actual inspections and reports from localities, what does the Deputy Minister think about this printing and copying process?

- The printing and copying of exam papers is of special concern to localities, especially the security of the printing and copying areas, exam papers... Up to now, all localities have reported that the printing and copying has been completed and there have been no incidents.

-The 2017 national high school exam was assessed as poorly classified, leading to a situation of "raining 10 points", causing difficulties in the admission process to universities and colleges. How will this shortcoming be overcome in this year's exam?

- The national high school exam has two goals: to consider high school graduation and to serve as a basis for university and college admissions, so the exam must ensure differentiation.

The reference exam published by the Ministry of Education in January 2018 clearly shows the structure and classification of the official exam. Of which, 60% is basic knowledge to serve the recognition of high school graduation, 40% is advanced knowledge to serve the classification of students into universities and colleges.

Learning from last year's experience, this time the Ministry has balanced each exam to ensure that the difficulty difference between the exams is equal, especially to differentiate. I believe that with this year's exam, achieving a score of 9-10 will be more difficult.

The national high school exam takes place over 3 days. Graphics:Ta Lu

-What are the changes in this year's national high school exam compared to last year?

- The new point of the 2018 national high school exam is that it includes 11th grade knowledge content. This was announced last year, so schools and students have proactively reviewed thoroughly.

According to the structure of the published reference exam, the 11th grade knowledge content in the official exam only accounts for 20%, the rest is mainly 12th grade. The exam content closely follows the textbook program, which will help reduce the effort for candidates in reviewing and taking exams.

- What message does the Deputy Minister want to send to all candidates of the 2018 National High School Exam?

- The national high school exam is an important turning point for 12th grade students, so they have all prepared their knowledge carefully, and the school also spends time reviewing it thoroughly for the students.

I hope that, in addition to that knowledge, you will be well prepared mentally, bring all the required tools to do the test such as geography atlas, calculators..., avoid bringing unauthorized devices into the test room and being punished. The most important thing when doing the test is that you must be calm and confident.

The national high school exam has undergone many changes, making it less difficult for adults and more convenient for candidates. In previous years, students had to travel far to take the exam, but now they only have to travel within the district/city of their province/city. Families also do not have to worry about finding a motel, travel expenses, and accommodation during long exam days...

The spirit of the 2018 National High School Exam is serious but not stressful. This is one of the conditions to help candidates feel comfortable and do their best on the exam. Wish you all achieve high results in this important exam.