Supporting students before the High School Graduation Exam.

Braving the heat to study for exams.

At the Provincial Ethnic Boarding High School, where 100% of the students live in the school's dormitory and are far from their families without parental support, the school pays even more attention to their well-being as the exam day approaches. In addition to focusing on exam preparation, the school prioritizes their meals and accommodation, paying close attention to each daily food portion.

Two weeks before the exam, the school principal ordered dozens of fresh watermelons from Nhung village, Tam Quang commune, Tuong Duong district, so that the students could cool down and concentrate fully on their exam preparation.

Ms. Nguyen Kieu Hoa, the school principal, shared: "All students at our school aim to get into their first-choice university. Therefore, the pressure on them in this exam is immense. I hope that even small acts of care and attention will help them gain more confidence to successfully reach the finish line in this final stage."

At Nam Dan 2 High School, this year there are 392 12th-grade students, including 4 students who are exempt from the exam because they are from inclusive education programs. The remaining students, after the end of the school year, mostly chose to prepare for the exam at school. In addition to teaching according to the schedule, at the end of each class, teachers volunteer to stay behind to teach and provide extra tutoring for students with average or weak academic performance.

After more than a month of intensive review, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Chau, a chemistry teacher, said: "We simultaneously supplemented students' knowledge and practiced exam questions. In addition to giving questions in class, teachers also assigned extra questions for students to review at home."

This helps students manage their time effectively, aiming to complete the theoretical questions within 15 minutes. The remaining time should be dedicated to practice exercises, as the Chemistry exam typically has a wide variety of questions. In the final sessions, we will review all the material, reminding students of common mistakes, such as the comprehensive theoretical questions or the four application-level and advanced-level exercises.

To avoid losing points unnecessarily, we require students with average abilities to perform well on questions at the knowledge and comprehension levels. These students constitute the majority of the student body. For those scoring 8 points or higher, we will divide them into smaller groups and send them separate assignments for review.

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This is a difficult exam for all students. This is the last exam season following the old textbook curriculum. From the 2025 school year onwards, students will be taking exams under the 2018 General Education Program, so there will certainly be many changes, and the amount of knowledge required will also be different.

To achieve the goal of 100% graduation rate and many students gaining university admissions, we began organizing review sessions for students from April 15th, 2024 to May 25th, 2024, with a duration of 140 lessons covering the reduced curriculum as per the Ministry's guidelines and sample exam questions. From June 3rd, 2024 to June 22nd, 2024, we will continue with 50 lessons to reinforce and review the material, covering the Ministry's sample exam questions and the Department's mock exam questions. Through this, we hope that students will become familiar with the exam format, remain calm, and feel confident when taking the actual exam.

Mr. Pham Xuan Phu - Principal of Nam Dan 2 High School

Supporting the exam candidates

Over the past few days, Que Phong High School has been regularly updating information about businesses and sponsors providing support to students participating in the high school graduation exam. Some businesses provide water, some provide meals, and some are more thoughtful, giving students notebooks, pencils, and erasers. These gifts, though small, are extremely necessary for the students before entering the examination room. Many students at the school live far from their families and parents, so they have never received such thoughtful care before.

Teacher Ngo Chien Thang - Chairman of the Trade Union of Que Phong High School, said: "Over the past period, our 'Supporting Students During Exams' program has received support from many departments, agencies, and businesses in the area. We expect to cook nearly 600 free meals during the exam days to support students and parents who come from far away. We want to tell the students that, despite the difficult circumstances, teachers and social organizations are still there to support and encourage them so they can focus on their exams."

Never before has the high school graduation exam received so much attention as it does now. For students at Yen Thanh 3 High School, the exam preparation season seems less stressful thanks to the sugarcane juice and yogurt provided by their teachers and former students.

At Nguyen Duy Trinh High School, hundreds of glasses of fresh milk were also delivered to students during their final school days. These gifts may be small, but behind them lies the heartfelt sentiment of the teachers and the entire education sector, wishing the students to overcome difficulties and successfully reach their goals.

Prior to the exam day, according to announcements from many schools, they have fully prepared water and will distribute it free of charge to candidates and parents attending the exam. Some schools have also prepared milk and bread for candidates from distant areas. Schools in mountainous districts are expected to provide thousands of free meals to support students from these regions who come to take the exam.

Given the unique nature of this year's exam, the Director of the Department of Education and Training, Thai Van Thanh, requested that schools and teachers pay attention to and remind students to create a comfortable atmosphere, so that they do not violate regulations and avoid unfortunate incidents.

At the same time, we must create the most favorable conditions for candidates to take the exam, especially in difficult and remote areas, and under no circumstances should any candidate be prevented from reaching the examination site due to difficulties.