Son La: One more detained for involvement in exam cheating scandal

Son La (VNA) - The investigation bureau of Son La province’s police on August 22 began criminal proceedings against deputy chief of the local examination and quality management division Nguyen Thanh Nhan for her wrongdoings in high school exam scandal in which literature scores of 12 students were illegally increased.

Nhan, born in 1966 and residing in To Hieu ward, Son La city, is charged with “abusing position and power while on duty”.

Earlier, the provincial police on July 31 arrested three people suspected of involvement in the shocking scandal.

The suspects include Nguyen Thi Hong Nga, 51, a member of the examination and quality management division under the provincial Department for Education and Training. When the national high school exam took place, she was secretary of the local exam steering board and member of the multiple-choice test marking group. The other two are Dang Huu Thuy, 54, Vice Rector of To Hieu High School and member of the multiple-choice test marking group, and Lo Van Huynh, 53, head of Nga’s division, member of the exam steering board, and head of the exam secretariat.

Son La police also launched criminal proceedings against two other suspects.

Tran Xuan Yen, 47, who held multiple roles as Vice Director of the provincial Department of Education and Training, member of the exam steering board, Vice Chairman of the provincial exam board, deputy head of the test marking board, and head of the multiple-choice test marking group; and Cam Thi Bun Son, 49, an official at the provincial Department of Education and Training and a member of the multiple-choice test marking group, were both charged with “abusing their position and power while on duty”.

Initial investigation showed that besides adjusting scores of multiple-choice tests, Nga and Huynh colluded with Nhan to increase marks of written literature tests.

Further investigation into the case is underway.

In Son La, the average scores for math and physics were 3.43 and 4.03, lower than the national average of 4.88 and 4.96, respectively. However, 30 students achieved nine out of 10 points and above for the math test, and 13 students scored nine points or higher in the physics exam.

The results of the national high school examination have been used for the last four years to determine whether a student graduates from high school and gets into their chosen university or not.

Since 2017, all tests except literature have been multiple-choice. In 2018, the education ministry tightened exam security by requiring sealed bags of answer sheets, signed by relevant supervisors and university representatives.–VNA