Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam: Special attention should be paid to candidates in local clusters

Then, on the afternoon of May 25, in order to survey and fully evaluate the "model" in regions across the country, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam worked directly with Tuyen Quang province on the organization of the exam. This is a mountainous province that has both local exam clusters chaired by the Department of Education and Training and exam clusters chaired by universities. Attending this working session were Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga and Mr. Mai Van Trinh - Director of the Department of Testing and Education Quality Assessment (Ministry of Education and Training).

Create maximum conditions for candidates

Reporting to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Ms. Vu Thi Bich Viet - Vice Chairman of Tuyen Quang Provincial People's Committee said: The total number of candidates in the province registered to take the national high school exam in Tuyen Quang province is 8,220 candidates, of which 1,296 are independent candidates . Specifically, the number of candidates taking the exam at the exam cluster chaired by Tan Trao University: 4,166 (50.68% of the total number of registered candidates), of which 1,247 are independent candidates .

Number of candidates taking the exam at the cluster chaired by the Department of Education and Training: 4,054 (49.32% of total registered candidates), of which 49 are independent candidates. According to statistics, the number of candidates taking the optional subjects: Chemistry: 1,900; Physics: 1,495 ; Geography: 4,936 ; Biology: 2,453 ; History: 2,125 . With nearly 50% of candidates in Tuyen Quang participating in the exam cluster chaired by the Department of Education and Training, the locality has arranged 12 exam sites with 173 exam rooms.

“For candidates taking the exam cluster chaired by the university, we have determined their mindset and their families have prepared the expenses for them to take the exam. Therefore, they will not be as worried as the Mong and ethnic minority students in Trung Son High School who go to the Department's exam cluster to take the graduation exam because these subjects have not been able to travel far for a long time, and their parents do not have money... Thoroughly implementing the Prime Minister's direction to not let any candidate not take the exam due to difficulties, Tuyen Quang pays special attention to candidates from ethnic minorities, remote and disadvantaged areas participating in local exam clusters and has organized a bus route to pick them up and drop them off at the centralized exam location. At the same time, we are preparing a plan to provide maximum support for food, accommodation and travel for the students and their parents" - Vice Chairman of Tuyen Quang Provincial People's Committee shared.

Ms. Viet also added that the distance from the residence of candidates participating in the local exam cluster to the exam locations is on average about 20-35 km, even Yen Hoa High School (Na Hang), 50 km from the center of Na Hang town, has organized a separate exam location with 160 candidates.

Hearing that the Deputy Prime Minister was coming to work with Tuyen Quang, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ha Giang Vu Van Su traveled nearly 200 km with the desire to share the advantages and difficulties of Ha Giang students.

Mr. Su said that in Ha Giang, there are more than 6,500 candidates taking the national high school exam , nearly 62% of them are taking part in the local exam cluster, only nearly 2,500 students are going to Tuyen Quang to take part in the exam cluster chaired by the university. Regarding the exam organization plan, it basically meets the requirements. In each district, there is a test site chaired by the Department of Education and Training, but in Bac Quang district, there are 8 high schools, so it is organized into two test sites.

However, because this year's exam is held in July, the students' time is extended by 1 month compared to previous years. To ensure this, schools in Ha Giang organize review sessions for students during this time, but this happens because of the overtime work of teachers, policies for students who are supported by the state (according to regulations, support is until the end of May)... Ha Giang province is calculating to have support sources to carry out this task.

“In Ha Giang, after the end of the school year, boarding high schools continue to “keep” students to review until the exam begins. The purpose is for them to focus on reviewing and participating in the exam fully. If they are given a month off and review on their own, many students, due to difficult circumstances and working to help their families, may lose knowledge and even not want to take the exam,” Mr. Su shared his experience.

Listening to the sharing of the two highland localities, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam emphasized: For the number of children in Ha Giang who took the university entrance exam like last year, they went to Hanoi but this year they went to Tuyen Quang, so it is more convenient, so we are less worried. But the number of children who only took the graduation exam, last year they took the exam right at their high school, this year they have to move to the exam site in the district, which is more difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate carefully to take care of these subjects.

“Tuyen Quang and the examination clusters hosted by the locality need to ensure accommodation, food and transportation for candidates and their parents, with special attention paid to food hygiene and safety. Especially for students who take the high school graduation exam every year, it is very simple to take the exam at school, but now they have to go to the district to take the exam, so how can we support them so that no student is unable to take the exam due to difficulties. Regarding review, there will be reasonable arrangements depending on local conditions. However, it is necessary for staff to closely monitor students who do not participate in the review at school to have the conditions to participate and complete the exam” - Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam emphasized.

Will clearly distinguish between easy and advanced questions

One of the issues that both Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang expressed concern about was the level of the exam. The Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ha Giang expressed: This year's exam has only one exam without distinction between high school candidates and continuing education candidates. Therefore, it is necessary to create questions that ensure both of these groups can do it.

Responding to this concern, Mr. Mai Van Trinh - Director of the Department of Examinations and Educational Quality Assessment (Ministry of Education and Training) said that immediately after the sample test was posted online, the Department had a department to analyze the specific details in the spirit of serious acceptance, to edit it to create the most favorable conditions for candidates. Currently, the Ministry of Education and Training has accepted and decided not to mix easy and difficult questions in the test but to clearly distinguish them to create favorable conditions for candidates. Specifically, the structure of the test includes a block of basic questions and a block of advanced questions that are separated.

“The graduation criteria for students this year are not only the average score of the four subjects but also the average score of the student in grade 12, in addition to the incentive points according to the subject and region. Therefore, students and parents should not worry too much,” said Director Mai Van Trinh.

Also related to the exam, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga also frankly shared: Currently, no mountainous province has organized a trial exam, but the survey results of the difficulty of the sample exam in some localities and high schools show both medium and difficult levels. From now until the start of the exam, the Ministry will continue to record opinions from localities on the sample exam so that the exam design work can meet the requirements so that students studying for the high school graduation exam do not have pressure and are well-streamed to enter university.

Agreeing with the Ministry of Education and Training's approach, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam expressed: "We innovate the way students are tested but still rely on the results of old textbooks, old teaching methods, old programs, old requirements, so the national high school exam is not to tighten but to create an honest, objective platform, correctly assess students' abilities, as a basis and condition for the innovation process. At the same time, it creates momentum for the whole system to participate, for society to agree, and for them to have confidence in fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training."

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam also reminded the Ministry of Education and Training about the exam questions because if the public gives a bad review right in the first exam subject, it will easily cause stress for candidates.

Nguyen Hung