VietNamNet Bridge – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan discussed the recent high school graduation results with Tin Tuc (News) Newspaper.

High school graduation exam results have been announced country-wide. How does the Ministry of Education and Training judge the results?

We have retained these strict regulations and 75.96 per cent of students passed this year.

In general, the high school graduation exam results this year reflect the marked efforts of teachers and students throughout the academic year.

Local authorities have also paid greater attention to education, especially after last year’s disappointing results. Examination questions have been tailored this year to better reflect students’ curriculums and judge their abilities.

Last year, examination regulations were far stricter than ever before, and only 66.72 per cent passed in comparison with the 94 per cent average of previous years.

We have retained these strict regulations and 75.96 per cent of students passed this year.

The public may consider these results too high or low. But as far as I’m concerned, the results reflect the true situation.

The percentage of students with good and excellent marks is 11.62 per cent, which, I think, is realistic. It means there is one good or excellent student among every ten, which is more likely than the previous figure of 30-40 per cent.

I hope as students and parents realise the new regulations are here to stay, examination results will continue to improve.

What do you think about each area’s result in particular?

Careful analysis has led us to three main conclusions: most areas have increased their pass rates 5-10 per cent since last year; some areas have dipped (such as Ho Chi Minh City which dropped from 95 per cent to 93 per cent); while a large section show little or no change.

More importantly, the results show that there is a large disparity between the best and worst areas of the country. The average rate may be 75.96 per cent, but while many provinces reach 80-90 per cent, some (such as Cao Bang and Bac Can) scored only 40-50 per cent.

Last year, 12 province had less than a 50 per cent pass rate. This year, the number is down to two, which is a positive sign.

The average rate of students passing with good or excellent marks is 11 per cent, most of whom are city dwellers (such as HCM City with 25 per cent) while certain areas have only 4-5 per cent.

The results urge us to pay more attention to the quality of education in difficult areas.

In the last two years, schools have started paying more attention to bad students to help them pass their exams, rather than simply to the best students as was the norm before.

This change has also been reflected in the final results and should be further promoted as this year will be the last year failed students can sit for a second graduation exam. From next year, there will be only one graduation exam for high school students. If they fail, they will be given no further chances.

In fact some areas have a pass rate three or even four times higher than last year. What do you make of such sudden improvements? Will the ministry investigate these areas?

I think such speculations are useless. Why not launch investigations on areas with sudden worsening results. Instead, we should look at the way schools across the country organise graduation exams. We should not consider areas with decreased graduation rates as deserving of less attention.

As for the four provinces with marked increase in the percentage of students that passed exam this year, our discussions with local education leaders revealed they’ve implemented more serious teaching methodologies.

Moreover, the increased figures concern the number of students passing the exam, not the number of students passing with good or excellent marks.

The ministry so far has not accused any areas with abnormally large increases of wrongdoing. It has only asked them to explain their methods.

We should appreciate areas with effective results and praise them.

From now till the end of the academic year, July 31, the ministry will further analyse the results by computer. If we do find any evidence of corruption, the repercussions will be severe.

(Source: Viet Nam News)