CIRCULAR

AMENDMENTS TO SOME ARTICLES OF REGULATION ON HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION EXAM ENCLOSED WITH CIRCULAR NO. 15/2020/TT-BGDDT DATED MAY 26, 2020 AMENDED BY CIRCULAR NO. 05/2021/TT-BGDDT DATED MARCH 12, 2021 AND CIRCULAR NO. 06/2023/TT-BGDDT DATED MARCH 24, 2023 OF THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Pursuant to the Education Law dated June 14, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Higher Education dated June 18, 2012; the Law on amendments to the Law on Higher Education dated November 19, 2018;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 86/2022/ND-CP dated October 24, 2022 on functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

At the request of the Director of Department of Quality Control;

The Minister of Education and Training hereby promulgates a Circular on amendments to some Articles of Regulation on high school graduation exam enclosed with Circular No. 15/2020/TT-BGDDT dated May 26, 2020 amended by Circular No. 05/2021/TT-BGDDT dated March 12, 2021 and Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BGDDT dated March 24, 2023 of the Minister of Education and Training.

Article 1. Amendments to some Articles and Appendices of Regulation on high school graduation exam enclosed with Circular No. 15/2020/TT-BGDDT dated May 26, 2020 amended by Circular No. 05/2021/TT-BGDDT dated March 12, 2021 and Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BGDDT dated March 24, 2023 of the Minister of Education and Training:

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“Article 3. Papers

The exam consists of 5 papers, including: 3 independent papers are Mathematics, Literature, and Foreign Language (English, Russian, French, Chinese, German, Japanese and Korean); 1 paper of natural science (a combination of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology); 1 paper of social science (a combination of History, Geography, and Civic Education) with respect to students of compulsory education program at high school level or the papers of History and Geography with respect to students of continuing education program at high school level.”

2. Clause 3 Article 12 shall be amended as follows:

“3. Registration of papers:

a) For high school graduation assessment purpose: high school candidates prescribed in points a, b clause 1 of this Article must take 4 papers, including 3 independent papers: Mathematics, Literature, Foreign Language and 1 combined paper at the candidate’s option; continuing education candidates prescribed in points a, b clause 1 of this Article must take 3 papers, including 2 independent papers: Mathematics, Literature and 1 combined paper at the candidate’s option. Each continuing education candidate may register for the exam of Foreign Language paper for university and college admission purpose.  The candidate may register for the paper of Foreign Language different from the Foreign Language that he/she is learning at high school.

b) Candidates prescribed in point c clause 1 hereof may register for independent papers; regarding combined papers, each candidate may only register for a combined paper or component subjects of a combined paper.

3. Point b Clause 2 Article 13 shall be amended as follows:

“b) Regarding candidates in point b clause 1 Article 12 hereof, in addition to required documents in point a of this clause, the application for the exam shall also include: the confirmation of poor academic performance, as mentioned in Point b clause 2 Article 12, provided by the high school where the candidate studied for 12th grade or by the exam registration place; a copy of lower secondary graduation diploma; a confirmation of retention scores (if any) issued by the head master of the high school where the candidate took the exam in the previous year or issued by the Department of Education and Training of province where the candidate took the exam in case he/she took the exam in another province;"

4. Point c Clause 4 Article 13 shall be amended as follows:

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5. Clause 1 Article 14 shall be amended as follows:

“1. Register for the exam in accordance with Article 13 of this Regulation and annual guidelines for administration of high school graduation exam issued by the MOET. Each candidate shall be responsible for securing his/her account information and password issued to log in the exam management system  In case the candidate does not remember his/her username and password, he/she shall contact with the registration place for support.”

6. Clause 4 Article 14 shall be amended as follows:

“4. Follow these rules in the exam room:

a) Present the Candidate Card to invigilators; sit on the seat allotted to his/her candidate number;

b) During the exam, with a view to serving the exam, only bring the following items into the exam room: pens, pencils, erasers, rulers, eke rulers, parabola rulers, compasses, calculators without text composing functions and memory cards; geographic atlas of Vietnam complied according to the compulsory education program in 2006 (with no mark or interlineations);

Refrain from bring the following items into the exam room: carbon paper, correction pens, alcoholic drinks; weapons, explosives, inflammable materials; handouts, information transmission devices (information-receiving and broadcasting devices, audio and video recorders) or information storage devices that can be used for cheating in the process of examination;

c) Before doing the exam, write the candidate number and details in the question paper, the script or the multiple-choice answer sheet, scrap paper; after receiving the question paper, carefully check the number of pages thereof and the printing quality. Any missing, torn or blurry pages should be immediately reported to the invigilators in the exam room within 5 minutes from the distribution time of question paper;

d) During the time in the exam room, keep quiet; immediately notify the invigilators when other persons copy or intentionally interfere in his/her exam; refrain from communicating with or copying from exam-mates or allowing other persons to copy his/her exam, using illegal materials or attempting to cheat; raise one hand to ask for permission before saying/asking. Stand up and openly present their opinions when allowed to speak; Refrain from writing or drawing any secret mark, refrain from using pencil except for filling in circle in the multiple-choice answer sheet; write one single ink color in the script (red ink is prohibited);

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e) Stop writing immediately and protect the script when the end of the exam session is announced; Write the number of submitted pages and sign on the acknowledgement of submission when handing in the written paper scripts. Candidates who fail to do the papers still have to hand in their answer sheets (for written exam) or multiple-choice answer sheets (for multiple-choice exam);

7. Clause 5 Article 14 shall be amended as follows:

 “g) In case where the candidate only takes exam on the first and/or second component subject(s) of the combined paper, after he/she hands in the multiple-choice answer sheet, leave the exam room, move to the waiting room and stay in the waiting room until the end of the final exam subject. Only after the end of the final exam subject, the candidate is allowed to leave the exam area.  During while moving between the exam room and waiting room and staying in the waiting room, maintain the discipline and strictly follow instructions from supervisors or managers of the waiting room/area.  In necessary cases, the candidate is only allowed to leave the waiting room if he/she obtains permission of managers of the waiting room and is subject to supervision by supervisors when he/she does activities outside the waiting room;

h) In case where the candidate only takes exam on the second and/or third component subject(s) of the combined paper, be present and called into the exam room at least 10 minutes before the distribution time of question paper for preparation.  If the candidate arrives earlier (15 minutes or more before the distribution time of question paper), he/she shall stay in the waiting room;

i) In case where the candidate only takes exam on the first and third component subjects of the combined paper, after the end of the first exam subject, stay in their shit seats, maintain order, place the answer sheet downward, and preserve the multiple-choice answer sheet throughout the waiting time for the next exam subject.”

8. Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 16 shall be amended as follows:

“1. Unpublished question paper and answer key are listed as “first decree top secret” in the list of state secrets. The unused written backup question papers will be declassified at the end of the exam session/the final subject of the exam. The time limit for protection of “first decree top secret” in the list of state secrets with regard to a question paper of a paper/subject only ends at the end of the session of multiple-choice paper/subject and two thirds of the allotted time given to a written exam.

2. The process of setting question papers, printing-copying questions (referred to as question paper development) shall be conducted at an area deemed safe and separated, and guarded from the stage of question paper development to the end of the final session of the exam by the police force, and equipped with fire safety and security equipment and prevention of revelation. Regulations on the three independent circles at the question paper setting area shall be strictly complied with:

a) Circle 1 is the area where members joining the question paper development shall be in total isolation status from the time they start joining the question paper development or original question papers are opened for printing-copying until the end of the final exam subject.  Before the question paper development, the Question Paper Setting Council or the Printing-Copying Board shall cooperate with police in taking measures for assurance about safety and security of the question paper development; and checking windows and ensuring that they are completely sealed and stamped with seals by the police and leaders of the Paper Setting Council or the Printing-Copying Board and it is invisible from the outside;

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c) Circle 3 is the adjacent area between Circle 2 and the outside.  Any person who works in this area shall ensure order and security around the question paper setting area 24 hours/day, prevent unauthorized people or information-receiving and broadcasting devices from entering the question paper setting area, monitor people and items entering and exiting the protection area via a specialized notebook, and request entry and exit people to wear the cards issued by the Paper Setting Council/Exam Council.

d) The safety and security assurance during the question paper setting process shall follow written guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Public Security.”

9. Point b Clause 2 Article 17 shall be amended: 

“b) Vice Chairpersons: Deputy Directors of Department of Quality Control, heads of relevant units affiliated to the MOET and heads of higher education institutions and Departments of Education and Training;”

10. Point a Clause 1 Article 18 shall be amended: 

“a) Composition of Printing-Copying Board: The manager: the manager of Exam Council; deputy managers: head of the DET or heads of divisions affiliated to the MOET; members and secretaries (01 member is responsible for supervision): officials and public employees of units affiliated to the DET or high schools; security team: police officers and security guards assigned by the provincial police and the DET; medical staff and service staff assigned by the DET;”

11. Clause 1 Article 22 shall be amended as follows:

“1. According to assignment of the Manager of Invigilation Board, the Manager of Exam Place shall:

a) Run the invigilation practices at the Exam Place; store and use question papers and store answer sheets/scripts at the Exam Place; before each exam session, ensure that unoccupied rooms in the exam session must be locked and sealed; designate tasks to other members at the Exam Place;

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c) Allocate safe locations which are separate from examination rooms at a minimum of 25 meters to preserve personal belongings of candidates and documents and items that are not allowed to be brought into examination rooms.

12. Clause 2 Article 24 shall be amended as follows:

“2. Rooms where answer sheets are marked or stored, cabinets, boxes, or containers in which envelopes of written papers are stored shall be locked and sealed; the seal must bear all signatures of the key keeper, manager of the Marking Board, and police officer.  The keys of rooms where answer sheets are stored shall be kept by the managers of Marking Boards; the keys of cabinets, boxes or containers in which envelopes of written papers are stored shall be kept by a secretary of the Exam Council who performs tasks at Written Paper Marking Board; the keys of cabinets, boxes or containers in which envelopes of multiple-choice paper answer sheets are stored shall be kept by the Leader of the Secretary Team affiliated to the Multiple-Choice Paper Marking Board. The rooms where answer sheets are stored, multiple-choice answer sheets and written paper sheets are marked, and Secretary Board of Exam Council and Secretary Team of Multiple-Choice Paper Marking Board perform their tasks, in the marking area, shall be equipped with fire safety devices, active surveillance cameras and guarded by police officers and guards 24 hours per day. Activities of opening and closing the rooms where answer sheets are stored and marked, and cabinets, boxes, and containers where envelopes are stored shall be conducted in the presence of the manager of the Marking Board, Secretary, and police officers, and recorded in a logbook.”

13. Clause 2 Article 25 shall be amended as follows:

“2. The header removal area must meet security and safety requirements and be fully equipped with fire safety devices and under surveillance of police officers and guards around the clock; be equipped no device used for recording and transmitting information and image; those in Script Header Removal Board must not bring any communications device to this area. Persons who perform their tasks in the header removal area are only allowed to conduct activities within permissible area according to their assigned responsibilities and tasks.  They shall perform the following tasks in rounds:

a) Inner perimeter: a closed area which is completely isolated from the outside; in this area, there are only members of Script Header Removal Board and supervisors assigned by the director of the DET; the windows of rooms shall be tightly closed and sealed by the police and the leader of Script Header Removal Board; Openings leading outside shall be securely blocked by durable and solid materials that are impenetrable.  Every day, those in the inner perimeter receive materials and food and drinks transferred from the outside through the outer perimeter;

b) Outer perimeter: area adjacent to the inner and outer perimeters and the communication hub between the inner and outer perimeters; in this area, there are police officers, security guards, medical staff, service staff. Each of them is equipped with 01 (one) fixed phone on speaker mode and under the surveillance of police around the clock in order to contact the Exam Council/exam steering boards at all levels. Every call shall be put on record, on speaker mode and recorded on the logbook with the signature of the call-making person and witnessed and confirmed by the police. Those in the outer perimeter shall transfer materials and food and drinks from the outside to the inner perimeter; inspect materials and items transferred from the inner perimeter to the outside.”

14. Clause 6 Article 27 shall be added as follows:

“6. putting the headers back:

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b) Header matching on software: Matching all data on scores of written paper scripts with data on information about students enclosed with header numbers (provided by the Script Header Removal Board after scores are completely input).

c) Inspection of header matching: After successful header matching on the software, printing the comparison sheet from the software in order for Secretary Board of Exam Council to manually match at least 20% of the headers; in case of errors, a record shall be made and a report shall be sent to the Chairperson of the Exam Council to determine causes in an exact manner and take remedial measures.

d) Envelopes opened and used during the process of header matching shall be sealed; the seal shall bear all signatures of the persons directly involved.

15. Point b Clause 1 Article 35 shall be amended: 

“b) Those who have obtained foreign language certificates in accordance with regulations in Appendix of this Regulation or other foreign language certificates accepted by the MOET according to Vietnam’s language proficiency framework (Level 3 or above). Foreign language certificate shall remain valid until the date of completing exam procedures.”

16. Article 49 shall be amended as follows:

 “1. The Chief Inspector of MOET shall decide the establishment of inspectorates that will inspect exam direction and organization and exam stage inspection in administrative divisions; in necessary cases, the Minister of MOET shall decide to conduct inspection.

2. The provincial Chief Inspector shall assign personnel to the provincial exam steering board at the request of the Chairperson of the provincial People’s Committee and conduct inspection at the request of the provincial exam steering board.

3. The Chief Inspector of the DET shall establish inspectorates to inspect the preparation, invigilation, marking, re-marking, and high school graduation assessment of the DET; in necessary cases, the Director of DET shall decide to conduct inspection.

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5. Exam organization and exam stage inspection shall follow guidelines for exam inspection provided by the MOET.”

17. Clause 1 Article 58 shall be amended as follows:

“1. Assign and enable public employees and teachers to participate in exam at the request/proposal of the MOET; direct and inspect the process of teaching and classifying students’ academic performance and conduct at high schools; direct high schools to review and update information about 12^th-grade students on the education database by the deadline prescribed in the exam organization guidance.”

18. Clause 1 Article 60 shall be amended as follows:

“1. Assign and enable public employees and teachers to participate in exam at the request/proposal of the MOET and DET; complete teaching the high school program as appointed by the local DET, conduct reviews for students, instruct students to get their ID cards in no later than the first semester of 12^th grade; examine and classify the academic performance of self-study candidates appointed by the DET; update information about 12^th-grade students on the education database by the deadline prescribed in the exam organization guidance.”

19. Clause 2 Article 61 shall be amended as follows:

 “2. Perform the tasks relevant to administration of the exam assigned by the Minister of MOET. Assign and enable public employees, lecturers and teachers to participate in exam at the request/proposal of the MOET. /.”

20. The Appendix of Regulation on high school graduation exam is replaced by the Appendix enclosed with this Circular.

Article 2. Replacement of the phrase “điểm n" (point n) with the phrase “điểm b” (point b) in point b Clause 1 Article 53 of Regulation on high school graduation exam promulgated together with Circular 15/2020/TT-BGDDT dated May 26, 2020 by Minister of Education and Training amended by Circular No. 05/2021/TT-BGDDT dated March 12, 2021 and Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BGDDT dated March 24, 2023 of the Minister of Education and Training

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1. This Circular comes into force as of April 22, 2024.

2. Chief of the Office, Director of Department of Quality Control, Heads of relevant units affiliated to the Ministry of Education and Training; Chairpersons of People's Committee of provinces, central- affiliated cities; Director of School Department - Ministry of National Defense, Director of Training Department - Ministry of Public Security; Directors of Departments of Education and Training; Directors of universities, academies, Principals of universities; Principals of colleges conducting admission to Preschool Education shall be responsible for the implementation of this Circular./.

PP. MINISTER
DEPUTY MINISTER




Pham Ngoc Thuong