Allegations that the results of a top-performing math student were leaked before the exam: What does the Hai Ba Trung District Department of Education and Training say about this?

Representatives from the Hai Ba Trung District Department of Education and Training stated that the process of developing the mathematics competition exam questions was carried out in accordance with regulations, and there was no leak of the exam questions.

The Grade 9 gifted student exam in Hai Ba Trung District (Hanoi) took place on October 29th with the participation of 698 students from 18 schools. Students competed in subjects including Literature, Mathematics, History, Geography, Physics, Civic Education , Natural Sciences, Informatics, English, French, and Japanese. Mathematics alone had 78 students participating.

Many people suspect that the exam for selecting gifted 9th-grade students in Hai Ba Trung district was leaked before the exam date, as the questions are identical to the review questions from Dong Da district and Trung Vuong Secondary School (Hoan Kiem district).

trung vuong.jpeg — *The official exam paper from Hai Ba Trung district (on the left) and the exam paper allegedly from Trung Vuong Secondary School, which students were given to review four days before the exam.*

Public opinion is questioning whether the exam questions for the gifted student competition were leaked before the exam day, and if this happened, the district's exam question-setting process and the recognition of the results of this competition need to be reviewed.

Regarding the above issue, Mr. Nguyen Van Tam, Deputy Head of the Education and Training Department of Hai Ba Trung District, affirmed: "The Education and Training Department of Hai Ba Trung District has summoned responsible members to check and verify. The results show that the process of constructing the district-level excellent student exam questions for 9th grade cultural subjects in the 2024-2025 school year in general and Mathematics in particular was carried out correctly; there was no leak of exam questions; no individual or department was found to have leaked information about the exam questions. We will consider inviting the police to investigate and clarify the matter in order to restore transparency to the exam."

Regarding the information suggesting that the official gifted student exam was similar to the review questions from Trung Vuong Secondary School, Mr. Tam affirmed that he had discussed the matter and the school stated that there were no review questions similar to the official math exam from Hai Ba Trung district. "We will continue to review the situation, and if any errors are found, we will handle them accordingly; there will be absolutely no cover-up," Mr. Tam added.

Regarding the question-setting process, Mr. Tam added that the department had invited experienced experts in training and setting exam questions for gifted students from educational institutions outside the district to assist in creating exam questions by subject, according to the question matrix and the curriculum scope developed by the department. The department also invited experts and key teachers to collaborate in reviewing the requirements of the exam questions to ensure accuracy.

After the compilation process is complete, all exam papers are sealed and sent to the head of the exam paper drafting committee, who then hands them over to the printing and copying committee and the invigilation committee to organize the exam. These steps are carried out seriously, according to procedures, and with confidentiality as required. Members of the committees commit to being responsible for the accuracy and confidentiality of the exam.

"In Hai Ba Trung district, the teachers invited to create the math exam questions are from other districts and do not directly teach review classes in the district. Besides creating the questions, these teachers also assist the Department of Education and Training in developing the review program when forming the district team for the city-level competition. This is a method that the Department of Education and Training has been using for many years," Mr. Tam said.

The Ministry of Education and Training has announced the schedule for the national excellent student competition for the 2024-2025 school year.

The Ministry of Education and Training has just issued guidelines on organizing the national high school student excellence competition for the 2024-2025 school year, which clearly outlines the exam schedule.