Competency assessment exam incident: Exam supervisor mishears the alarm bell

For the second time this year, the Ho Chi Minh City National University's competency assessment exam encountered problems from the exam supervisors, affecting the test results of the candidates.

Candidates participating in the second round of the Ho Chi Minh City National University's capacity assessment exam this year

Photo: Nhat Thinh

Today (June 6), the Ho Chi Minh City National University's Competency Assessment Examination Council officially spoke out about the incidents that occurred during the second round of the exam, affecting the test results of candidates.

Previously, on the morning of June 1, Ho Chi Minh City National University organized the second round of the 2025 competency assessment exam with 92,272 candidates participating. The exam was organized by Ho Chi Minh City National University in coordination with many units at 80 testing sites in 34 testing clusters, spread across 11 localities. After the exam, an anonymous account posted on the student forum that the invigilator at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology exam site took 30 minutes to complete the exam.

According to this person, when the bell rang at 8:30, the invigilator reminded that this was the time to read the exam questions and that candidates were not allowed to hold a pen. At around 8:43, a candidate picked up a pen and was reminded by the invigilator. It was not until 9:00, when many candidates were wondering, that the invigilators asked again and learned that the exam time started at 8:30. "The above incident seriously affected the spirit and test results of me and many other students in the exam room because it took too much time," this person wrote.

Regarding the candidates' feedback, on the morning of June 3, the Examination Council of the 2nd round of the 2025 Ho Chi Minh City National University Competency Assessment Exam held an extraordinary meeting to review and handle the candidates' feedback at examination cluster 9 (Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology).

According to the report from examination cluster 9, two incidents occurred. Specifically, in examination room P.42, examination point No. 17, candidates reported that they were not allowed to hold a pen to do the test in the first period, affecting the test time. In examination room P.39, candidates reported that they were not given scratch paper, causing difficulties in the test taking process.

After reviewing the incident, examination cluster 9 requested the relevant invigilators and supervisors to explain. The verification results showed that in examination room P.42, the cause of the incident was due to the invigilator mishearing the bell, leading to a delay in allowing candidates to start the test. This incident stemmed from the subjectivity and errors in professional coordination of the invigilators, affecting the rights of candidates.

In exam room P.39, the reason was that the exam supervisor did not fully check the equipment and supplies according to the prescribed list, leading to no scratch paper being given to the candidates.

"This error arose from the carelessness of the invigilators in performing their duties, and this incident was not reported promptly to the Examination Council at examination site No. 17," the announcement of Ho Chi Minh City National University stated.

On that basis, the Examination Council has proposed handling measures. The leaders of Examination Cluster 9 were assigned to contact the affected candidates, and the representatives of the Examination Council were assigned to directly apologize to the candidates and support the candidates in overcoming the consequences. The leaders of Examination Cluster 9 are responsible for verifying the individuals involved, applying appropriate handling measures and reporting back to the Examination Council.

The examination council is reviewing and improving the organization of the exam to prevent similar incidents in future exams. The examination council of the Ho Chi Minh City National University Competency Assessment Exam is committed to maintaining transparency, fairness and constantly improving the exam organization process towards a more professional and effective direction.

Previously, in the first round of the Ho Chi Minh City National University's competency assessment exam held on the morning of March 30, a similar incident also occurred at exam cluster 50 of An Giang University, exam site 111, exam room P002 (ND502). The cause was determined to be due to negligence in the process of distributing exam papers, leading to 2 candidates sitting close to each other receiving the same exam code. When the incident was discovered, the exam supervisors collected some exam papers for inspection, before continuing to distribute the papers to the remaining candidates. This led to a delay in the exam paper distribution process. The examination council has taken measures to handle the situation in the direction of assigning the leaders of exam cluster 50 to contact the affected candidates, the representative of the examination council directly apologized and committed to creating favorable conditions for candidates to participate in the second round of the exam.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/su-co-ky-thi-danh-gia-nang-luc-can-bo-coi-thi-nghe-nham-chuong-bao-gio-185250604165424493.htm