The moment the car broke down and the despair of an 18-year-old boy
On the morning of June 27, when the 2025 high school graduation exam was about to begin, Le Quoc, a 12A5 student at Han Thuyen High School, Ho Chi Minh City, suddenly encountered a situation where his tire broke in the middle of the road when he was about 8km away from the exam location.
Speaking to Dan Tri reporter, Le Quoc said he was taking the graduation exam at Phu Nhuan High School. The male student said he lived with his father in Binh Chanh district, this morning his father went to work so he went to the exam site by himself and unfortunately had an accident.
On the way from his home in Binh Chanh district (about 12-13km from the exam site), Quoc's motorbike suddenly broke down on Tan Ky Tan Quy street.
At that time, around 6:30 am, it was very difficult to find a repair shop, while it took about 25-30 minutes from the broken-down area to the exam location if there was no traffic jam.
As the person who received the information that her students had not yet come to take the exam from the Phu Nhuan High School Examination Council even though it was almost time to open the exam, Ms. Huynh Thi Ngoc Lanh, Vice Principal of Han Thuyen High School, was burning with anxiety.
During the exam that morning, she went through extremely stressful moments trying to find ways to help Le Quoc.
Ms. Lanh recounted that when she received information from Mr. Vu Quoc Phong, Principal of Le Thi Hong Gam High School, Head of Phu Nhuan High School Examination Site, reporting to the school about the absence of student Le Quoc, she was restless.
"I immediately reported to the head of the examination site to open the seal of the academic affairs office to retrieve the student's file and get the phone number to call Quoc. Everything from collecting the file to contacting the candidate was done publicly, under the supervision of inspectors and police," Ms. Lanh shared.
When she had the phone number, Ms. Lanh reported the situation to the Head of the Han Thuyen High School Examination Site to ask to use the examination site's phone to contact Quoc. After connecting with the student, what hurt Ms. Lanh the most was hearing his voice on the phone, saying that his car was broken and he could not make it to the Phu Nhuan examination site in time.
The teacher's feelings and the decision to "save" the student
The female teacher's head kept "jumping numbers": "I reassured her: "Now, just calm down, ask people around you and run to the nearest exam site", Ms. Lanh recalled emotionally.
Quoc worriedly asked if he could take the exam there. Ms. Lanh firmly encouraged him, even though she was not sure: "Just run there and by all means, please enter the school. Because it's very late now!"
Immediately after that, Ms. Lanh urgently called to report and ask for opinions from the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City.
"The Testing Department was very quick, asked for the leader's opinion and agreed to allow Quoc to enter the nearest testing site, as long as he entered before the gate closed," Ms. Lanh recounted.
Ms. Lanh confided that at that time, the female teacher had the mentality of a mother whose child was taking an exam. If such an incident happened to her child, she would feel very regretful and disappointed. When guiding Quoc to run to the nearest exam site for his child, Ms. Lanh also had only a faint hope.
MSc. Huynh Thi Ngoc Lanh and students of Han Thuyen High School (Photo: Provided by the character).
The closest exam site that Quoc thought of was Vinh Loc High School. Without time to think, Quoc immediately followed the teacher's instructions. When he arrived at Vinh Loc High School, the gate was closed. After Quoc explained the situation, the male student was allowed inside by the exam board.
"The exam papers were already distributed, I was almost 10 minutes late, according to the rules, if you are 15 minutes late you will not be allowed into the exam room. Luckily I had about 7 minutes left and the council assisted me very quickly," Quoc said.
Lightning-fast coordination and timely approval
At Vinh Loc High School exam site (Binh Tan district), Mr. Hoang Cong Phu, Vice Principal of Vinh Loc B High School, Head of the exam site, said that handling unusual situations like Quoc's was included in the exam training instructions of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City.
Therefore, upon receiving the case, the examination board calmly handled it according to regulations. According to Mr. Phu, Quoc ran to the gate of Vinh Loc High School examination site at 7:43 am on June 27, which is 8 minutes after the official exam time started (7:35 am).
"At the gate, the Deputy Head of the examination site confirmed the time and quickly reported to the duty room," Mr. Phu recounted.
Although he had not received prior notice from the Department, after Quoc explained the situation and asked to take the exam, Mr. Phu quickly contacted the Examination Department.
According to Mr. Phu, the Examination Department responded extremely quickly, only about 2 minutes later, allowing candidates to take the exam as usual.
Immediately, a spare room was prepared for Quoc to take the test. Although the test had been open for nearly 10 minutes, according to regulations, that time was still not over the time limit allowed for candidates to take the test.
The regulations for the high school graduation exam stipulate: For each exam session, candidates must be present at the exam location/room at the specified time, follow the instructions of the exam location and the instructions of the invigilator. Candidates who arrive more than 15 minutes late after the exam time signal are not allowed to take that exam session.
Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, confirmed: "The head of the examination site has reported and asked for the opinion of the Ho Chi Minh City Graduation Examination Council and has agreed to allow candidates to take the exam at this examination site". Immediately, Vinh Loc High School Examination Site checked the documents, supported the National Examination in the backup room, and at the same time made a record to send the exam papers to the Grading Council for further processing.
Mr. Hoang Cong Phu commented that Quoc's quickness in finding the nearest exam site and proactively reporting the situation was an important factor in helping the incident be resolved promptly. Although it took him about 13 minutes longer than other candidates, with the support from the school, the Department of Education and Training and the exam sites, he was able to complete his exam.
Bursting with emotions and humanistic meaning
When he was allowed into the exam room, Quoc said that although it took about 15 minutes, he still managed to finish the physics test and then the history test.
"Since hearing the news that I can still compete, I feel much calmer as I am given the best conditions," Quoc expressed.
Receiving the news that Quoc had taken the exam at Vinh Loc, the teachers at Han Thuyen exam site were overwhelmed.
"When we learned that my child had been admitted to the exam in Vinh Loc, everyone burst into tears. Ms. Pham Thi Binh, Principal of Vo Truong Toan High School and Head of the Han Thuyen exam site, hugged me and said, "I'm so happy, Lanh. I'm as happy for your student as if she were my own student," Ms. Lanh emotionally recounted.
Master Ngoc Lanh commented that Le Quoc is a very good student. Although his academic performance cannot be compared to top schools, he tries very hard. He also has his own circumstances with high self-reliance and has to study far away.
The quick and humane decision of the leaders of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, the timely coordination between the examination sites and especially the sensitivity and decisiveness of the teachers helped Le Quoc not miss the valuable opportunity in his high school graduation exam.
“When the teachers heard the news, they were all very happy and touched because the Department's leaders handled the situation so humanely. Everyone told each other that this solution "saved the boy's life" because if they had to review it for a year, they would have given up.
In general, Quoc was very happy to be able to take the exam and complete the test. In 20 years of being a teacher, this is the most memorable and happiest exam for me," teacher Huynh Thi Ngoc Lanh was moved.
Le Quoc could not hide his emotion when thinking about the prospect of not being allowed to take the exam. The male student said he would definitely be very bored.
The high school graduation exam is the door for male students to realize their dream of going to university, especially their first wish of entering the University of Industry and Trade.
For the unexpected and timely help, Quoc would like to send his deep thanks to all those who supported him on that fateful morning.
"I would like to thank Vice Principal Huynh Thi Ngoc Lanh of Han Thuyen School for her quick guidance. I am also extremely grateful to the Head of Vinh Loc High School Examination Site, along with all the teachers in the examination councils, leaders of the Department of Education and Training... for creating the best conditions for me to take the test," Quoc expressed his deep gratitude.
For Le Quoc, the incident on the morning of June 27 was not just an unforgettable memory. Thanks to the cooperation of many people, the male student was able to continue his journey to conquer his dream.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/thi-sinh-bi-hong-xe-duoc-thi-nho-diem-thi-khac-ke-ve-7-phut-dinh-menh-20250627233340477.htm
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