Thanh Hoa province directs investigation

Mr. Dau Thanh Tung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province, has directed an investigation and verification of the "controversy" surrounding the selection of the gifted student team at Lam Son High School for the Gifted, as reported by Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper .

The Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee has issued a directive to clarify the controversy at Lam Son Specialized High School.

Accordingly, in the directive, Mr. Dau Thanh Tung instructed the Department of Education and Training of Thanh Hoa province to coordinate with relevant units, based on the content reported by Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper, to urgently investigate and verify the reported issues, and promptly report to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee before October 11th.

Previously, as reported by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, a citizen submitted a complaint to the Ministry of Education and Training, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province, and the Department of Education and Training of Thanh Hoa province regarding some "dubious" issues in the selection of students to participate in the provincial-level excellent student competition to choose the team for the 2024 National Excellent Student Competition, causing dissatisfaction among parents.

Specifically, at Lam Son High School for the Gifted, a student who initially ranked 22nd in the exam unexpectedly received an additional 1.5 points for a score of 12.0. This resulted in the student moving up to 20th place overall in the school. Simultaneously, the student qualified for the second round of the provincial-level math competition (to select the national team for the national math competition).

Notably, Lam Son Specialized High School organized a school-level selection exam for its team on September 7th and 8th, 2024 (at this time, Lam Son Specialized High School was still implementing the plan to select 15 students as issued by the Thanh Hoa Provincial Department of Education and Training).

However, after the competition was held, on September 13th, Lam Son Specialized High School submitted a proposal to the Department of Education and Training requesting permission to increase the quota from 15 students to 20. On September 18th, the Thanh Hoa Department of Education and Training issued a document agreeing to the proposal.

The school where the controversy erupted in the selection process for the gifted student competition team.

According to the original plan of the Thanh Hoa Provincial Department of Education and Training for Lam Son Specialized High School to select 15 students, the score after the review would not have been high enough for this candidate to join the school's team. However, thanks to the adjustment by the Department of Education and Training, this candidate automatically achieved the required score to join the team. This is considered to be a deliberate act to legitimize favoritism towards this student.

Responding to the Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son, Principal of Lam Son Specialized High School, explained that the school has two math classes (a total of 70 students), and to give students more opportunities to practice, the school had submitted a request to the Department of Education and Training to increase the class size to 20 students.

"The increase in the number of students stems from the needs of parents and students. We also raised this request with the Department of Education in meetings, but it has not been considered. During the school's exam planning process, the Department announced that the plan was still only for 15 students. However, after the exam and the results were available, we submitted a request to increase the number, and the Department of Education and Training agreed to increase it to 20 students," Mr. Son informed.

Regarding the case of students receiving higher scores, Mr. Son stated that out of the 34 candidates in the selection exam for the team, only candidate LVAĐ (Grade 11, Math 2) submitted an appeal and received a 1.5-point increase.

Immediately after the media reported the incident, Mr. Tran Van Thuc, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Thanh Hoa province, instructed the Department's Inspectorate to investigate and verify the matter. The results are not yet available.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/vu-lum-xum-o-truong-thpt-chuyen-lam-son-tinh-thanh-hoa-chi-dao-lam-ro-196241010121311064.htm