SƠN LA — Another education official involved in a high school graduation exam cheating scandal in Sơn La Province was put under house arrest on Wednesday as the investigation expanded.

Sơn La Province launched an official investigation against Nguyễn Thanh Nhàn, deputy head of the Division of Examination and Quality Management under the provincial Department of Education and Training, accusing her of abuse of power.

The police also issued search warrants at her place of work and residence in Sơn La City.

An inspection by the education ministry into the results of the high school exit-cum-university entrance exams in Sơn La last month found that an unknown number of multiple-choice test results had been altered, while students were awarded inflated grades for their literature tests.

On July 31, police arrested Lò Văn Huynh, head of the examination and quality management division, his division officer Nguyễn Thị Hồng Nga, and Tô Hiệu High School vice rector Đặng Hữu Thủy.

Sơn La’s education department deputy director Trần Xuân Yến and Cầm Thị Bun Sọn, deputy head of the political ideology division, were also put under house arrest.

All of the involved were said to have abused their power to intervene in the tests’ results.

Cheating this year was deemed the biggest scandal in the education sector for a decade. Three localities were found to have raised the test scores of hundreds of students in the most important examination they take that determines their path to college.

Police have also arrested two education officials in Hòa Bình and Hà Giang provinces as separate probes into the fraud continues. — VNS