Sơn La Police has decided to arrest Lò Thị Trường on charge of “giving bribes” involvement in exam cheating scandal. — VNA/VNS Photo

SƠN LA — Police in Sơn La Province have brought new criminal charges over the high school exam cheating scandal in the province last year.

Lò Văn Huynh, former head of the local authority of examination and quality management was charged with “receiving bribes” while Lò Thị Trương, Huynh’s relative, was charged with “giving bribes”.

On the same day, police arrested Trần Xuân Yến, former vice director of the provincial Department of Education and Training who was earlier put under house arrest, after he changed his testimony.

At the first-instance trial on October 15, Huynh was one of eight defendants charged with “abusing positions and powers in on duty.” Huynh, Yến and their accomplices are alleged to have raised scores for 44 students.

Huynh admitted to receiving VNĐ300 million (US$13,000) from Trường after adjusting her son's test result.

During the investigation, Trường did not acknowledge giving money. However, being summoned to the court as a witness, she admitted giving the money to Huynh. When the incident was detected, Huynh returned the money.

Yến did not agree with the indictment of the provincial People’s Procuracy and said he only asked a worker under his leadership to see the mark list before making the public announcement. Yến said he was forced to give inaccurate testimony.

Further investigation into the case is underway.

In Sơn La, the average scores for maths and physics were 3.43 and 4.03, lower than the national average of 4.88 and 4.96, respectively. However, 30 students achieved nine out of 10 points and above for the maths test, and 13 students scored nine points or higher in the physics exam at high school exam last year.
The results of the national high school examination have been used for the last four years to determine whether a student graduates from high school and gets into their chosen university or not. — VNS