Students at Hoàng Hoa Thám High School in Đà Nẵng fill out registration applications for the national high school graduation examination. VNA/VNS  Photo Văn Dũng

HCM CITY— Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on July 27 instructed the Ministry of Education and Training to hold the high school graduation examination in all provinces and cities as previously scheduled, including in Đà Nẵng where new COVID-19 cases have appeared.

Provincial and city authorities as well as health officials must ensure safety for test candidates, the Prime Minister said at a recent meeting on COVID-19 prevention.

As scheduled, the examination will be organised on August 8-10 nationwide. The date is two months later than in previous years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The content in the tests will be based on what 12th graders have studied.

Candidates will take compulsory tests in math, literature and foreign languages and will have the option of choosing tests in natural sciences or social sciences.

The ministry said that it would guide relevant agencies in provinces and cities to classify candidates based on the risk levels of transmission and arrange suitable venues and classrooms.  

It will require local authorities to help school managers and teachers update the health conditions of 12th graders and decide who can sit the exam. Local authorities will report to steering committees for the examination in provinces and cities.

Preventive measures against COVID-19 should be carried out in venues and areas where the tests will be printed and where teachers will mark the candidates’ tests.

Most provinces and cities have prepared classrooms and teachers for the exam to be organised safely.

Unlike in previous years, provinces and cities have been granted autonomy in organising the exam. The ministry will not assign teachers of universities to watch the exam-taking as it did in previous years.

The southern province of Đồng Nai, for instance, will arrange 58 venues with 1,205 classrooms in nine districts and the two cities of Biên Hòa and Long Khánh.

Its Department of Education and Training will assign 3,385 cadres and teachers to monitor the exam-taking and 250 teachers will mark candidates’ tests. The province is expected to have more than 28,300 candidates sit the exam.

The Central Highlands province of Lâm Đồng is also preparing facilities and human resources for the exam. The province will have nearly 14,000 candidates sit the exam.

It has prepared 39 venues with 583 classrooms in all districts. It will assign 2,100 of its staff and teachers to oversee the exam-taking.  

The departments of Education and Training in central provinces are also preparing facilities and human resources for the exam.

From July 27 to August 10, Quảng Nam Province will isolate 48 cadres who will work with others to print tests. The province has mountainous districts with many families living under difficult circumstances, so its leaders have allocated VNĐ2.5 billion (US$107,919) for instruction for ethnic minority students.

For the exam date, the provincial Department of Education and Training has set up methods for travelling, dining and accommodations for test candidates. 

Đà Nẵng is expected to have 10,500 candidates sit the exam. The city will arrange 25 venues with 437 classrooms at high schools and secondary schools. City police will be in charge of ensuring security around the venues. Its Department of Health will be in charge of food safety and hygiene at food stores around the venues.

Thừa Thiên Huế Province will have more than 12,570 candidates at 35 venues. Cameras will be installed at areas where tests will be marked.  VNS