Vietnam 2026 high‑school graduation exam faces cheating claims and record university enrolments

In July 2026 several Vietnamese provinces saw social‑media accusations that students achieved perfect scores in the national high‑school graduation exam. A girl in Đắk Lắk alleged a classmate earned a 10‑point math score, while another post claimed a student used AI to cheat on an English test. Provincial education departments and local police investigated both cases and reported, “không phát hiện dấu hiệu tiêu cực hay vi phạm quy chế thi nào” (no signs of misconduct or rule violations). The schools reprimanded the students for spreading unverified information.

At the same time, the Ministry of Education and Training released nationwide enrolment data. Of the 1.24 million examinees, 874,811 students entered university and college preferences, submitting a total of 7,180,860 choices – an average of 8.2 wishes per student. More than 467,600 applicants targeted STEM programmes, while over 325,000 students did not register any university or college wish. The ministry also announced a phased online fee‑payment schedule for 34 provinces, with deadlines from 15 July to 21 July, and capped the maximum number of preferences at 15 per applicant.

These developments highlight ongoing concerns about exam integrity, a massive surge in higher‑education demand, and new administrative procedures aimed at improving transparency and managing system load.