Vietnam revamps high‑school graduation exam, raising fraud concerns

Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training changed the high‑school graduation exam in 2020, shifting from the earlier THPT National Exam (2015‑2019) that was jointly organized by the ministry and universities to a purely provincial graduation test. Under the former system, university staff held key supervisory roles, with thousands of lecturers acting as proctors and examiners, providing an independent check on local authorities.

Since the reform, universities have withdrawn from direct organization, leaving the entire exam process – from paper preparation to grading – under provincial control. Analysts warn that the loss of independent university oversight creates vulnerabilities to cheating, especially given intense local pressure to achieve high graduation rates and educational rankings. Past incidents of exam fraud in provinces such as Hà Giang and Sơn La illustrate how tightly knit local officials can exploit these gaps.

The Ministry is now faced with the challenge of tightening controls to prevent fraud while maintaining the integrity of the nationwide graduation assessment.