"The drum is one way, the speaker is another" and the funny story of the high school graduation exam

(Dan Tri) - "There were only two minutes left before the end of the exam, but the phones in the candidates' pockets suddenly rang. At some exam sites, people shouted one thing while beating the drums another, causing the timing to be inconsistent"...

The above is the sharing of Mr. Tran The Cuong, Director of Hanoi Department of Education and Training this morning (June 23), at the Conference on guiding the 2025 high school graduation exam.

This is the first time Hanoi has organized a combined in-person and online training conference with more than 300 locations, with the participation of leaders of 233 exam locations and more than 16,000 officials and teachers on exam invigilation duty.

Beating the drum one way, shouting another

The 2025 high school graduation exam took place on June 26 and 27 with nearly 1.17 million candidates nationwide registering to take the exam, of which Hanoi had more than 124,000 candidates - continuing to be the locality with the largest number of candidates in the country, an increase of more than 15,000 students compared to last year.

Mr. Tran The Cuong, Director of Hanoi Department of Education and Training (Photo: Cuong Le).

According to the head of the capital'seducation sector, despite many reminders, rare and unfortunate cases still occur almost every year, especially related to mobile phones.

“Some candidates bring their phones into the exam room, sometimes just to have their parents call to pick them up, but if the invigilator finds out, their exam will also become a “zero” (score 0).

There was a student who did very well on the test, but with only a few minutes left, suddenly the phone in his pocket rang, and he lost the whole test.

Rarely, there are exam sites where the person in charge of beating the drum is one way, while the person in charge of shouting the loudspeaker is another, leading to a “mismatch” in terms of time. Therefore, it is best that the person beating the drum and shouting the loudspeaker be the same to unify the time,” said Mr. Cuong.

Especially after Hanoi merged with Ha Tay (old), many schools have very similar names but are several dozen kilometers apart. If students are not careful, they will get the wrong exam scores.

“There was a student who set the search location to Minh Khai High School but didn't pay attention, the location only pointed to Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School, while the two schools are dozens of kilometers apart, so it was too late.

That is why this year, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training coordinated to create a digital map to create favorable conditions for candidates and avoid unfortunate mistakes," said Mr. Cuong.

Also this morning, Hanoi exam invigilators were trained in preventing and combating cheating in exams, especially cheating using high technology.

Representatives of the City Police directly disseminated specific situations related to candidates possibly carrying disguised electronic devices, emphasizing the need to carefully remind before entering the exam room and closely monitor during the test.

Ms. Doan Thi Kieu Oanh, Chief Inspector of Hanoi Department of Education and Training (Photo: Cuong Le).

Replace the head of the department immediately if he is not competent.

This year is the first time the high school graduation exam is held for two groups of candidates: Candidates studying the 2018 General Education Program (new program) and candidates studying the 2006 General Education Program (old program).

The Ministry of Education and Training has developed two separate sets of exam questions, suitable for the objectives and learning content of each program.

Of the 233 exam sites this year, Hanoi has 229 exam sites for candidates following the new program and 4 exam sites for candidates following the old program, located in the districts of Tay Ho, Long Bien, Ha Dong and Dan Phuong.

Ms. Doan Thi Kieu Oanh, Chief Inspector of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, said that the Department had established teams to inspect facilities before the exam. Most schools in the area had ensured that.

Digital maps will be applied for the first time in the 2025 high school graduation exam (Photo: My Ha).

However, some testing sites have not yet installed cabinets to secure exam papers and test papers, and have not cleaned exam rooms and tables and chairs. Schools have made plans to inspect and review facilities, committed to arranging and completing reports to the Department before June 24.

At the conference, Mr. Tran The Cuong noted that although this is an annual exam, this year there are some fundamental new points. In particular, all candidates studying the new program are taking the exam for the first time, while the exam invigilators still have to implement two different regulations in parallel.

“Unit and individuals must absolutely not be subjective. The city's exam steering committee requires units and individuals to ensure safety and honesty during the exam organization process, have backup plans for any unusual situations, and not let any stage of the exam occur without strict management and supervision and without someone taking responsibility,” Mr. Tran The Cuong emphasized.

The head of the capital's education sector also said that last year's exam season, there was a head of the exam center who was not competent enough to conduct the exam, so the Department of Education and Training immediately assigned a replacement. He emphasized this because every step related to the exam, no matter how small, must be carefully prepared, with the right person and the right job.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/trong-mot-dang-loa-mot-neo-va-chuyen-do-khoc-do-cuoi-thi-tot-nghiep-thpt-20250623143320904.htm