CIRCULAR

REGULATION ON EXAMS FOR THE SELECTION OF EXCELLENT STUDENT AT NATIONAL LEVEL

Pursuant to the Law on Education of Vietnam dated June 14, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Higher Education dated June 18, 2012; the Law on Amendments to the Law on Education dated November 19, 2018;

Pursuant to Decree No. 86/2022/ND-CP October 24, 2022 of the Government of Vietnam on functions, tasks, entitlements, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam;

At the request of the Director of the Quality Control Department;

The Minister of Education and Training hereby promulgates the Regulation on Exams for the Selection of Excellent Students at the National Level.

Article 1. The Regulation on Exams for the Selection of Excellent Students at the National Level is promulgated together with this Circular.

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Article 3. Chief of the Office, Director of the Quality Control Department, Director of the Department of Planning and Finance, directors of affiliates of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam; Presidents of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally affiliated cities; Directors of Departments of Education and Training; directors of parent universities and institutions; principals of universities; principals of general schools shall implement this Circular./.

PP. MINISTER
DEPUTY MINISTER




Pham Ngoc Thuong

REGULATION

EXAMS FOR THE SELECTION OF EXCELLENT STUDENTS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL
(Promulgated together with Circular No. 17/2023/TT-BGDDT dated October 10, 2023 of the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam)

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

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1. This Regulation provides for exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level (hereinafter referred to as "Exam Regulation"), including general provisions; exam preparation; question papers; invigilation; marking and re-marking; handling of exam results; regulation on report and archive, inspection, and handling of violations and commendation; implementation.

2. This Regulation applies to high schools and general schools with many levels of education (including the high school level), hereinafter referred to as "high schools"; Departments of Education and Training; parent universities, institutions, and universities that have high schools in their systems; relevant organizations and individuals.

Article 2. Purpose and requirement

1. Exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level aim to encourage teachers and learners to promote their creative capacity, excellent teaching, and excellent learning; contribute to the promotion of the enhancement and improvement of the quality of teaching and learning, quality of the management and directive of education management authorities while discovering learners with talents in learning subjects to create a training source and achieve the target of training talents for Vietnam.

2. Exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level shall ensure the requirements for safety, seriousness, accuracy, objectivity, and fairness.

Article 3. Organization of exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level

1. Annually, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam shall organize two exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level, including the exam for the selection of excellent students at the high school level (hereinafter referred to as “exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level”) and the exam for the selection of excellent students for national teams participating in the International and Regional Olympic Competitions (hereinafter referred to as “exam for the selection of Olympic teams”).

2. Each Department of Education and Training, parent university, and university (not under a parent university) with high schools in their systems teaching the specialized program shall be considered a participating unit; Viet Bac Highland High School shall be considered a participating unit.

Article 4. Candidates

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a) High school students whose training (or conduct) and study performance are classified as "Good" or above according to their results at the end of the semester (or academic year) adjacent to the exam and are selected for the team of the participating unit;

b) Each candidate may only participate in one exam subject in an academic year.

2. Regarding the exam for the selection of Olympic teams:

Regulations on candidates:

a) High school students selected by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam among the students that achieve prizes in the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level in the same academic year on the principle of high to low based on test scores, ensuring that the number of students selected for each exam subject does not exceed 8 times the number of students required for the national team participating in the International Olympic Competition for such an exam subject;

b) High school students not participating in the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level in the same academic year but are already members of the national team participating in the Regional Olympic Competition or members of the national team participating in the International Olympic Competition of the preceding academic year.

Article 5. Exam subjects, exam contents, exam forms, and time allotted for exam papers

1. Exam subjects:

a) Regarding subjects of the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level, such as Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Informatics, Literature, History, Geography, and Foreign Languages (English, Russian, French, and Chinese), exams for the mentioned subjects shall only be held if there are at least 5 participating units. Adjustments to exam subjects (if any) shall be decided by the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam;

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2. Exam contents are in the General Education Program, teaching contents of specialized high school subjects. However, the exam contents in the exam for the selection of Olympic teams shall be on par with the ones in the International and Regional Olympic Competitions.

3. Exam forms and time allotted for exam papers:

a) Regarding the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level, there shall be two examination sessions for Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Informatics, and Foreign Languages and one examination session for Literature, History, and Geography; the time allotted shall be 180 minutes. The Informatics exam shall be carried out on computers; exams for other subjects shall be carried out on paper. Regarding Foreign Languages that have speaking tests, candidates shall have 5 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to record their audio;

b) Regarding the exam for the selection of Olympic teams, there shall be two examination sessions for each exam subject; Physics, Chemistry, and Biology exams shall have an additional practical examination session; the time allotted for the Informatics exam shall be 300 minutes per exam paper, 270 minutes per exam paper for Math, and 240 minutes per exam paper for other subjects. The time allotted for the practical examination session for Physic, Biology, and Biology shall be 180 minutes.

Article 6. Exam schedule and location

1. The exam schedule shall comply with the Exam Organization Guideline. The exam schedule with backup question papers (if any) shall be disclosed by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam immediately after any decision to take the backup exam.

2. Exam location:

a) Regarding the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level, each participating unit shall have one Invigilation Council. In case of many participating units in the same province or centrally affiliated city (hereinafter referred to as “province”), one Invigilation Council for all may be sufficient;

b) Regarding the exam for the selection of Olympic teams, guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam shall prevail.

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1. Participating units shall uniformly use software for the management of the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level provided by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam; establish an information exchange system; comply with the procedure, time limit for handling data, and regulations on reports according to the Exam Organization Guideline.

2. Participating units shall appoint officials and public employees according to Clause 2 Article 8 of this Regulation to use computers and software for the management of the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level; register their emails and phone numbers according to the Exam Organization Guideline.

Article 8. Standards of exam organizers

1. Members of the Steering Committee for exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level and Paper Question Setting Councils, Marking Councils, and Re-Marking Councils are exam organizers.

2. Exam organizers shall adequately meet the following standards:

a) Having a sense of morality and responsibility;

b) Being professionally proficient in exam administration; and

c) Not having any spouse, child, sibling, relative, child-in-law, sibling-in-law, relative-in-law, guardian, or ward participate in the exam;

d) Not being under any disciplinary measures or criminally prosecuted.

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Article 9. Exam directive and organization

1. The Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam shall direct and organize exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level and assess and decide to handle special cases concerning the assurance of the purposes and requirements of the exam organization.

2. Annually, the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam shall issue a decision to establish the Steering Committee for exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level (hereinafter referred to as "Exam Steering Committee").

a) The Head of the Committee shall be the Deputy Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam; the Vice Heads shall be heads of concerned units of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam. Specifically, the Standing Vice Head is the head of the Department of Quality Control; Members are heads of several concerned units of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam; the Secretaries of the Exam Steering Committee are officials and public employees of the concerned unit of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam;

b) Tasks and entitlements of the Exam Steering Committee: Assist the Minister of Education and Training in directing the implementation of exam organization plans; direct and inspect the implementation of question paper setting, invigilation, marking, and re-marking; handle arising issues during the organization of exams and submit reports on the exam organization to the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam and competent authorities.

c) Tasks and entitlements of members of the Exam Steering Committee: The Head of the Committee shall take responsibility for the results of the implementation of tasks of the Exam Steering Committee and enable members to perform the tasks and entitlements prescribed in Point b Clause 2 of this Article; Vice Heads, members, and secretaries of the Committee shall take responsibility for the results of the implementation of tasks and entitlement according to the assignment or authorization of the Head.

3. The Department of Quality Control shall take charge and cooperate with concerned units in:

a) Developing plans to organize exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level and presenting them to the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam for approval;

b) Guiding the organization of exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level;

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d) Organizing the question paper setting and handing over question papers meeting the requirements of the exam organization;

dd) Organizing the invigilation of exams for the selection of Olympic teams;

e) Organizing the marking and re-marking of exam papers in exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level.

4. The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam shall take charge and cooperate with concerned units in inspecting the organization stages of exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level.

Article 10. Handling of abnormal incidents

1. In case the question papers have deficiencies, heads of Councils shall immediately report such an incident to the Exam Steering Committee for handling schemes.

2. Any abnormal incident concerning the question papers shall be reported to the Exam Steering Committee for assessment and decision.

3. If a CD containing the listening test of a specific Foreign Language Subject is broken:

a) If the main CD is broken, but the backup CD is still working, the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council shall make minutes on the status of all CDs and permit the use of the backup CD;

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4. If the question paper is leaked:

a) The Exam Steering Committee shall fully take responsibility for the handling of any question paper leak. Upon official conclusions on the question paper leak, the Exam Steering Committee shall suspend the exam whose question paper is leaked and organize an additional one using the backup question paper at an appropriate time according to the decision of the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam.

b) The Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam shall cooperate with competent authorities in inspecting, verifying, and concluding the reason for any question paper leak and handling the perpetrator and any person involved following the laws.

5. If there is a power supply problem or the computers in the Informatics exam room must be changed:

a) The Chairperson of the Invigilation Council where the incident takes place shall suspend the Informatics examination session for affected candidates or completely suspend the whole examination session and direct and organize remedial measures following one of the two following schemes: (i) Continue the Informatics examination session immediately after the incident has been remedied and add extra time allotted for the exam for candidates if the remedial time is no more than 30 minutes; (ii) Cancel the Informatics examination session if the remedial time takes more than 30 minutes. The incident shall be immediately reported to the Head of the Exam Steering Committee for remedial schemes;

b) If the Informatics examination session must be canceled, the additional exam using the backup question papers shall be organized at an appropriate time according to the decision of the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam;

c) Participating units that deliberately cause incidents shall be handled under laws.

6. In case of severe natural disasters, the Head of the Exam Steering Committee shall postpone the examination session and organize the exam according to the decision of the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam.

7. During the exam organization, if there is any other abnormal incident, concerned organizations and individuals shall immediately submit reports to the Head of the Exam Steering Committee for timely and appropriate handling schemes.

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PREPARATION

Article 11. Establishment of exam teams

1. Regarding the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level:

a) Participating units shall establish their exam teams meeting the requirements prescribed in Clause 1 Article 4 and Clause 1 Article 12 of this Regulation;

b) Units shall submit applications for exam subjects and the number of candidates for each subject and lists of candidates for each subject to the Department of Quality Control 30 days before the examination date. After the mentioned time limit, adjustments to lists of candidates are forbidden.

2. Regarding the exam for the selection of Olympic teams, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam shall select and summon candidates meeting the requirements prescribed in Clause 2 Article 4 and Clause 2 Article 12 of this Regulation to participate in the exam.

Article 12. Number of candidates

1. Regarding the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level, each participating unit may register up to 10 candidates for each exam team (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City units may register up to 20 candidates for each exam team).

2. Regarding the exam for the selection of Olympic teams, the annual number of candidates for each subject shall be decided by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, ensuring the satisfaction of the requirements prescribed in Clause 2 Article 4 of this Regulation.

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1. Candidate profiles shall include:

a) The decision of the head of the participating unit on the establishment of teams participating in exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level (enclosed with the list of candidates of each team);

b) Academic records of the current education level (in case the exam is organized before the end of the 1st semester of the academic year) or the classification of the training (or conduct) and study performance of the semester adjacent to the exam of each candidate with confirmation from the school principal (in case the exam is organized immediately after the end of the 1st semester of the academic year).

2. Issuance of exam participation cards:

a) Directors of participating units shall issue exam participation cards to their candidates. The issuance shall be done at least 10 days before the examination date;

b) Exam participation cards shall be enclosed with colored photos sized 4cm x 6cm of candidates, taken in the form of Citizen ID photos within 6 months before the examination date with seals of the participating units.

Chapter II

QUESTION PAPER

Article 14. Proposal question papers

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2. Proposal question papers shall be compiled by certain researchers, lecturers, and teachers with scientific prestige and specialized capacity who have worked or are working for education and training institutions or educational authorities, research institutes, and specialized associations at the request of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam.

3. Contents of proposal question papers shall meet the requirements prescribed in Article 5 of this Regulation. The compilers shall directly seal and send the proposal question papers directly to the Department of Quality Control.

4. The compilers shall strictly ensure the confidentiality of the contents of the proposal question papers and are forbidden from disclosing them under any form.

5. The Department of Quality Control shall accept, archive, and hand over sealed proposal question papers to the Paper Question Setting Council.

Article 15. Official question papers and backup question papers

1. In each exam, each exam paper/subject shall have an official question paper and an equivalent backup question paper, and there is no optional question paper for each exam subject.

2. The content of the question paper shall comply with Article 5 of this Regulation and ensure the accuracy, science, and classification of candidates’ qualifications. Question papers of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology in the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level shall have questions assessing the skills and capacity for performing experiments and practice of candidates; the question papers of the exam for the selection of Olympic teams shall be equivalent to the question papers of International and Regional Olympic Competitions in terms of structure and knowledge scope.

3. Question papers shall be clear and coherent to prevent any confusion. The number of pages shall be specified, and each page shall be numbered and labeled with the word "HẾT" (END) at the end of the question paper.

4. Undisclosed official and backup question papers and enclosed marking guidelines are subject to the list of state secrets classified as “Top Secret”. The protection period of question papers subject to state secrets classified as “Top Secret” shall only end after the time allotted for the exam paper.

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6. Official question papers for the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level and their answer keys shall be disclosed on the web portal of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam after the disclosure of exam results.

Article 16. Areas intended for question paper setting and confidentiality requirements

1. The area intended for the question paper setting must be safe and separate, protected by the public security forces in terms of safety, security, fire safety, and isolation of information from the outside, strictly secured, and equipped with communication, information confidentiality, and fire safety equipment. Persons working in the question paper setting area shall be equipped with specific badges and only operate within the permitted scope.

2. In the question paper setting area, it is forbidden to use mobile phones or any transceiver, information transmission device, and audio and video recording device, except for a landline with a recording function and speaker inspected by the public security force. In necessary cases, with the written consent of the Chairperson of the Question Paper Setting Council, it is permitted to make calls using the landline on speaker mode and record the calls under the surveillance of the public security force. In special cases, with the written consent of the Chairperson of the Question Paper Setting Council, the members above are allowed to leave the question paper setting area under the 24-hour/day supervision of the public security force (until their return to the Question Paper Setting Council or the end of the final exam subject). Regulations on the three independent circles at the question paper setting area shall be strictly complied with:

a) Circle 1 is the working area of members of the Paper Question Setting Council with direct contact with the question papers;

b) Circle 2 is the adjacent area between Circle 1 and Circle 3, managed by the public security force that shall be the area for the supervision of every call made on the landline according to this Clause and the focal point for exchanging information to the outside and controlling people and items coming in from Circle 3 and vice versa. The public security force in Circle 2 shall not exchange information concerning the question paper or have any personal matter with members of the Paper Question Setting Council and Circle 3;

c) Circle 3 is the area adjacent to Circle 2, managed by the public security force, and shall be the area for ensuring order and security around the question paper setting area 24 hours/day, preventing unauthorized people or prohibited items from entering the question paper setting area, monitoring people and items entering and exiting the protection area via a specialized notebook, and requesting entry and exit people to wear the cards issued by the Paper Question Setting Council.

3. Devices and equipment placed in the question paper setting area shall only be brought outside after the end of the final examination session, even if they are damaged or unused.

4. Scrap papers, drafts, defective prints, and used stencils of printers and photocopiers shall be protected and preserved in the working room of the Paper Question Setting Council and destroyed before the end of the final examination session.

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Article 17. Question Paper Setting Council

1. The Paper Question Setting Council shall be established by the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam.

2. Structure and composition of the Question Paper Setting Council:

a) The Chairperson: Head of the Department of Quality Control;

b) Vice Chairpersons: Heads of concerned units under the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, Dean of the Exam Management Division of the Department of Quality Control, and heads of higher education institutions;

c) Members and secretaries: officials and public employees of units of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, higher education institutions, and high schools with standing members are officials of the Department of Quality Control;

d) Each exam subject shall have a Question Paper Setting Team, including a Leader and question paper compliers and moderators that are officials, public employees, researchers, tenured lecturers, and tenured teachers working for educational institutions meeting the requirements prescribed in Clause 2 and Clause 3 Article 8 of this Regulation. Other cases shall be decided by the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam. During the exam year, persons whose students participating in the exam or who take charge of nurturing the team of the participating unit shall not participate in the Question Paper Setting Team;

dd) Public security force mobilized by the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam; officials and technicians mobilized by the Cypher Department of the Government of Vietnam;

e) Security guards, health workers, and service staff assigned by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam.

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a) The Council shall operate in a central manner based on the principle of complete isolation from the time of unsealing the proposal question papers to the end of the final examination session; Question Paper Setting Teams and other members shall work independently and directly with the Heads of the Council;

b) Each member of the Council shall take personal liability for the contents of question papers and ensure confidentiality and security of the question papers within their responsibilities and in compliance with state secret protection laws.

4. Tasks of the Question Paper Setting Council:

a) Organize the setting of official question papers and backup question papers and provide guidelines for the marking (including answer keys and score scale) of official and backup question papers;

b) Organize the moderation of question papers and provide guidelines for the marking;

c) In necessary cases, organize the printing-copying of question papers, including the printing-copying of CDs containing the listening tests of Foreign Language Subjects (each question paper shall have one official CD and one backup CD); pack and seal the question papers and hand them over to the transport department for transfer to the Invigilation Council;

d) Ensure the confidentiality and safety of question papers and marking guidelines from the time of compiling question papers to the end of the final examination session.

5. Responsibilities and entitlements of the Question Paper Setting Council:

a) The Chairperson of the Council shall administrate every operation of the Council; issue working regulations, assign tasks to members of the Council; jointly read and review question papers and request adjustments to such question papers with the assigned members when necessary; sign and approve official and backup question papers, provide guidelines on the marking of official and backup question papers; hand over encrypted files containing question papers; in necessary cases, organize the printing-copying of question papers and pack, seal, and hand over them to the transport department for transfer to Invigilation Councils; assess and submit reports to competent authorities on schemes to handle incidents concerning question papers; assess, decide, or request commendations or disciplinary actions for members of the Council;

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c) Leaders of Question Paper Setting Teams and compilers shall compile the question papers according to the procedure prescribed in Article 18 of this Regulation; present the compiled question papers and marking guidelines to the Chairperson of the Council for moderation, adjustment, and approval signature (performed by Leaders of Question Paper Setting Teams); read and review the question papers; re-inspect the data on listening tests for Foreign Language Subjects; perform other tasks assigned by the Chairperson of the Council; assess every proposal question paper in the exam;

d) Question paper moderators shall perform the moderation according to the procedure prescribed in Article 18 of this Regulation; read and review the question papers; inspect CDs containing listening tests of Foreign Language Subjects; perform other tasks assigned by the Chairperson of the Council;

dd) Members and secretaries shall assist the Heads of the Council in developing operational plans of the Council, compiling documents, preparing tables, recording meeting minutes of the Council; prepare data, documents, conditions, and equipment for the Council’s operations; pack and hand over question papers to transport departments for transfer to Invigilation Councils; perform other tasks assigned by the Chairperson of the Council;

e) The public security force shall develop and implement schemes, ensure safety and security, isolate information, and control the entry and exit of people and items and calls made via the landline at the working area of the Paper Question Setting Council; consult with the Chairperson of the Paper Question Setting Council about the handling of situations concerning safety and security and perform other tasks assigned by the Chairperson of the Paper Question Setting Council;

g) Cypher officers, security guards, health workers, and service staff shall perform tasks assigned by the Chairperson of the Council;

h) The Chairperson of the Council shall take personal responsibility before the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam and the law regarding the implementation of assigned tasks; other members of the Council shall take personal responsibility before the Chairperson of the Council and the law regarding the implementation of assigned tasks.

Article 18. Procedure for question paper setting

1. Compilation of question papers:

a) The Leader of the Question Paper Setting Team shall cooperate with the Secretary Team in eliminating information concerning any person who compiles proposal question papers. The Question Paper Setting Team shall review and classify questions in proposal question papers (hereinafter referred to as “proposal questions”) according to the structure of question papers. The Question Paper Setting Team shall access each question in proposal question papers, select proposal questions meeting the requirements to use as a source of references for the compilation of question papers and submit reports to the Heads of the Council in writing. In case two or more proposal questions are selected in the same unit of the structure of a question paper, selection shall be done via voting. The compilation of question papers shall ensure the principles of transforming proposal questions and shall not use more than one question from one compiler of proposal question papers.

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c) The Leader of the Question Paper Setting Team shall adequately submit reports to the Chairperson of the Council on the viewpoint, compilation procedure, and fundamental content of the compiled question papers. It is required to specify which proposal question paper or proposal idea is used to compile the content of the question papers.

2. Moderation of question papers:

a) Moderators shall read and assess the question papers compiled by the Question Paper Setting Team following the requirements prescribed in Article 15 of this Regulation and propose schemes to adjust and amend such question papers if necessary;

b) Assessments of compiled question papers provided by the moderators are considered a reference to assist the Chairperson of the Paper Question Setting Council in signing and approving the question papers.

3. c) Completion of question papers: Every member of the Question Paper Setting Team shall, based on the suggestions of the moderators, jointly proofread and complete the question papers and sign and present them to the Chairperson of the Paper Question Setting Council for approval.

4. Exam guard duty: A Question Paper Setting Team of a specific subject shall be on guard duty during the whole examination session of such a subject to handle issues concerning the question paper (if any).

5. The setting of practical question papers for Physics, Chemistry, and Biology shall comply with the guidelines on practical question paper setting.

Article 19. Transfer of question papers

Heads of the Exam Steering Committee shall select the methods of transferring question papers:

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a) The Chairperson of the Paper Question Setting Council shall organize the printing-copying and packing of question papers, stamp a seal indicating “Top Secret” on the question paper envelope, and hand it over to the transport department for transfer to Invigilation Councils. Question papers shall be preserved in compliance with regulations on the protection of top-secret state documents;

b) The whole process of handing over and transporting question papers shall be under the witness and protection of the public security force. Receipt records shall be made, specifying the condition of the package and seal of the question paper envelope.

2. The method of transferring question papers through the system of the Cypher Department of the Government of Vietnam shall be performed following the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam.

Chapter IV

INVIGILATION

Article 20. Invigilation Councils for exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level

1. Composition of an Invigilation Council:

a) One Invigilation Council shall be established at each participating unit. In case of many participating units in the same province or centrally affiliated city, one Invigilation Council for all may be sufficient;

b) Invigilation Councils shall be established by directors of participating units where such councils will be placed.

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a) The Chairperson of the Council shall be the head of the participating unit or dean of a department/division of the participating unit without any candidate participating in the exam at the concerned Invigilation Council (other participating units);

b) The Council shall have no more than three Vice Chairpersons. Specifically, there shall be only one Vice Chairperson who is a person from the participating unit where the Invigilation Council is placed (local participating unit). Persons performing tasks as Vice Chairpersons shall be the heads of the participating unit, heads of departments/divisions of the participating unit, or heads of high schools;

c) The Council shall have no more than five secretaries. Specifically, there shall be only one person from the local participating unit. Secretaries shall be officials, public employees, lecturers, and teachers of high schools;

d) Invigilators shall be officials, public employees, specialists, lecturers, or teachers of high schools from other participating units. In necessary cases, it is permitted to use teachers of lower secondary schools as invigilators for Foreign Language Subjects;

dd) Regarding technical department, each Invigilation Council shall have no more than three persons in charge of technical issues and information technology from the local participating unit;

e) Public security officers, security guards, health workers, and service staff shall be mobilized by the head of the local participating unit in cooperation with heads of relevant agencies where the Invigilation Council is placed;

g) In case of transferring question papers through the system of the Cypher Department of the Government of Vietnam, participating staff shall comply with the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam.

3. The Invigilation Council shall:

a) Inspect candidates’ information and profiles to ensure that they are adequate and in compliance with Clause 1 Article 13 and meet the requirements prescribed in Clause 1 Article 4 of this Regulation. If any deficiency is detected, immediately submit reports to the head of the participating unit for timely handling;

c) Disseminate the Exam Regulation and other regulations of the exam to candidates;

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dd) Receive, preserve, and use question papers in compliance with the Exam Regulation and guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam. If the question papers are transferred through the system of the Cypher Department of the Government of Vietnam, the printing of such question papers shall be performed following the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam;

e) Preserve question papers and exam papers and transfer exam papers and profiles to the Department of Quality Control in compliance with the confidentiality principles and guidelines on the exam organization.

4. Responsibilities and entitlements of the members of the Invigilation Council:

a) The Chairperson of the Council shall administrate every operation of the Council; enable members of the Council and candidates to study, grasp, and comply with the Exam Regulation, guidelines on the exam organization, and other relevant documents; handle abnormal incidents during the invigilation following Article 10 of this Regulation; assess, decide, or request commendations or disciplinary actions for candidates and members of the Council;

b) Vice Chairpersons of the Council shall assist the Chairperson of the Council in the administration as assigned by the Chairperson;

c) Members and secretaries shall assist the Chairperson of the Council in compiling documents, preparing tables, and recording meeting minutes of the Council; perform other tasks assigned by the Chairperson of the Council;

d) Invigilators shall perform tasks prescribed in Article 25 of this Regulation and other tasks assigned by the Chairperson of the Council;

dd) The technical department shall perform tasks prescribed in Article 25 of this Regulation and other tasks assigned by the Chairperson of the Council; be on guard duty during the exam to satisfy irregular requests from candidates and invigilators; only be permitted to enter the exam room when candidates are taking the exam to handle technical issues with the consent of the Chairperson of the Council;

e) Public security officers, security guards, health workers, and service staff shall perform tasks assigned by the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council; not be permitted to participate in tasks assigned to other members of the Council; not be permitted to enter the exam room when candidates are taking the exam. If a candidate has health issues in the exam room, health workers shall only be permitted to enter the exam room to handle the situation with the consent of the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council;

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h) The Chairperson of the Council shall take personal responsibility before the head of the participating unit and the law regarding the implementation of assigned tasks; other members of the Council shall take personal responsibility before the Chairperson of the Council and the law regarding the implementation of assigned tasks.

Article 21. Invigilation Councils for exams for the selection of Olympic teams

1. Invigilation Councils shall be established by the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam.

2. Structure and composition of an Invigilation Council:

a) The Chairperson: Head of the Department of Quality Control;

b) Vice Chairpersons: Heads of concerned units under the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, heads of divisions of the Department of Quality Control, heads of higher education institutions, and heads of Departments of Education and Training;

c) Members and secretaries: officials and public employees of units of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and lecturers and teachers of higher education institutions and high schools;

d) Technical staff and practice staff: mobilized by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam in cooperation with heads of relevant agencies;

d) Public security officers, security guards, service staffs: mobilized by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam in cooperation with relevant agencies.

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a) Inspect exam profiles and compare the list of candidates with the list of candidates summoned by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam for participation in the exam for the selection of Olympic teams;

b) Perform tasks prescribed in Points b, c, d, dd, and e Clause 3 Article 20 of this Regulation.

4. Responsibilities and entitlements of the members of the Invigilation Council: comply with Clause 4 Article 20 of this Regulation.

Article 22. Arrangement of exam rooms

1. General provisions:

a) Regarding candidate numbers, they shall be arranged by the alphabet order of the names of candidates in the list of candidates for each exam subject;

b) Regarding written exams, the minimum horizontal distance between seats shall be 1,2 meters;

c) Each exam room shall have at least three invigilators, two in the exam room and one outside of the exam room;

d) Regarding Informatics exam rooms: each candidate may use one independent computer; each room shall have at least one computer with a laser printer used for printing out exam papers of candidates; there shall be at least two backup computers and one backup laser printer; computers used in the exam room shall have CD drives and are equivalent to each other in terms of specifications, have the accurate date and time set in the system, be clean from viruses, have the exam software installed before the exam date as per regulation, and not contain any other software or document; computers in the exam room shall have a minimum horizontal distance between each other of at least 1,2 meters so that candidates cannot view each other's screens.

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a) Each exam room shall not contain more than 24 candidates;

b) Arrangement of Informatics exam rooms: Candidates shall be arranged in a separate exam room; computers shall be isolated without any means of communication with any device or equipment inside or outside of the exam room;

c) Arrangement of Foreign Language exam rooms: Each Foreign Language written exam shall be taken in a separate exam room with a CD player and speakers. There shall be at least two sets of backup CD players and speakers commonly used for Foreign Language exam rooms. Regarding speaking exams, comply with the guidelines on the exam organization;

d) Arrangement of exam rooms for other subjects: each exam room shall be used for at least two exam subjects.

3. Regarding the exam for the selection of Olympic teams: the arrangement of seats for candidates in the theory exam room shall meet the requirements prescribed in Point b Clause 1 of this Article, ensuring that each invigilator only manages no more than 10 candidates. The arrangement of seats for candidates in the Informatics exam room and exam rooms for Physics, Chemistry, and Biology practical exams shall be equivalent to the exam organization of International and Regional Olympic Competitions and comply with the guidelines on exam organization.

Article 23. Regulations on documents and items allowed in exam rooms

1. Candidates may only bring documents and items related to their exam, including:

a) Pens, rulers, pencils, pencil erasers, graph rulers, and drawing tools;

b) Calculators without text composing function and memory cards. In addition, calculators are banned in Math exams.

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3. Documents and items allowed in the room for the exam for the selection of Olympic teams shall be in compliance with the guidelines on the exam organization, in conformity with the characteristics of each exam subject, and equivalent to the standards of International and Regional Olympic Competitions.

Article 24. Responsibilities of candidates

1. Be present at the exam location on the prescribed date and time. Late candidates shall not be allowed to take the exam.

2. Present exam participation cards (regarding the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level) or citizen ID cards (regarding the exam for the selection of Olympic teams) before entering the exam room.

3. Sit on the designated seats by their candidate numbers in the exam room; sign their names in the list of candidates for each examination session.

4. Bring the documents and items prescribed in Article 23 of this Regulation into the exam room. The following items and documents are banned in the exam room: carbon papers, pen erasers, alcohol; weapons, explosives, incendiary substances; information transmission devices, and documents containing information used for cheating during the exam performance or marking process.

5. After receiving the question paper, check the number of pages thereof and write their candidate numbers in the question paper. Any missing, torn, or blurry pages should be immediately reported to the invigilators in the exam room within 10 minutes from the official start.

6. During the time in the exam room, keep quiet and refrain from communicating with other candidates and copying other candidates’ exam papers; raise one hand to ask for permission before saying or suggesting; stay in the exam room throughout the time allotted for exam papers. In case of necessity, ask the invigilator for permission to leave the exam room and stay under the supervision of the invigilator outside of the exam room; candidates leaving the exam room or exam area in emergencies shall be under the supervision of the public security officer until the end of the examination session according to decisions of the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council. Report to competent persons in case of detecting any act of cheating in the exam.

7. Use one type of pen and ink for the exam paper; refrain from using red ink and pencils (except for when drawing circles with compasses); refrain from marking or making independent marks in exam papers; cross out writing errors and refrain from using any other way of erasing.

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9. When the end of the exam is announced:

a) Regarding writing examination sessions: immediately stop writing to submit the exam papers; write the number of submitted pages and sign on the acknowledgment of submission (even when failing to perform in the exam);

b) Regarding Informatics examination sessions: immediately turn off computers' screens. Turn on computers’ screens with the permission of the invigilators and unseal the CD drives to record the exam to CDs; then, observe the printing of the content recorded in the CDs; sign the CDs and the printed exam papers. In case of taking the exam on computers connected to internal or local networks, comply with the guidelines on the exam organization;

c) Regarding speaking tests of Foreign Language Subjects in the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level and Physics, Chemistry, and Biology practical exams in the exam for the selection of Olympic teams: comply with the guidelines on the exam organization.

10. After the exam time, only leave the exam room with the permission of the invigilators.

11. Preserve the question papers from the time of receiving them to the end of the time allotted.

Article 25. Invigilation procedures

1. At least two days before the exam date, the Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersons, members, secretaries, technical departments, public security officers, and security guards of the Invigilation Council shall be present at the exam location to:

a) Inspect the exam preparation; receive the exam location, physical facilities, devices, and equipment for the exam organization;

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c) Receive exam profiles, confirm rights to take the exam of each candidate, and post up the list of candidates;

d) Settle tasks necessary for the exam, ensure the uniformity of general provisions, and assign specific tasks to each member of the Invigilation Council.

2. At least one day before the exam date:

a) Invigilators, health workers, and service staff shall be present at the exam location to attend the meeting of the Invigilation Council and disseminate the Exam Regulation and documents concerning the exam; inspect exam profiles; inspect the conditions of physical facilities and devices for the exam organization, seal exam rooms after the inspection, and complete other preparatory tasks for the exam;

b) Informatics invigilators shall inspect the installation of software of computers and number and seal each computer in the Informatics exam room at the connection ports to prevent any connection to the internet, USB, and CD drives. In case of using computers connected to internal or local networks for the exam, the invigilators shall comply with the guidelines on the exam organization;

c) Regarding the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level, Foreign Language Subject invigilators shall use musical CDs to inspect and practice the use of CD players; seal the CD drives under the witness of the heads of the Invigilation Council; cooperate with the technical departments in inspecting the installation and practice of the use of recording software of computers for speaking tests.

3. Before the first examination session, an exam opening ceremony shall be organized.

4. Before each examination session, a meeting of the Invigilation Council shall be organized to disseminate necessary tasks, prepare records confirming the sealed state of question paper envelopes, assign tasks to each member of the Council in the examination session, and request compliance with the timelines prescribed in the guidelines on the exam organization.

5. Before the exam:

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b) Regarding writing examination sessions, the invigilators inside the exam room shall sign, write their full names on the exam papers and scrap papers and hand them over to candidates, and instruct candidates to fill in necessary information according to the regulations to the exam papers;

c) Regarding Informatics examination sessions, the invigilators in the exam room shall inspect the power source and seals of computers;

d) Regarding Physics, Chemistry, and Biology practical examination sessions in the exam for the selection of Olympic teams and speaking examination sessions of Foreign Language Subjects in the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level: the invigilators shall comply with the guidelines on the exam organization;

dd) When the start of the exam is announced, the invigilators shall distribute question papers to each candidate (regarding exam rooms with candidates taking at least two subjects, the distribution shall be done based on the order of each subject).

6. During the time allotted for exam papers:

a) The invigilators in the exam room shall strictly supervise the room, control the number of exam papers and scrap papers of candidates, and prevent candidates from consulting or copying from each other;

b) In case of having to permit candidates to go out of the exam room, the invigilators shall instruct each candidate to leave the room and report to the invigilator outside of the room;

c) In case a candidate violates the Exam Regulation, the invigilators in the exam room shall prepare a record and immediately report it to the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council for appropriate handling measures;

d) The invigilator outside of the exam room shall supervise the candidates and the invigilators inside the exam room at an area designated by the Chairperson of the Council while supervising and preventing candidates from leaving the exam room (if any) or having contact with other persons.

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a) The invigilators in the exam room shall request every candidate to immediately stop their writing when the end of the exam is announced, orderly collect the exam papers of each candidate (inspect the number of exam papers of each candidate and request candidates to sign on the acknowledgment of submission), inspect the sufficiency of the total number of exam papers and submit them to the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council or the person authorized by the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council;

b) The invigilator outside of the exam room shall supervise the candidates and invigilators inside of the exam room and support such invigilators in maintaining the order of the exam room throughout the collection of exam papers at the area designated by the Chairperson of the Council.

8. Collection of exam papers for Informatics examination sessions:

a) The invigilators in the exam room shall request every student to turn off their computer’s screens when the end of the exam is announced; orderly collect the exam papers by the following procedures: inspect the computer numbers based on the identification numbers of candidates; if the number is valid, permit the candidate to unseal the CD drive of the computer and record his/her exam to the CD; supervise the recording of exam to CDs with another candidate in the exam room; request candidates to turn off their computers after the completion of the recording; request candidates to sign on their recorded CDs; print out exam papers from CDs with the witness of two candidates and the second invigilator and sign on the CDs and printed exam papers together with the mentioned persons; collect the CDs and printed exam papers (with adequate signatures); inspect the sufficiency of the total number of CDs and printed exam papers and submit them to the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council or the person authorized by the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council;

b) The invigilator outside of the exam room shall supervise the candidates and invigilators inside of the exam room and support such invigilators in maintaining the order of the exam room throughout the collection of exam papers at the area designated by the Chairperson of the Council.

c) Technical departments shall delete all data concerning the exam papers of candidates in every computer right after the candidates leave the exam room;

d) In case of taking the exam on computers connected to internal or local networks, invigilators and candidates shall comply with the guidelines on the exam organization;

9. Regarding the collection of exam papers of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology practical examination sessions in the exam for the selection of Olympic teams and speaking examination sessions of Foreign Language Subjects in the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level: the invigilators shall comply with the guidelines on the exam organization;

10. After each examination session, heads of the Invigilation Council shall immediately seal the exam papers in the previous examination session before every member of the Invigilation Council.

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a) Envelope 1 shall contain exam papers of each exam subject in one exam room and the acknowledgment of submission of the exam room. There shall be two envelopes for Informatics documents, one for containing the CDs and one for containing the printed exam papers of candidates and the acknowledgment of submission. The invigilators in the exam room shall collect and submit the exam papers to the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council or the person authorized by the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council and seal the envelope 1. The edge of the seal of envelope 1 shall bear the signatures of two invigilators and the person directly receiving the exam papers;

b) Envelope 2 shall contain all exam papers in the exam, including every envelope 1, and be sealed before every member of the Invigilation Council. The edge of the seal of envelope 2 shall bear the signatures of a representative invigilator, a secretary, and the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council;

c) Envelope 3 shall contain exam profiles, including the list of candidates signed by the candidates, types of records prepared at exam rooms, and minutes of the Invigilation Council. The edge of the seal of envelope 3 shall bear the signatures of a representative invigilator, a secretary, and the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council;

d) Envelope 4 shall contain envelope 2, envelope 3, and sealed backup question papers for transfer via postal service. The edge of the seal of envelope 4 shall bear the signatures of a representative invigilator, a secretary, and the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council.

12. Separate records on the following matters shall be made: guard duty; sealing and unsealing; opening of question paper envelopes at the start of the exam; handover of question papers, exam papers, and exam profiles; abnormal incidents (if any).

13. After the end of the final examination session, a meeting of the Invigilation Council shall be organized to:

a) Review and assess the invigilation organization;

b) Suggest commendations or disciplinary actions;

c) Observe and sign to confirm the sealed envelopes containing question papers and exam profiles; sign the invigilation summary record.

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1. Preservation of question papers:

a) Regarding the method of in-person transport of question papers, heads of the local participating unit shall preserve the question papers from the time of receiving them until the working session of the Invigilation Council; the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council shall preserve the question papers from the time of receiving them from heads of the local participating unit until the end of the final examination session;

b) Regarding the method of transport through the system of the Cypher Department of the Government of Vietnam, the Invigilation Council shall preserve the question papers from the time of receiving them to the end of the invigilation work.

2. Regarding the preservation of exam papers, the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council shall preserve sealed exam paper envelopes and exam profiles until the transport of exam papers, exam profiles, and unused backup question papers to a prescribed location is done.

3. Containers and cabinets containing envelopes of question papers, exam papers, and exam profiles shall be locked, sealed, and placed in a safe and sturdy room with 24-hour/day security.

4. Right after the exam, all of the exam papers and exam profiles shall be transported in person or sent via express postal services according to the guidelines on the exam organization. The mandatory composition of the transport department for in-person transport or transfer of exam papers and exam profiles includes one head of the Invigilation Council, one secretary, and one public security officer.

Chapter V

MARKING AND RE-MARKING

Article 27. Marking and header removal areas

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2. The header removal area must meet security and safety requirements and be fully equipped with fire safety devices and under surveillance of police officers and guards around the clock; be equipped no device used for recording and transmitting information and image; those in Script Header Removal Board must not bring any communications device to this area.

3. It is forbidden to bring any copying device, document, or pen not prescribed in the regulation of the Marking Council and leave the marking and header removal areas.

Article 28. Marking Council

1. The Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam shall decide to establish a Marking Council and Teams, including Secretary Teams, Header Removal Teams, and Marking Teams.

2. Composition of the Marking Council:

a) The Chairperson: Head of the Department of Quality Control;

b) Vice-Chairpersons: Heads of concerned units under the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and Deans of the Department of Quality Control;

c) Members: heads of divisions and officials of concerned units under the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam. The Chairperson of the Council shall assign at least 1 member to supervise the task performance of other members of the Council;

d) Secretary Teams: officials and public employees of units under the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and lecturers, teachers, and specialists of higher education institutions and high schools;

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d) Header Removal Teams: officials and public employees of units under the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and lecturers, teachers, and specialists of higher education institutions and high schools. The Leader of the Header Removal Team shall be held concurrently by the Vice-Chairperson of the Council or a member of the Council;

g) Public security force mobilized by the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam;

h) Security guards, health workers, and service staff assigned by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam.

3. The Marking Council shall:

a) Inspect and receive the location, physical facilities, and working equipment of the Marking Council; receive the transferred exam papers and invigilation profiles and preserve them during the marking period; mark the exam papers of candidates following the Exam Regulation and documents guiding the exam marking; propose schemes to handle exam results; remove and combine headers and input exam scores;

b) Terminate the marking of candidates violating the Exam Regulation whose exam results are requested for termination according to records made by the Invigilation Council; prepare records and submit reports to the Head of the Exam Steering Committee on exam papers violating the Exam Regulation subject to handling and termination of results detected by the Marking Council; request imposition of disciplinary actions to cases of violations of the Exam Regulation exceeding the jurisdiction of the Chairperson of the Marking Council.

4. Responsibilities and entitlements of the members of the Marking Council:

a) The Chairperson of the Council shall administrate every operation of the Marking Council; request the Marking Teams to review marking results and re-mark or jointly mark specific exam papers if necessary; suspend the marking of examiners when they deliberately violate the Exam Regulation; develop schemes to handle exam results and present them to the Head of the Exam Steering Committee for approval; assess and conclude disciplinary actions for persons violating the Exam Regulation and documents guiding the exam organization; request commendations for members with achievements;

b) Vice-Chairpersons shall take responsibility for the results of the implementation of tasks and entitlements assigned or authorized by the Chairperson of the Council;

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d) Header Removal Teams shall receive sealed envelopes of exam papers; remove headers, ensure the confidentiality of the header numbers, and seal and preserve the headers according to confidentiality regulations throughout the marking period; hand over sealed envelopes of exam papers with their headers removed to the Chairperson of the Council or the person assigned or authorized by the Chairperson of the Council; combine the scores of every exam date of candidates according to the header numbers upon request from the Chairperson of the Council; cooperate with Secretary Teams in combining headers upon request from the Chairperson of the Council;

dd) The Marking Teams shall take responsibility for their operations according to Article 30 of this Regulation; cooperate in combining headers and posting up exam scores; propose schemes to handle exam results and ensure that they meet the requirements prescribed in Article 32 and Article 33 of this Regulation for approval of the Chairperson of the Marking Council;

e) Public security officers, security guards, and service staff shall perform tasks under the administration of the Chairperson of the Council;

g) The Chairperson of the Council shall take personal responsibility before the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam and the law regarding the implementation of assigned tasks; other members of the Council shall take personal responsibility before the Chairperson of the Council and the law regarding the implementation of assigned tasks.

Article 29. Header removal

1. General provisions

a) Header Removal Teams shall work independently from other Teams of the Marking Council;

b) Before performing tasks, Header Removal Teams shall cooperate with the public security force protecting the header removal area in reviewing the safety and security of the area according to Clause 2 Article 27 of this Regulation;

c) Header Removal Teams shall work under the principle of complete isolation throughout their performance of tasks;

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2. The Chairperson of the Council shall select one of the following methods of header removal:

a) Removing headers in one round: Header Removal Teams must be completely isolated during the process of removal of headers until the exam marking finishes;

b) Removing headers in two independent rounds: Persons participating in the header removal shall be divided into two groups, including the header removal group round 1 and the header removal group round 2; the two groups shall operate independently and be completely isolated from each other. The header removal group round 1 may only leave the isolation area after the header removal group round 2 has been isolated; the header removal group round 2 shall be completely isolated throughout the header removal process until the exam marking finishes.

3. Handover of exam papers and headers

a) Header Removal Teams shall hand over sealed envelopes of exam papers with their headers removed to the Chairperson of the Council or the person authorized or assigned by the Chairperson of the Council. The Chairperson of the Council shall decide between the lump-sum handover and handover by the marking progress;

b) Header Removal Teams shall only provide adequate information on candidates enclosed with header numbers (headers) when the Marking Teams finish their operations and upon the written directive of the Chairperson of the Council.

Article 30. Marking procedure

1. Delivery and storage of exam papers:

a) Heads of the Marking Council shall receive exam papers with their headers removed from Header Removal Teams and hand them over to Secretary Teams; delivery records shall be made;

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c) Marking Teams shall hand over envelopes of marked exam papers to the secretaries of the Councils; delivery records shall be made.

2. Marking:

a) Marking Teams shall conduct detailed discussions on guidelines on marking, answer keys, and score scales. Marking sheets shall be provided by the Paper Question Setting Council; prepare unified records and present them to the Chairperson of the Marking Council for approval. After the Chairperson of the Marking Council approves the marking guidelines and marking sheets, Marking Teams shall initiate their operations;

b) Each Marking Team shall jointly mark at least 10 exam papers to agree on the marking method according to the approved guidelines on marking, answer keys, score scales, and marking sheets before starting to mark the exam papers in pairs. On jointly marked exam papers, “JOINTLY MARKED” shall be written, and they shall bear the signatures of every member of the Marking Team; records on the joint marking shall be made; after the joint marking, the Marking Team may request the Chairperson of the Council to re-approve the Marking Guidelines (if necessary);

c) Before marking exam papers, the examiners shall carefully inspect each exam paper, ensuring the sufficiency of the header numbers and the number of papers, and cross out any blanks left on the papers. In case of detecting suspicious marks on exam papers or exam papers different from the type of paper used for the exam, the Leader of the Marking Team shall immediately report such an incident to the Chairperson of the Marking council for handling as per regulation;

d) If the examiners detect suspicious signs in the exam papers of candidates, they shall report them to the Marking Team for assessment, confirmation, proposal of handling measures, and preparation of records for reports to the Chairperson of the Marking Council for decisions;

dd) The marking shall ensure accuracy, fairness, objectivity, and correct assessment based on the results of candidates; the marking shall follow the score scale approved by the Chairperson of the Council; the point of a question in the exam paper is the sum of the component points of the question; the score of the exam paper is the total points of the questions in the exam paper without round figures;

e) Each Literature, History, Geography, and Foreign Language Subject exam paper shall be independently marked by at least two examiners. As for Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology exam papers, the exam papers of each subject shall be independently marked by two examiners. Component points, scores, and comments (if any) shall be recorded in marking sheets; marking sheets shall bear the names and signatures of the examiners;

g) The independent marking shall be implemented as follows: first-time examiners shall only write the points on the first-time marking sheets and not the exam papers of candidates; second-time examiners shall write the detailed points of each question to the sidelines of the exam paper corresponding to the question being marked while writing the points to the second-time marking sheets. Secretaries shall inspect the addition of points on the first and second-time marking sheets;

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i) Informatics exam papers shall be marked on computers via specialized marking software or marked via a connection to a local or internal network during the exam organization.

3. Handling of results after two rounds of marking:

Leaders of Marking Teams shall receive exam papers and marking sheets inspected by Secretary Teams and handle them as follows:

a) Regarding exam papers that have differences in points between the two marking rounds due to errors in the addition of points, Leaders of Marking Teams shall permit the examiners to adjust and sign on the adjusted points;

b) Regarding exam papers that have differences in points due to other reasons, Leaders of Marking Teams shall handle such differences as follows:

 Situation

Solution

If the differences in points exceed less than 5% of the maximum point of the score scale for Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology exam papers (Natural Science Subjects) and exceed less than 10% of the maximum point of the score scale for Literature, History, Geography (Social Science), and Foreign Language Subject exam papers.

Examiners who have marked the related exam papers shall discuss with each other to reach a consensus on the final scores; in case of disagreement, examiners shall report to the Leader to discuss and reach a consensus on the final scores.

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Examiners who have marked the related exam papers shall report to the Leader to discuss and reach a consensus on the final scores.

If the differences in points exceed more than 10% compared to the maximum point of the score scale for Natural Science exam papers and exceed more than 15% compared to the maximum point of the score scale for Social Science and Foreign Language exam papers.

The Leader may request the whole Marking Team to jointly mark the exam papers or request a third examiner to re-mark the exam papers; the Leader and three examiners marking exam papers shall discuss and reach a consensus on the final scores.

Any case of failure to reach a consensus on the final score between the Leader of the Marking Team and examiners shall be presented to the Marking Team for joint marking.

c) Regarding exam papers with no differences in points between two marking rounds or with differences in points between two marking rounds that have been handled according to Point a and Point b of this Clause, examiners shall write the points of each question, and the score of the each exam paper (in characters and numbers) to the prescribed boxes on the first page of each exam paper. Examiners shall write their full names and signatures in the box dedicated to examiners.

4. Marking of the exam for the selection of Olympic teams:

a) Joint marking for all Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology exam papers;

b) Direct marking during the exam organization via connection to internal or local networks for Informatics exam papers.

5. Score input:

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b) Regarding subjects that have two exam dates, after finalizing the scores of each exam date, the Leaders shall submit reports to the Invigilation Council for the handover of exam papers to the Header Removal Teams to combine the scores of two exam dates on software and receive the comparison between the headers of two exam dates of candidates. The final scores of candidates are the total scores of two exam dates without round figures;

c) After inputting the scores, envelopes of exam papers of each subject shall be sealed, and the Marking Teams shall sign the seals of all envelopes of exam papers to be handed over to the Chairperson of the Marking Council.

6. Header combination and exam score input:

a) Regarding the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level, the header combination and exam score input shall be carried out after the Chairperson of the Marking Council approves the schemes for prize arrangement of every subject and reports to the Head of the Exam Steering Committee;

b) Regarding the exam for the selection of Olympic teams, the header combination and exam score input shall only be carried out after the Chairperson of the Marking Council approves the list of candidates (based on the header numbers) selected for national teams participating in International Olympic Competitions and reports to the Head of the Exam Steering Committee;

c) The header combination and exam score input shall be performed by the Heads, Members, and Secretaries of the Marking Council under the supervision of the assigned Members of the Council.

7. Preservation of exam papers at the Marking Council:

a) The Director of the Department of Quality Control shall take responsibility for the preservation of exam papers and exam profiles from the receipt of exam papers from Invigilation Councils until the operations of the Marking Council;

b) The Chairperson of the Marking Council shall take responsibility for the preservation of exam papers and exam profiles during the operational period of the Marking Council. Containers and cabinets containing exam papers and exam profiles shall be locked and sealed with 24-hour/day security;

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d) In each marking session, examiners shall directly preserve exam papers from the time of receiving them to the time of delivering them to Secretary Teams (via Leaders of Marking Teams).

Article 31. Re-marking procedures

1. Candidates may request the re-marking of exam papers in the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level and shall apply for the re-marking as per regulation.

2. An application for the re-marking includes:

a) Application for re-marking of the exam paper of the candidate (stored at the participating unit);

b) Official dispatch requesting the re-marking of the exam from the director of the participating unit enclosed with the list of candidates requesting the re-marking.

3. The location and time limit for submitting applications for the re-marking: official dispatches requesting the re-marking shall be submitted to the Department of Quality Control within 15 days after the disclosure of exam results. After the above time limit, any official dispatch requesting the re-marking shall not be accepted.

4. Re-Marking Council of the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level:

a) The Re-Marking Council shall be established by the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam when there are candidates requesting the re-marking; the Re-Marking Council shall re-mark the requested exam papers and decide the scores of such exam papers; the composition of the Re-Marking Council is similar to the Marking Council prescribed in Clause 2 Article 28 of this Regulation;

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5. Exam paper withdrawal and new header generation:

a) The exam paper withdrawal area of candidates requesting the re-marking shall be protected by public security officers;

b) During the generation of new headers, old headers shall be covered, and the new headers shall ensure accuracy according to regulations on exam papers, preventing the situations of wrong headers, wrong exam papers, or torn headers;

c) Exam papers with new headers shall be sealed in envelopes, and the outside of such envelopes shall specify the number of exam papers before being handed over to the Re-Marking Council under the supervision of public security officers;

d) Regarding Informatics exam papers, after inspecting the printed exam papers and CDs, they shall be arranged by the codes of units and handed over to the Re-Marking Council for automatic marking on computers.

6. Re-marking:

a) Re-Marking Teams shall use the guidelines on marking, answer keys, and score scales provided by the Marking Council;

b) The re-marking of exam papers shall be carried out in the form of joint marking;

c) Before the re-marking, it is mandatory to carefully inspect each exam paper and ensure the sufficiency of the header numbers and papers;

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dd) Re-Marking Teams shall summarize the re-marking results and present them to the Chairperson of the council for approval and reports to the Head of the Exam Steering Committee;

e) Re-marking results shall be disclosed within 20 days from the end of the time limit for submitting applications for re-marking.

Chapter VI

HANDLING OF EXAM RESULTS

Article 32. Prizes of exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level

1. Only personal prizes by each subject are arranged (First, Second, Third, and Consolation).

2. After the exam papers are marked, the order of the header numbers shall be arranged by scores from high to low to determine prizes.

3. Percentage of prizes for each subject:

The total number of prizes, from Consolation to above, shall not exceed 60% of the candidates; specifically, the total number of First, Second, and Third prizes shall not exceed 60% of the total number of prizes, and the number of First prizes shall not exceed 5% of the total number of prizes.

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Article 33. Selection of students for Olympic teams

1. After the marking of exam papers in the exam for the selection of Olympic teams is finished, arrange exam papers that have yet to be combined with their headers by their scores from high to low to assess and select candidates for national teams participating in International and Regional Olympic Competitions (regarding subjects that do not have delegations participating in Regional Olympic Competitions), ensuring that the number of selected candidates is equal to the prescribed number of members of each team.

2. Students in national teams participating in International Olympic Competitions of subjects that have delegations participating in Regional Olympic Competitions are selected from the students participating in the Regional Olympic Competition in the same year based on the following principles:

a) The order of students shall be arranged by their total scores of the exam for the selection of Olympic teams and the Regional Olympic Competition (scores of the two exams shall be converted to the same score scale) from high to low for selection, ensuring that the number of selected students is equal to the prescribed number of members of the national team participating in the International Olympic Competition;

b) In case of having to choose between students with equal total scores in two exams, the students with higher scores in the Regional Olympic Competition shall be selected; in case of having to choose between students with equal scores in the Regional Olympic Competition, the Ministry of Education and Training shall organize an exam for selection.

3. The Director of the Department of Quality Control shall appeal to the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam for approval of the list of candidates for national teams participating in Regional and International Olympic Competitions.

Article 34. Certificate issuance

1. Certificates in exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level

a) Certificates of students achieving prizes in the exam for the selection of national excellent high school students issued to candidates achieving prizes in the exam;

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c) Certificates of students participating in exams for the selection of high school students for national teams participating in Regional and International Olympic Competitions issued to students participating in the exam.

2. The Director of the Department of Quality Control shall, based on the results of the exam, issue certificates to candidates. Certificates shall only be issued once.

3. The Director of the Department of Quality Control may revoke or cancel issued certificates if the certificate holders are detected to have violated the Exam Regulation or the arrangement of prizes and issuance of certificates is contrary to regulations.

Article 35. Rights of students achieving the prizes of national excellent students

1. Students who achieve prizes in the exam for the selection of excellent students at the national level shall be issued with certificates and awarded with commendations.

2. Students who achieve prizes in the exam for the selection of national excellent students and have graduated from high schools shall be assessed for direct admission or prioritized for admission to universities and colleges according to current regulations on enrolment in universities and colleges of Preschool Education.

3. 12th-grade students participating in the exam for the selection of Olympic teams shall be exempted from taking the high school graduation exam.

4. Students who are members of Regional and International Olympic teams shall be directly admitted to universities according to current regulations and prioritized for being sent abroad for university training with state budget scholarships.

Chapter VII

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Article 36. Regulations on reports

1. Invigilation reports: comply with the guidelines on the exam organization.

2. Within 15 days from the date of the exam for the establishment of teams participating in the exam for the selection of national excellent students, participating units shall send question papers and marking guidelines for subjects of the exam to the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (via the Department of Quality Control).

Article 37. Storage of exam profiles

1. Department of Quality Control shall:

a) Conduct indefinite storage of records approving results of the exam and prize arrangement; list of candidates enclosed with exam results; list of students who are members of Regional and International Olympic Teams; Certificate Issuance Books;

a) Conduct definite storage of used question papers and marking guidelines for 5 years/60 months, exam papers of candidates for 2 years/24 months, and profiles of Invigilation, Marking, and Re-Marking Councils for 1 year/12 months from date of the final subject of the exam;

c) Proposal question papers and question paper setting profiles shall be stored for 2 years (24 months).

2. Participating units shall conduct indefinite storage of decisions on team establishment.

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INSPECTION AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS AND COMMENDATIONS

Article 38. Inspection

1. The Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam shall decide on the establishment of inspectorates that will inspect the preparation and organization of the invigilation of participating units and Invigilation Councils; inspect the marking and re-marking according to laws; in necessary cases, the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam shall decide to establish inspectorates.

2. Departments of Education and Training of Vietnam shall arrange qualified officials and public employees to participate in inspectorates of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam as requested or assigned according to regulations.

Article 39. Commendation

1. Eligible entities: participants of the exam organization and candidates with achievements in the exam organization.

2. Forms of commendation:

a) Certificates of Merit of Directors of Departments of Education and Training;

b) Certificates of Merit of the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam, Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally affiliated cities (referred to as “Provincial People’s Committees”).

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Article 40. Receipt and handling of information and evidence of violations of the Exam Regulation

1. Recipients of information and evidence of violations of the Exam Regulation:

a) Exam Steering Committee;

b) Invigilation Councils;

c) Inspectorates of education and training at all levels.

2. Evidence of violations of the Exam Regulation, which has been verified, shall prevail as a basis for actions against perpetrators.

3. Provision of information and evidence of violations of the Exam Regulation:

a) Candidates, members of Councils, and citizens are encouraged to detect and denounce acts of violating the Exam Regulation;

b) Those who detect any violation shall promptly report to the competent authorities specified in Clause 1 of this Article for further actions;

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d) Those who provide information or evidence of violation shall take legal liability for the authenticity of that information or evidence and have no intention of exploiting this to cause negative impact on the exam.

4. Any organization or individual receiving information or evidence of misconduct or violation shall:

a) Receive the information or evidence according to regulations; protect the evidence and verify the authenticity of received ones and appeal to competent authorities for actions against the violation;

b) Promptly adopt measures to prevent misconduct and violation as per regulation;

c) Handle misconduct and violation within its jurisdiction or report the situation to competent agencies or persons for handling and disclosure of the results of the handling of those who committed misconduct or violation;

d) Ensure the confidentiality of information and identity of the provider of information or evidence concerning negativities or violations.

5. The verification and handling of complaints and denunciations of acts of malpractice or violation after the dissolution of the Exam Council shall be conducted in compliance with the handling of denunciations and complaints laws.

Article 41. Handling of individuals participating in the exam organization and relevant individuals who commit acts of violation of the Exam Regulation

1. Individuals participating in the exam organization who are officials and public employees who have committed acts of violation (detected during or after the exam) shall be suspended from performing exam-related tasks and disciplined by their employers according to official and public employee laws as follows:

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b) Warning shall be issued to those who commit one of the following mistakes: Allowing candidates to copy from each other or bring forbidden documents and items to the exam room; failing to follow the marking guidelines or making multiple errors in calculating scores; setting question papers with content beyond the content prescribed in Article 5 of this Regulation; sending exam data contrary to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam;

c) Depending on the seriousness of the acts of violation, downgrade of salary grade or pay grade, dismissal, or transfer shall be imposed on those who commit one of the following acts of violation: Setting wrong question papers/subjects; writing the answers for candidates or instructing candidates to answer during the exam; taking one candidate’s exam paper to give to another candidate; cheating at marking, failing to follow the marking scheme, boosting or lessening scores of a candidate;

d) Dismissal or request for criminal prosecution shall be imposed on those who commit one of the following acts of violation: Bringing the question papers out of the exam area or bringing the answer keys from outside to the exam room during the exam; leaking out, buying, or selling the question papers; leaking out the header numbers; making alternation, interlineations, or omission in candidates’ exam papers; intentionally altering the written scores on exam papers, marking records, or list of scores; swapping candidates’ exam papers, headers, or scores; altering candidates’ academic transcripts and profiles;

dd) Those who lose the exam papers of candidates during the process of collecting, delivering, preserving, or marking or commit other acts of violation during the exam organization shall be disciplined in the corresponding form of punishments specified in this Article according to the severity of their violations.

2. Officials and public employees who do not participate in the exam organization but commit one of the following acts: Engaging in impersonation to take the exam for other candidates, bringing the question papers out of the exam room, providing candidates with answer keys, spreading false information about the exam, or causing disturbances within the exam area shall be fined and requested for dismissal.

3. If a person who takes part in the organization of the exam or relevant processes is not an official or public employee and commits any act of violation as specified in Points b, c, d, dd Clause 1 of this Article during or after the exam, he/she shall be fined by the competent authority and be handled under labor laws or suspended from study or expelled (in case he/she is a student).

4. The application of the forms of handling of violations specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article shall be decided by competent authorities according to the prescribed procedures.

Article 42. Handling of candidates committing acts of violation of the Exam Regulation

Any act of malpractice committed by a candidate shall be recorded, handled and the final result of handling will be informed to him/her.

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a) For those who commit the following act of violation for the first time: peeking at others' exam papers or communicating with other candidates;

b) Reprimand shall be decided by the invigilator and recorded in writing.

2. Warning:

a) Warning shall be issued to those who commit one of the following acts of violation: Having been reprimanded for the first time but continuing to commit an act of violation at reprimand level; swapping exam papers or scrap papers with other candidates; copying from other candidates or letting other candidates copy their exam papers;

b) Warning shall be decided by the invigilator in the written record enclosed with evidence (if any).

3. Exam suspension:

a) Suspension from taking the exam shall be imposed on those who commit one of the following acts of violation: Having been warned for the first time but continuing to commit acts of violation at the reprimand or warning levels; bringing forbidden items to the exam room; taking the question papers out of the exam room or bringing answer keys to the exam room; writing or drawing on the exam papers content unrelated to the exam; threatening or quarreling with competent persons during the exam or other candidates;

b) Invigilators shall prepare a record, confiscate evidence (if any), and report the situation to the Chairperson of the Invigilation Council. Suspended candidates shall submit the question papers, exam papers, and scrap papers to invigilators and leave the exam room immediately after decisions are issued and may leave the exam area only when the examination session ends;

c) Results of all exam papers taken by suspended candidates in the exam year shall be terminated.

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a) A candidate who is reprimanded for an exam paper will have 25% of the total score of that exam paper deducted;

b) A candidate who is warned for an exam paper will have 50% of the total score of that exam paper deducted;

c) A candidate who has an exam paper with a special mark detected during the marking will have 50% of the total score of that exam paper deducted;

d) Exam papers will be marked with 0 (zero) in the following cases: The candidate’s exam paper is copied from any unauthorized documents; the candidate submits papers for one exam; the exam paper has two different styles of handwriting or more; answer keys are written on the scrap paper or other kind of paper that is not in the prescribed format;

dd) Candidate who is suspended shall be marked 0 (zero) for the suspended exam paper forbidden from taking any following exam;

e) The application of score deducting specified in Points c and d of this Clause shall be decided by the Chairperson of the Marking Council based on written reports sent by Marking Teams.

5. Score termination shall be imposed on candidates who write or draw on the exam papers content unrelated to the exam; allow someone to impersonate them to take the exam or engage in impersonation to take the exam for someone else; make alternation, interlineations, or omission to the exam papers after submission; submit exam papers of someone else as their own.

6. A candidate who commits one of the following acts of violation shall have their exam paper scores terminated and be reported to competent authorities for further actions as prescribed by laws:

a) Allowing someone to impersonate him/her to take the exam, or engage in impersonation to take the exam for someone else in any manner;

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7. In case of acts of violation with criminal signs, education authorities shall request competent authorities for further actions as per regulation; in other cases, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, the corresponding form of handling specified in this Article shall be applied.

Chapter IX

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 43. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam

1. Establish an Exam Steering Committee to direct the exam organization and decide the schemes to handle special cases, such as natural disasters, epidemics, and other abnormal situations.

2. Direct the inspection of the implementation of the Exam Regulation and guidelines on the exam organization.

3. Develop question papers and organize the marking of exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level annually.

Article 44. Responsibilities of Provincial People’s Committees

1. Approve schemes, plans, and budgets for the exam organization proposed by the Departments of Education and Training.

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Article 45. Responsibilities of Departments of Education and Training

1. Consult the Provincial People’s Committees about the schemes, plans, and budgets for the local exam organization.

2. Direct and organize local exams for the selection of excellent students and perform invigilation tasks according to the Exam Regulation and guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam.

3. Direct, organize, and manage exam profiles and prepare physical facilities for the organization of exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level; cooperate with concerned units in organizing exams for the selection of excellent students.

4. Disclose their measures to select students for teams participating in exams for the selection of excellent students at the national levels; organize the selection and establish teams to participate in exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level; comply with regulations and requests for exam registration and take responsibility for the exam profiles of candidates; send their lists of candidates of teams participating in exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level enclosed with the question papers and marking guidelines for the exams for the selection of teams to the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam.

5. Mobilize and facilitate officials, public employees, and teachers to participate in exams according to requests of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (performed by the Directors).

6. Hand over certificates of exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level to candidates.

7. Promptly reward or enforce discipline persons participating in the exam organization, candidates, and those within their entitlements; appeal to competent authorities for commendation or disciplinary actions for persons participating in the exam organization and candidates in compliance with the Exam Regulation and relevant laws.

8. Promptly report any difficulty arising during the exam organization to the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (via the Department of Quality Control) for assessment and handling.

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1. Mobilize and facilitate public employees, lecturers, and teachers to participate in exams according to requests of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (performed by the Directors).

2. Perform other tasks concerning the organization of exams for the selection of excellent students at the national level as assigned by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam.

3. Perform tasks prescribed in Clauses 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 Article 45 of this Regulation (regarding higher education institutions with specialized high schools under their systems).

Article 47. Responsibilities of high schools

1. Facilitate public employees and teachers to participate in exams according to requests of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and Departments of Education and Training (performed by the Directors).

2. Perform tasks of organization exams as assigned by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, Departments of Education and Training, and/or higher education institutions (regarding specialized high schools under higher education institutions)./.