Decision No. 04/2003/QD-BGDĐT On Amending Certain Articles in the Regulation on Compiling National Excellent Student Selection Examinations for Grade 12 High School Students

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the amendment of certain provisions on the preparation of national outstanding student selection exams for grade 12 high school students issued pursuant to Decision No. 01/2000/QĐ-BGDĐT dated January 24, 2000.

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 86/2002/NĐ-CP dated November 11, 2002, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of Ministries and equivalent agencies.

Pursuant to the Government's Resolution No. 39/1994/NQ-CP dated September 30, 1994, regarding the tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training.

of the Minister of Education and Training

__________________

MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

||| 05/On the proposal of the Director of the Secondary Education Department, c) SUBMIT TO THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR APPROVAL OF THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY COUNCIL AS PROVIDED BY THE PARTY AND RELEVANT LAWS; . Amend certain provisions in the Regulation on the preparation of national outstanding student selection exams for grade 12 high school students issued together with Decision No. 01/2000/QĐ-BGDĐT dated January 24, 2000 of the Minister of Education and Training as follows: subject, organization, unit under the People's Committee of the commune level 1. Clause 2 of Article 1 shall be amended as follows: Scope of exam content: to Ministries,

Decree No. In accordance with the current Examination Regulations for National Outstanding Student Selection Exams for Grade 12 High School Students. 2. Article 2 shall be amended as follows: Confidentiality of the Exam/1. The national outstanding student selection exam is classified information under the State Secrets List prescribed in Decision No. 81/TTg dated March 2, 1994 of the Prime Minister concerning the List of State Secrets in the field of education and training. 2. Members who come into contact with the exam and guide marking, including those invited to provide comments on the exam (if any), must be completely isolated from the external environment from the time they enter the exam preparation area until the end of the last subject of the examination period.3. Clause 3 of Article 5 shall be amended as follows: Drafters of the Exam set a) The drafters of the exam are scientific experts, specialists, researchers, lecturers at central agencies and universities, having good moral qualities and high scientific reputation, solid professional expertise, not belonging to the teaching staff or contractual visiting lecturers in secondary schools (including specialized and non-specialized schools), and not participating in training students for competition teams in any form. b) The drafters of the exam have the responsibility to prepare the exam questions and guide marking; make copies of approved exam questions (including foreign language translations); seal and stamp the envelopes containing the exam questions; read the exam questions again; check answer sheets (for foreign language subjects); participate in sealing the envelopes and perform other tasks as directed by the Chairman of the Board. Accounting c) Each subject has a drafting team consisting of two to three drafters (including one team leader). 4. Add Clause 9 after Clause 8 of Article 5 as follows: Those whose children, younger brothers/sisters, sisters-in-law/brothers-in-law, wards, or foster children are participating in the examination period shall not be allowed to join the Exam Question Drafting Board of the year holding the examination period.

DECISION:

Article 15. Clause 3 of Article 6 shall be amended as follows: The Chairman of the Board, Vice Chairmen of the Board, drafters of the exam, secretaries of the Board, computer assistants, typists, and printers shall carry out their assigned tasks according to the procedures set forth in Chapter III of this Regulation.

6. Delete Clause 4 and Clause 5 of Article 6.

7. Article 7 shall be amended as follows: Work Location, Facilities, and Equipment

1. The work location of the Exam Question Drafting Board shall be located in a separate area (hereinafter referred to as the exam preparation area) decided by the Chairman of the Board: The exam preparation area must have adequate working and living facilities, be isolated, ensure safety, and facilitate security protection work.

All rooms for work, accommodation, dining, and security within the exam preparation area must have doors and locks; windows must have locks; workrooms must have cabinets and cabinet locks.

2. Computers, printers, tape recorders, photocopiers, cassette players, and tapes must be checked before being handed over to the working teams; ensuring that these devices function properly and do not contain any information related to the exam.

3. The entire exam preparation area shall only use one fixed telephone placed in the security room.

8. Clause 2 of Article 10 shall be amended as follows: "The preparation of exam questions and marking guidelines must be done on computers. The exam question drafting team will either create new questions or modify proposed questions into exam questions to be reviewed and signed off by the Chairman of the Board (including listening and understanding sections for foreign language subjects): For each day of the exam, each exam sheet, and each subject, at least two sets of exam questions (with marking guidelines attached) must be submitted to the Chairman of the Board for selection; full reports must be made about the viewpoints and basic content of the exam questions, especially highlighting which parts were derived from proposed questions and which are entirely new (unrelated to proposed questions)."

9. Clause 2 of Article 11 shall be amended as follows:

"a) If necessary, the Chairman of the Board may invite experts to the exam preparation area to review and comment on the exam questions before signing off. In such cases, the invited experts must also be completely isolated from the time they enter the exam preparation area until the end of the last subject of the examination period and must bear the responsibility of keeping the exam questions and marking guidelines confidential as members of the Board who have access to the exam questions.

b) Based on the exam questions (with marking guidelines attached) proposed by the exam question drafting team and the opinions of those invited to review (if any), the Chairman of the Board will consider and decide on selecting the exam questions for the examination period (including both main and backup exam questions as prescribed); if undecided, the Chairman of the Board may request the exam question drafting team to revise or recreate the questions."

10. Point c of Clause 1 of Article 13 shall be amended as follows:

"The consolidation of envelopes shall be carried out under the direction of the Chairman of the Board."

11. Clause 3 of Article 13 shall be amended as follows.

"Sending exam questions via postal service to localities:

a) When transferring exam packages out of the exam preparation area, a handover receipt must be prepared. The receipt must include signatures from the following parties: the giver (representative of the Board leadership), the receiver (representative of the secretariat team), and the witness (representative of the security team).

Examination rooms, living quarters, dining areas, and security posts within the examination paper preparation zone must all have doors with secure locks, and windows with locking mechanisms; examination rooms must also contain lockable cabinets.

2. Computers, printers, tape recorders, photocopiers, cassette players, and cassette tapes must be inspected before being handed over to working teams; it must be ensured that these devices function properly and do not contain any information related to the examination papers.

3. The entire examination paper preparation area shall only use one fixed telephone placed in the security room.

8. Clause 2 of Article 10 is amended as follows: "The drafting of examination papers and marking guidelines must be conducted on computers. The examination paper drafting team shall draft new papers or modify existing proposed examination papers to create new examination papers for approval by the Chairperson of the Board (including listening comprehension sections for foreign language subjects): for each day of the examination, each examination sheet, and each subject, at least two examination papers (with marking guidelines attached) must be submitted for the Chairperson of the Board to select; a full report must be made regarding the viewpoints and basic content of the examination papers, particularly specifying which parts were drafted from proposed examination papers and which parts are entirely new (unrelated to proposed examination papers)."

9. Clause 2 of Article 11 is amended as follows:

"a) If necessary, the Chairperson of the Board may invite experts to the examination paper preparation area to review and provide feedback on the examination papers prior to signing off on them. In this case, the invited experts must also be thoroughly isolated from the moment they enter the examination paper preparation area until the last subject of the examination period is completed and must bear responsibility for keeping the examination papers and marking guidelines confidential as if they were members of the Board who have had contact with the examination papers. Individuals whose children, younger brothers/sisters, younger sisters-in-law/brothers-in-law, wards, or foster children are participating in the examination shall not be invited to participate in reviewing the examination papers."

"b) Based on the examination papers (with marking guidelines attached) proposed by the examination paper drafting team and the opinions of those invited to review (if any), the Chairperson of the Board will consider and decide on selecting the examination papers for the examination period (including both official and reserve examination papers as prescribed); if a decision has not been made, the Chairperson of the Board may request the examination paper drafting team to revise or redraft the papers."

10. Point c of Clause 1 of Article 13 is amended as follows:

"The sealing process shall be carried out under the direction of the Chairperson of the Board."

11. Clause 3 of Article 13 is amended as follows.

"The transfer of examination papers via postal service to localities:

a) When transferring examination paper packages out of the examination paper preparation area, a handover receipt must be prepared. The receipt must include signatures from the following parties: the party handing over (representative of the Board leadership), the party receiving (representative of the Secretariat team), and the witness (representative of the security team).

 b) When transferring examination packages via postal service to localities, there must be at least one person from the security force accompanying. The security personnel are assigned by the police agency upon the request of the Ministry of Education and Training. Security personnel participate in protecting examination questions from the moment they leave the examination preparation area until all postal packages containing examination questions are sent out from the post office.

 12. Article 15 shall be amended as follows:

"Working time

 1. Key time points:

 a) Members of the Examination Committee gather in the examination preparation area: at least 13 days before the first day of the formal examination.

 b) Transfer of formal examination questions via postal service: at least 4 days before the first day of the formal examination.

 c) Transfer of backup examination questions via postal service: 2 days before the first day of the formal examination.

The total isolation period, including 2 days of examination supervision, must be at least 15 days.

 2. Detailed schedules for each task will be specified by the Chairman of the Examination Committee.

 13. Article 16 shall be amended as follows. Provisions on confidentiality when drafting examination questions and marking guidelines

 1. Those who come into contact with examination questions for one subject include: the Chairman of the Examination Committee, members of the examination question drafting team, invited reviewers (if any), typists (if assigned).

 2. Each examination question drafting team works in a separate room. Members of this team do not enter other teams' working rooms, and other teams' members are not allowed to enter their working room.

 3. When the entire team leaves the working room, all materials must be stored in a cabinet, locked, and all doors must be closed and sealed.

 4. If there are signs of tampering or if the seal on the working room door has been broken, the team leader must immediately invite the security team leader to witness and record it in a report, and simultaneously report to the Examination Committee leadership for appropriate action.

 5. Examination questions and marking guidelines (printed on paper or recorded on audio tapes) for review and signature must be handed over directly. Any invited reviews (if any) must be conducted in the working room of the examination question drafting team. Review and signature of examination questions can be conducted in the working room of the examination question drafting team or in the Chairman's working room.

 6. No related documents should be destroyed by burning but must be kept in a cabinet in the working room of the team.

 7. Computers and printers in the working room of each team are managed by that team and cannot be moved between teams. In case of computer failure, if repairs are unsuccessful, the examination question drafting team must seal the faulty computer for storage in the working room; then receive another computer handed over by the responsible computer manager.

 8. Team members may not disclose any personal or team work content to anyone outside the team. Examination Committee members may not disclose the location or phone number of the examination preparation area to anyone outside the Committee.

 9. When entering the examination preparation area, all Examination Committee members and invited reviewers (if any) are not allowed to bring mobile phones. External communication should be minimized. In cases where external communication is absolutely necessary, the member must report to the Examination Committee leadership about the content to be discussed. After obtaining approval from the Examination Committee leadership, the conversation can be conducted using a landline telephone. During the call, there must be a witness from the security team's on-duty staff. The on-duty staff must record the detailed content of the call, the name of the caller and the recipient, and sign the duty logbook.

 10. Transferring letters and items out of the examination preparation area should be limited. In cases where it is absolutely necessary to transfer items or letters out, they must not be sealed and must go through the on-duty security team staff. The on-duty staff must clearly record the content to be transferred, the sender's and recipient's names, and sign the duty logbook.

 14. Article 18 shall be amended as follows: "Security of the Examination Preparation Area

 1. Security Team

 a) The security team consists of 3 to 5 people (including one team leader) comprising security forces from the Ministry of Education and Training appointed by the Ministry of Education and Training and security forces from the local police agency appointed upon the request of the Ministry of Education and Training.

The list of the security team is decided by the Ministry of Education and Training.

 b) The security team has the following responsibilities:

Supervising the implementation of isolation measures for individuals required to be isolated from the start of their entry into the examination preparation area until the end of the last exam session.

Coordinating with local security forces to organize external protection around the examination preparation area.

 2. Specific tasks of the security team in the examination preparation area

 a) Assigning personnel to continuously guard and monitor outside the examination preparation area.

 b) Assigning personnel to be on duty 24/7.

The on-duty personnel have the responsibility to supervise the implementation of isolation measures, prevent and detect violations of isolation regulations by those required to be isolated; monitor and record the content and names of individuals making phone calls to the outside; record the duty logbook and handover duties at the end of the shift; prepare any abnormal reports (if any).

 c) Contacting local security forces to seek assistance and organize external protection around the examination preparation area.

 15. Article 19 shall be amended as follows:

Preservation and retention of examination papers, marking guidelines, and equipment after the examination

After the examination, the transportation and preservation of examination papers, marking guidelines, and equipment will be decided by the Chairman of the Examination Committee.

 16. Article 20 shall be amended as follows: During the concentrated working period, members of the Examination Committee drafting examination questions are under the management of the Chairman of the Examination Committee, fulfill their responsibilities fully, complete tasks within the deadline, receive care for material and spiritual life, and enjoy responsibility allowances according to the tasks assigned and the current state regulations.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect 15 days after the date of signing. All previous provisions contrary to this Decision are abolished.

Article 3. The Heads of the Office, the Department Heads of the Cadre and Civil Servant Organization Department, the Planning and Finance Department, the Secondary General Education Department, the Heads of relevant agencies under the Ministry, members of the Council for drafting the national examination to select excellent students in the twelfth grade of secondary general education, persons invited to provide comments on the examination questions, members of the security team for the examination area, and security personnel during the transportation of examination questions shall be responsible for implementing this Decision./.