Pursuant to …;

Regarding the issuance of the "Regulation on organizing entrance examinations for postgraduate studies conducted abroad at state expense"

__________________________ 

MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 15/CP dated March 2, 1993 on the tasks, powers, and responsibilities of ministries and ministerial-level agencies in state management;

Pursuant to Government Decree No. 43/2000/NĐ-CP dated August 30, 2000 detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Education Law;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 322/TTg dated April 19, 2000 approving the Project "Training scientific and technical cadres at foreign institutions at state expense";

At the proposal of the Director of the Postgraduate Studies Department,

Pursuant to …;:

Article 1. The attached decision promulgates the "Regulation on organizing entrance examinations for postgraduate studies conducted abroad at state expense."

Article 2:This decision takes effect fifteen days from the date of signature, replacing Decision No. 31/2000/QĐ-BGD&ĐT dated August 22, 2000 of the Minister of Education and Training on the issuance of the "Provisional Regulations on entrance examinations for postgraduate studies conducted abroad at state expense in 2000."".

Article 3: The Secretariat Director, Postgraduate Department Director, Heads of relevant units under the Ministry, and those involved in the admission process shall be responsible for implementing this decision../.

REGULATIONS

REGULATIONS ON ORGANIZING ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDIES CONDUCTED ABROAD AT STATE EXPENSE
(Attached to Decision No.: 20/2001/QĐ-BGD&ĐT dated June 6, 2001 of the Minister of Education and Training)

Chapter 1

POSTGRADUATE ADMISSION BOARD AND ITS DEPARTMENTS

Article 1:Admission Board (AB)

The Admission Board is established by the Minister of Education and Training through a decision to organize all matters related to the admission process for postgraduate studies to be conducted abroad at state expense.

1. Composition of the AB

a) Chairman: Deputy Minister of Education and Training.

b) Vice-Chairman: Head of the Postgraduate Department.

c) Members: representatives of the Heads of the Departments of Universities, Postgraduate Studies, Cadre Organization, International Relations, and Financial Planning.

Those with relatives (father, mother, spouse, children, siblings) participating in the examination shall not join the AB and its departments.

2. Powers and Responsibilities of the AB

a) Approve the list of candidates based on the conditions stipulated in the annual announcement of postgraduate training at foreign institutions at state expense issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

b) Determine the list of candidates, level of study, field of study, and subjects to be tested.

c) Implement stages such as test preparation; organization of the examination; marking and re-marking; approval of the list of successful candidates; collection and utilization of funds for examination expenses; summary of the admission process; determination of rewards and punishments; reporting results to the Steering Committee of the Project, the Minister of Education and Training, and the Implementation Guidance Committee.

3. Powers and Responsibilities of the AB Chairman

a) Decide and bear full responsibility for all aspects of the admission process according to these regulations.

b) Directly appoint and invite examiners; receive or authorize the Vice-Chairman of the AB to receive test questions and answers from the examiners.

c) Issue decisions to establish support staff for the AB including: Secretariat, Test Preparation Department, Examination Supervision Department, Marking Department, Re-Marking Department, and Small Departments for Marking Syllabi. These departments and small departments are directly guided by the AB Chairman.

d) Assign certain universities to prepare examination venues and organize the examination.

Article 2: Secretariat Board

Those selected to join the Secretariat Board must have organizational discipline awareness, high sense of responsibility, honesty, and confidentiality awareness.

1. Composition of the Secretariat Board

a) Chairperson: head of the Postgraduate Department.

b) Member: representatives from the leadership of universities organizing the examination, some specialists from the Postgraduate Department, University Department, Cadre Organization Department, and some university staff participating in organizing the examination.

2. Rights and responsibilities of the Chairperson of the Secretariat Board

a) Selecting officials with organizational discipline awareness, high sense of responsibility, honesty, careful work style, and confidentiality awareness to submit to the Chairman of the Examination Board for consideration and decision on the Secretariat Board.

b) Being responsible for organizing and managing all activities of the Secretariat Board.

3. Tasks of the Secretariat Board

a) Receiving and reviewing applications.

b) Submitting the list of eligible candidates to the Examination Board for approval.

c) Compiling examination room lists and sending examination notification letters, issuing examination cards.

d) Collecting examination papers from the Examination Supervision Board, sealing them in bags, numbering the examination papers, handing over the examination papers to the Examination Grading Board, and performing necessary tasks to serve grading and scoring.

e) Reporting examination situation and results to the Chairman of the Examination Board.

g) Proposing admission score criteria for the Examination Board's review.

h) Based on the approved admission results of the Examination Board, sending score reports and admission notifications to candidates and their respective management agencies or ministries.

Article 3: Examination Question Board

Those selected to join the Examination Question Board must have organizational discipline awareness, high sense of responsibility, honesty, and confidentiality awareness.

1. Composition of the Examination Question Board

a) Chairperson: appointed by the Vice-Chairman or a member of the Examination Board.

b) Standing Member: representative from the leadership of the university organizing the examination.

c) Member: some officers from the Postgraduate Department, Cadre Organization Department.

2. Rights and responsibilities of the Chairperson of the Examination Question Board

a) Deciding on the list of sub-committees for each subject (each sub-committee consists of two people, one of whom is the sub-committee chairperson), who must hold Doctorate or Professor titles or equivalent academic positions, with high professional reputation to assist the Examination Question Board in creating questions and checking questions for each subject.

b) Organizing and directing the implementation of all examination question-related tasks serving the recruitment period.

c) Selecting examination questions or instructing the subject sub-committees to build examination questions to ensure both primary and backup questions.

d) Handling urgent and unusual situations related to examination questions during the recruitment period.

e) Being accountable to the Examination Board for the quality of the examination questions and the confidentiality process, as well as all related stages.

Upon recommendation from the President of the university organizing the examination, the Chairperson of the Examination Question Board may invite some university staff to assist in printing, packaging, and distributing examination questions. The invited individuals must have discipline awareness, honesty, experience in assisting in creating examination questions, and no relatives (father, mother, spouse, children, siblings) participating in the examination.

3. Tasks of the Subject Sub-Committee

a) Fully understanding and implementing the requirements for creating examination questions.

b) Studying and testing (if necessary) proposed questions to refine or compile new questions that meet the examination requirements. If the questions are recompiled, anticipated answers and grading scales should be prepared for the Chairperson of the Examination Question Board's review and decision.

c) Assisting the Chairperson of the Examination Question Board in monitoring, answering, and handling issues related to the examination questions they are responsible for during the examination.

The subject chairperson does not participate in selecting the primary or backup questions for the examination.

4. Tasks of the Examination Question Board

a) Printing, packaging, storing, distributing, and using examination questions according to regulations.

b) Securing the answers to selected examination questions, unused questions, and related documents.

Article 4: Examination Supervision Board

Those selected to be members of the Examination Supervision Board and examination service staff must have a sense of organizational discipline, a high sense of responsibility, strictness, fairness, experience, and proficiency in examination supervision duties. At each university where examinations are organized, there shall be a separate Examination Supervision Board.

1. Composition of the Examination Board

a) Chairperson: represents the leadership of the university organizing the examination and is a member of the Examination Management Committee.

b) Members (examination supervisors): include some lecturers from the university organizing the examination.

2. Powers and responsibilities of the Chairperson of the Examination Supervision Board

a) Responsible for directing all examination supervision work.

b) Decides on the list of supervisors, security personnel, medical staff, police officers, and examination service staff at the examination venue.

c) Decides on handling situations that occur during examination sessions according to this Regulation.

3. Tasks of the Examination Supervision Board:

Carry out all examination supervision work from arranging examination supervision forces, protecting examination rooms, organizing examinations, collecting answer sheets to handing over answer sheets according to this Regulation, ensuring safety for the examination period and candidates' answer sheets.

Article 5: Marking Board

Those selected to be members of the Marking Board must have a sense of organizational discipline, a high sense of responsibility, strictness, and fairness.

1. Composition of the Marking Board

a) Chairperson: appointed by the Vice-Chairman or a member of the Examination Board.

b) Members: include heads of marking teams for each subject (called Subject Marking Team Leaders) and marking staff.

c) Secretariat of the Marking Board: includes staff assisting the Marking Board.

Members of the Examination Management Committee's Secretariat shall not participate in marking.

2. Powers and responsibilities of the Chairperson of the Marking Board

a) Responsible for directing all marking work.

b) Shall be responsible to the Examination Management Committee for the quality, progress, and implementation of the marking process.

3. Tasks of the Marking Board

a) Subject Marking Team Leader must hold the academic title of Professor or Associate Professor or the academic degree of Doctor or Master; have good professional qualifications and be directly teaching the subject being marked, responsible before the Chairman of the Examination Management Committee and the Chairperson of the Marking Board for marking papers under their charge according to requirements and the marking process; receive papers and assign marking staff; organize for marking staff to thoroughly understand the answers and grading scale before marking.

b) Marking staff must hold the academic title of Professor or Associate Professor or the academic degree of Doctor or Master; have good professional qualifications and be directly teaching the subject being marked, fully perform marking tasks according to regulations.

c) Staff of the Secretariat must have experience, proficiency in marking support services, and fully perform secretarial tasks for the Marking Board as stipulated in Articles 17 and 18 of this Regulation.

Article 6: Re-marking Board (re-examination))

1. Composition of the Re-marking Board:

a) Chairperson: undertaken by the leadership of the Postgraduate Department.

b) Members: some key lecturers from universities holding the academic title of Professor or Associate Professor or the academic degree of Doctor or Master; with a high sense of responsibility, impartiality, honesty, good professional qualifications, designated by the Chairman of the Examination Management Committee. The list of members and working schedule of the Re-marking Board must be kept confidential until the Board begins operations.

2. Tasks of the Re-marking Board:

When candidates submit complaints, the Re-marking Board has the task of:

a) Checking mechanical errors such as incorrect point addition, mistakenly recording points from one candidate's paper onto another's.

b) Re-marking papers that candidates believe contain errors or omissions compared to the official grading scale.

c) Re-marking lost papers now found.

d) Reporting to the Chairman of the Examination Management Committee for decisions on re-marked paper scores.

Article 7:Subcommittee for Examining Syllabi:

Those selected to be members of the Subcommittee for Examining Syllabi for each specialty must hold the academic title of Professor or Associate Professor or the academic degree of Doctor or Master; have good professional qualifications, a sense of organizational discipline, a high sense of responsibility, strictness, fairness, and no relatives (father, mother, wife, husband, child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister) defending syllabi in that specialty.

1. Powers and responsibilities of the Chairperson of the Subcommittee for Examining Syllabi

a) Responsible for directing all work of examining syllabi by the subcommittee.

b) Shall be responsible to the Examination Management Committee for the quality, progress, and implementation of the syllabus examination process.

3. Tasks of the Subcommittee for Examining Syllabi

a) Examine syllabi for those applying for doctoral training and those going for practical training according to the specialty of the subcommittee.

b) Report the results of syllabus examination to the Chairman of the Examination Management Committee.

Chapter 2

EXAMINATION QUESTION SETTING, ORGANIZATION, MARKING, AND SELECTION

PART 1: PREPARING THE EXAM QUESTIONS

Article 8: REQUIREMENTS AND CONTENT OF THE EXAM QUESTIONS

The postgraduate entrance exam questions must meet the requirements to assess the basic knowledge of each subject, the ability to apply and synthesize knowledge of candidates, consistent with the program and level announced in the study outline.

The content of the exam questions must ensure scientific accuracy, rigor, comprehensiveness, not focusing on any part of the program outlined in the study outline, aiming to evaluate the candidate's ability to apply comprehensive knowledge to solve problems. The wording, sentences, formulas, equations must be clear, without errors.

The exam questions must meet the requirements for evaluating and classifying the academic and professional levels of candidates, appropriate to the time allocated for each subject.

Article 9: REQUIREMENTS FOR EXAM QUESTION PREPARERS

1. Personnel invited to prepare exam questions must hold the title of Professor (GS), Associate Professor (PGS) or have the degree of Doctor of Science (TSKH), Doctor (TS); have many years of teaching experience; have high responsibility and experience in the subject.

2. Personnel invited to prepare exam questions must not have relatives such as parents, spouse, children, siblings participating in the exam.

3. Personnel invited to prepare exam questions must submit the exam questions to the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Exam Committee at the specified time and according to the invitation letter. They shall not copy the questions to another version, retain them separately, nor use the exam questions introduced to the Exam Committee for teaching, tutoring, test preparation, or disclose them in any other form.

Article 10: REQUIREMENTS FOR PREPARING EXAM QUESTIONS FOR BASIC, FOUNDATIONAL SUBJECTS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES (Russian, French, German, Chinese)

1. For each subject, the Chairman of the Exam Committee invites at least three personnel to introduce exam questions. Each person prepares one set of exam questions according to the content requirements stated in the invitation letter from the Chairman of the Exam Committee and prints two copies. Each set of questions includes several questions, clearly indicating the time allowed and providing answers, specifying the expected score for each question in the answers. The questions and answers must be typed and printed clearly, cleanly, and accurately.

2. Two sets of questions and answers are placed in three different envelopes, sealed tightly. Outside each envelope, clearly write the name of the subject (as per the subject syllabus), indicate whether it is a question or answer, the preparer's full name, and affix their signature across the seal edges of the envelope. The envelopes containing the questions and answers are provided by the Exam Committee.

3. The Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Exam Committee directly receives the questions and answers from the preparers, then places one envelope containing the preparer's questions and answers into a common envelope containing all questions and answers, and places the remaining envelope containing the questions into another envelope, sealing it tightly, clearly writing the subject name outside, not writing the preparer's name, affixing a seal, numbering the two envelopes of the subject (with the same number), and storing them according to the confidentiality procedure. The envelopes are provided by the Exam Committee.

4. According to the Exam Committee's plan, the Head of the Question Preparation Department and the Subject Sub-Committees gather in the room to prepare questions. For each subject, the Head of the Question Preparation Department selects one set as the official exam questions and one set as the backup exam questions. If necessary, the Head of the Question Preparation Department requests the Subject Sub-Committee to compile two sets of exam questions from the proposed questions, conduct trials, compile detailed answers and grading scales for each set. The Head of the Question Preparation Department selects one set as the official exam questions and one set as the backup exam questions.

The Head of the Question Preparation Department informs the examination venue in Ho Chi Minh City about the selected exam questions to implement together.

5. The Standing Members of the Question Preparation Board at the two examination venues (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City) directly oversee the duplication of exam questions, packaging the exam questions according to the required quantity of questions and subjects for each examination room. The envelopes containing the exam questions for each examination room are sealed tightly, clearly indicating the number of questions, the subject, the examination room number, and affixed with seals.

6. Personnel involved in preparing exam questions must wear specific badges and only operate within the permitted scope. The exam question preparation and printing locations must be secure and strictly protected.

7. The exam questions must be stored in a locked cabinet or safe, sealed securely, and guarded continuously. The key to the cabinet or safe is kept by the Head of the Question Preparation Department. One hour before the exam, the Question Preparation Board hands over the exam questions to each examination room and records the handover.

8. The Head of the Subject Sub-Committee must be present in the Exam Committee room for two-thirds of the exam duration to address and handle issues related to the exam questions.

Article 11: REQUIREMENTS FOR RESEARCH OUTLINES

1. The research outline of candidates applying for a doctoral degree must present an overview of the issues related to the research topic, the direction and planned research topics to be conducted abroad, the scientific basis and scientific significance of the planned research issue, the anticipated steps for conducting the research, and the conditions requiring assistance abroad.

Limit research topics that are locally focused and unsupported by foreign conditions for research.

2. The research outline of candidates applying for internships must present the issues that the applicant has been and is currently working on domestically, the scientific and practical significance of the research issue, the difficulties requiring assistance from foreign institutions, the prospects for solving the problem or improving the quality of ongoing domestic work raised by the intern.

PART 2: ORGANIZATION OF THE EXAMINATION

Article 12: DUTIES OF UNIVERSITIES

The Rector of the university organizing the examination shall be responsible for:

1. Preparing physical facilities to arrange examination rooms for writing questions, taking exams, and grading, ensuring spaciousness, ventilation, and safety.

2. Mobilizing staff with sufficient credibility and experience to participate in the Examination Board's working groups when requested by the Examination Board.

3. Cooperating with the Secretariat of the Examination Board to issue exam cards for candidates and create lists of candidate photos for each examination room.

Article 13: DUTIES OF EXAM SUPERVISORS (ES)

Each examination room must have at least two ESs. ESs are not allowed to assist candidates in any form during the exam; they may not engage in personal work, smoke cigarettes while supervising, and must be present on time and regularly in the examination room to perform the following tasks:

1. Record the registration number in the seat of the candidate, call candidates into the examination room (absolutely not allowing candidates to bring prohibited materials and items into the examination room), use the exam card and photo list to verify and identify candidates.

2. Sign the rough draft paper and exam paper of the candidate, guide the candidate to record the registration number and necessary items on the exam paper and rough draft paper.

3. Upon receiving the signal, one ES receives the exam paper, shows the envelope still sealed with the original seal to the candidates, opens the envelope containing the exam paper, and distributes the exam paper to each candidate. (Before distributing the exam paper, it is necessary to check the quantity of exam papers; if there is excess, shortage, or mixed papers, immediately report to the Head of the Supervision Team). Do not allow exam papers to leave the examination room.

4. ESs must oversee the entire examination room strictly handle cases of violating examination regulations, and prepare records according to regulations. Only allow candidates to leave the examination room earliest after two-thirds of the allotted time has passed. If a candidate suddenly falls ill, report to the examination room supervisor for handling.

5. Upon receiving the signal to end the examination session, require candidates to stop working and collect all candidates' papers, including those who have been disciplined. ESs check and sort candidates' papers for each subject in order of registration numbers. Any disciplinary records (if any) must be attached to the candidate's papers. Afterward, both ESs hand over the papers to a member of the Secretariat of the Examination Board immediately after each examination session. Absolutely prevent any confusion or loss of papers.

Article 14: DUTIES OF EXAM ROOM SUPERVISORS, ORDER MAINTAINERS, POLICE, AND HEALTH STAFF

1. Exam room supervisors must continuously monitor the implementation of examination regulations by ESs, candidates, and service staff; thoroughly check and remind ESs to confiscate any prohibited materials and technical devices brought into the examination room by candidates; prepare disciplinary records for ESs and candidates who violate regulations.

2. Those assigned to guard duties are responsible for maintaining order and security at the designated location. Do not allow anyone without responsibility to enter the examination area or approach the examination room. They may not enter the examination room and may not assist candidates in any form.

3. Health staff must be present at the designated location to perform their duties. Strictly prohibit any actions that exploit medical examinations to violate examination regulations.

Article 15: DUTIES OF CANDIDATES DURING THE EXAMINATION

1. According to the schedule announced in the exam notification, candidates must go to the examination venue to pay the exam fee, receive the exam card, receive the examination room, and listen to the announcement of regulations. If there are errors in name, surname, date of birth, applied major, subjects... report to the Secretariat of the Examination Board for timely adjustment.

2. Candidates must be present in the examination room at the specified date and time. Candidates arriving more than 15 minutes late after the exam paper has been opened will not be allowed to take the exam. Absence from one examination session means disqualification from subsequent sessions.

3. When entering the examination room, candidates must present their exam card. Only pencils, pens, compasses, erasers, rulers, and personal electronic calculators without letter keys are allowed in the examination room. Smoking is strictly prohibited in the examination room.

4. Before starting the exam, candidates must fully record their registration number on the exam paper and rough draft paper and request ESs to sign the exam paper and rough draft paper.

5. Answers must be clearly and neatly written, without marking or making private symbols. It is strictly forbidden to write answers using two different ink colors, red ink, or pencils. Parts written incorrectly must be crossed out with a pen, not erased. Candidates must protect their own answers and strictly prohibit any cheating behavior.

6. At the end of the examination time, candidates must stop working and submit their papers to the ES. When submitting papers, candidates must clearly record the number of submitted exam sheets and sign the candidate tracking list. Rough draft papers may not be submitted.

Article 16: HANDLING CASES OF ERRONEOUS QUESTIONS, PRINTING ERRORS, OR LEAKED QUESTIONS

1. When discovering errors in the exam questions, ESs must jointly with the Head of the Supervision Team prepare a record and promptly report to the Head of the Question Preparation Team and the Chairman of the Examination Board for consideration and decision-making.

Depending on the nature and severity of the error, whether it occurs in one or multiple questions, and the time of discovery, the Chairman of the Examination Board will consider and decide on handling according to one of the following options:

a) Order prompt correction of errors and inform candidates, but do not extend the examination time.

b) Order prompt correction of errors and inform candidates, but appropriately extend the examination time.

c) Do not correct, let candidates continue the exam, but handle it during grading.

d) Reorganize the exam.

2. In case of question leakage, the Chairman of the Examination Board decides to suspend the affected subject, informing the candidates. Other subjects will proceed normally according to the schedule. The leaked subject will be reorganized immediately after the last session. The Chairman of the Examination Board will decide to use the backup questions for that subject.

After the examination, the Chairman of the Examination Board works with the local police department to investigate, verify, conclude the cause of the leak, identify those responsible, and pursue accountability.

PART 3: EXAM MARKING WORK

Article 17: MARKING PROCEDURE

The Head of the Exam Marking Team shall organize all marking officers to mark exams according to the two independent marking rounds procedure. It is strictly prohibited to use erasing pens during the marking process. Officers shall not mark papers that are on different paper from the exam paper, rough drafts, papers with two different handwriting styles, papers with inappropriate drawings, or papers with markings.

1. First marking round:

Prior to marking, each marking officer shall check if each exam paper has the correct number of pages and phach numbers, and shall cross out all unused blank spaces left by candidates. Component scores, total scores, and comments (if any) shall be recorded on the marking sheet for each paper. On the marking sheet, clearly write the name, signature, and full name of the marking officer. After completing the marking of a bag, the Head of the Exam Marking Team shall hand over the bag to the Secretariat of the Exam Marking Team.

2. Second marking round:

a) After the first marking round, the Secretariat of the Exam Marking Team shall retrieve the marking sheets and hand over the exam papers to the Head of the Exam Marking Team for distribution to the second round markers.

b) The second round marker shall directly mark the candidate's answer sheet. Record component scores, total score, and sign the candidate's answer sheet. After completing the marking of a bag, the Head of the Exam Marking Team shall hand over the bag to the Secretariat of the Exam Marking Team.

Article 18: Marking the exam and preparing the marking record

1. Scale of points:

a) For basic and foundational subjects, the marking scale is out of 10 points. Minor points can be awarded up to 0.25 points. Marked scores and total scores shall not be rounded off, but shall be recorded to two decimal places. Marking officers must mark the exam papers strictly according to the approved marking scale and official answers by the Head of the Exam Marking Team.

b) For foreign language subjects, the marking scale is out of 100 points, without rounding off.

2. Processing marking results and preparing the marking record: The Secretariat of the Exam Marking Team shall compare the results of the two marking rounds and handle them as follows:

a) If the results of the two marking rounds are identical, then the exam papers shall be handed to two marking officers to record the scores on the answer sheets and marking records, and both shall sign to confirm on the answer sheets and marking records. In cases where the total scores are identical but component scores differ, the two marking officers shall jointly review and agree on the correct score according to the prescribed answers.

b) If the results of the two marking rounds differ by 0.5 points, the paper and the first marking sheet shall be handed to the Head of the Exam Marking Team to decide the final score. The Head of the Exam Marking Team shall record the score on the answer sheet and marking record and sign to confirm on the answer sheet and marking record.

c) If the results of the two marking rounds differ by 1 point or more, the paper and the first marking sheet shall be handed to the Head of the Exam Marking Team to organize a third marking round directly on the candidate's answer sheet using a different ink color.

In this case, if the results of any two out of the three marking rounds are identical, the identical score shall be taken as the final score. If the results differ, the Head of the Exam Marking Team shall take the average of the three marking rounds as the final score. The Head of the Exam Marking Team shall record the score on the answer sheet and marking record and sign to confirm on the answer sheet and marking record.

After checking, processing the marking results, and having the marking record, the Secretariat of the Exam Marking Team shall return the exam papers and marking records to the Secretariat of the Examination Committee.

Article 19: Marking research outlines

1. Each specialty shall establish a Sub-committee for Research Outline Marking for candidates applying for doctoral training and internship programs.

2. Research outline and internship outline marking shall be done on a scale of 10 points. Each member of the sub-committee shall comment on the content and presentation of the outline and record the score on the marking sheet. The marking score for each candidate shall be the average of the scores given by the members of the sub-committee, without rounding off, to two decimal places. At the end of the marking session, the Head of the Sub-committee shall record the scores for each candidate (according to the marking score form), together with the members of the sub-committee signing to confirm the scores, and submit the scores and all marking sheets to the Secretariat.

Article 20: Re-marking

1. After announcing the exam scores, the Admissions Committee will only accept appeals regarding exam scores within 15 days from the date of score announcement. Candidates requesting re-marking must pay the re-marking fee as stipulated by the Admissions Committee.

2. The organization of re-marking shall be conducted subject to each exam under the direct management of the Head of the Re-marking Team.

3. Before handing over the exam papers to the Re-marking Team, the Secretariat of the Admissions Committee shall carry out the following tasks:

a) Search for the candidate's registration number to find the phach number of the exam paper. Retrieve the exam paper and cross-check it against the candidate tracking list to verify the number of exam pages.

b) Conduct a preliminary check on the condition of the exam paper, cross-check the parts requested for re-marking in the appeal letter with the exam paper. Sum up the component scores and cross-check them with the announced scores to see if there are any errors. If any unusual issues are discovered, a report must be made to the Chairman of the Admissions Committee for decision.

c) Collect all papers of one subject into the same bag, clearly note the number of papers and pages currently in the bag, and hand over to the Re-marking Team. The transfer of papers shall follow the procedures specified for the initial marking round.

During the handling of matters related to re-marking, at least two people must be involved. Strict confidentiality must be maintained regarding the relationship between the registration number and the phach number. Each re-marking of an exam paper shall be carried out separately by two marking officers directly on the candidate's answer sheet using ink of a different color.

4. After re-marking, the Secretariat shall handle the exam papers as follows:

a) If the results of the two re-marking rounds are identical, the exam papers shall be handed to the Head of the Re-marking Team to sign to confirm the final score.

b) If the results of the two re-marking rounds are not identical, the exam papers shall be handed to the Head of the Re-marking Team to organize a third re-marking round directly on the candidate's answer sheet. If the results of any two out of the three re-marking rounds are identical, the identical score shall be taken as the final score. If the results of the three re-marking rounds differ, the Head of the Re-marking Team shall take the average of the three re-marking rounds as the final score and sign to confirm.

After rechecking, if there is a discrepancy between the initial score and the rechecked score that causes a candidate to move from not being admitted to being admitted (or vice versa), the Admissions Committee must organize a direct dialogue between the first round examiners and the recheckers. If the Admissions Committee confirms that the initial scores were incorrect to the extent mentioned above, the Admissions Committee shall publicly announce the list of first-round examiners for lessons learned or if there are signs of misconduct, handle them according to regulations. The score after the direct dialogue between the two sets of examiners and approved by the Head of the Rechecking Board and signed off by the Chairman of the Admissions Committee is the official score of the examination.

SECTION 4: ADMISSION REVIEW

Article 21:||| Conditions for inclusion in the admission review

To be included in the admission review, candidates must achieve a score of 5 or higher (on a scale of 10) in all subjects and meet the language requirements set by the sending country.

If the number of candidates meeting the language requirements is low, the Chairman of the Admissions Committee will decide to lower the passing score and develop a plan to improve the language skills of these candidates.

Article 22:||| Admission Review Score

The admission review score is determined based on the training quota for each field approved by the Steering Committee and taken from the total test score from highest to lowest. For master's degree training, the total test score is the sum of the basic and foundational course scores; for doctoral degree training, it is the sum of the basic and foundational course scores and the dissertation defense score; for internship trainees, it is the dissertation defense score.

Specifically, for the admission review of doctoral degree training in fields with two Subcommittees reviewing research outlines (one Subcommittee in Hanoi and one in Ho Chi Minh City), the Admissions Committee will also base their decision on the ratio between the training quota of the field and the number of applicants at each Subcommittee.

Article 23:||| Approval of Admission

After the examination results are available, the Head of the Secretariat reports the examination results, the proposed admission score, and submits it to the Admissions Committee for approval of the admission score for each level of training and each field of training.

The list of candidates recommended for admission approval is ranked in descending order of total test scores as stipulated in Articles 21 and 22 of this Regulation.

Based on the approved admission results, the Secretariat of the Admissions Committee compiles a list of admitted candidates by country for training, by level and field of training, and sends test result notifications and admission notifications to each candidate and their managing authority.

Article 24:||| Archiving

All examination papers and other materials related to postgraduate admissions conducted at foreign institutions funded by the state budget must be preserved and stored for a long time. Destruction of examination papers and related materials can only be carried out upon a decision by the leadership of the Ministry of Education and Training.

Chapter 3

REWARD AND VIOLATION HANDLING

Article 25: Awards

Those who have made significant contributions and successfully completed assigned tasks may be commended and rewarded by the Chairman of the Admissions Committee depending on their specific achievements.

Article 26:||| Disciplinary Actions

1. Handling of Admissions Staff Violating Regulations

Individuals involved in admissions work who commit actions violating the Regulations (discovered during duty performance or after the admissions examination), if there is sufficient evidence, will be subject to criticism and appropriate disciplinary action based on the severity of the violation, as follows:

a) Warning for those who commit minor offenses while performing their duties.

b) Caution for those who violate once in any of the following offenses:

- Allowing candidates to copy, bring, and use materials or technical devices for receiving, transmitting, recording audio, etc., in the examination room, discovered by the examination room supervisor or the admissions inspection officer.

- Losing examination papers during collection, movement, or marking.

- Grading examinations or adding points with numerous errors.

- Setting questions that do not match the level of the study outline.

c) Depending on the severity of the violation, they may be subject to salary reduction, demotion, dismissal, or transfer to other work for those who commit any of the following offenses:

- Setting incorrect questions.

- Participating in negative actions such as leaking examination questions or bringing solutions into the examination room during the examination.

- Directly solving questions and guiding individuals or groups of candidates during the examination period.

- Cheating when marking examinations. Giving incorrect scores, exceeding the range, or lowering candidates' scores.

d) Forced resignation or prosecution under the law for those who commit any of the following offenses during the process of setting questions, supervising examinations, collecting papers, preserving papers, unsealing papers, grading, recording grades on the examination grading record, examination result sheet, or summoning admitted candidates:

- Leaking exam questions, buying or selling exam questions.

- Altering candidates' answers;

- Altering scores on examination papers, on the examination grading record, or in the examination results.

- Swapping candidates' examination papers, identification numbers, or scores;

- Deceiving in the admission review and summoning admitted candidates.

e) For other violations, they will be handled according to one of the forms mentioned above, depending on the nature, severity, and harmful effects.

In cases where examination questions are leaked, the Chairman of the Admissions Committee and relevant Heads of Boards will be subject to disciplinary action ranging from caution to forced resignation, depending on the consequences, harmful effects, and degree of involvement.

2. Handling of Candidates Violating Regulations

For candidates who violate the Regulations, a report must be prepared and disciplinary action taken based on the severity of the violation, as follows:

a) Warning: applicable to candidates who commit an offense once: looking at another person's paper, exchanging or discussing with others (this form is decided by the examination supervisor). Candidates who are warned during the examination of a particular subject will have 25% of the score for that subject deducted.

b) Caution for candidates who violate any of the following:

- Having been warned once but still continue to violate during the examination of that subject.

- Bringing weapons, explosive, flammable substances, beer, alcohol, or other dangerous items into the examination room.

- Exchanging materials or scratch paper with others.

- Copying another person's paper. Examination papers found to be identical will be treated equally. If the person being disciplined has sufficient evidence proving they were actually copied, the Chairman of the Admissions Committee may consider reducing the punishment from caution to warning.

Candidates who are cautioned during the examination of a particular subject will have 50% of the score for that subject deducted. The caution form is recorded in a report by the examination supervisor, confiscates evidence, and decides.

c) Suspension from the examination for candidates who violate any of the following:

- Having been cautioned once but still continue to violate during the examination of that subject.

- Still carrying materials, technical devices for receiving, transmitting, recording audio after opening the examination question.

- Writing slogans or scribbling on the exam paper.

- Engaging in aggressive behavior or threatening responsible officials or other candidates during the examination period.

The suspension form is recorded in a report by the examination supervisor, confiscates evidence, and decided by the Head of the Examination Supervision Board.

A candidate who is disciplined with a suspension from the examination during the examination of a subject will be given zero (0) for that subject; must leave the examination room after the decision of the Examination Board Chair and at least two-thirds of the examination time for that subject; shall not take subsequent subjects.

d) Deprive the right to study abroad in the same year and deprive the right to participate in the admission examination for studying abroad in the next two years, or refer the cases of candidates violating any of the following offenses to competent authorities for prosecution: false declaration in the application file; having someone else take the exam on their behalf or doing the exam on their behalf in any form; committing acts to disrupt the examination, assaulting examination officers or other candidates.

The Examination Board decides this disciplinary action.

For other violations, the Chairman of the Examination Board shall apply disciplinary measures according to the forms mentioned above.

The handling of disciplinary actions against candidates must be announced to the candidates. If the candidate refuses to sign the record, then two examination officers shall sign the record. If there is disagreement between the examination officers and the Examination Room Supervisor regarding the handling method, both parties' opinions shall be clearly recorded in the record to report to the Chairman of the Examination Board for decision. If the examination officers and Examination Room Supervisor handle the disciplinary action not in accordance with the stated level of discipline, based on evidence and the established record, the Chairman of the Examination Board will check and handle according to the Regulations before announcing the examination results and criticize those who handled incorrectly.

3. Handling special cases discovered during grading.

The Secretariat of the Grading Board and grading officers have the responsibility to detect and report to the Grading Board Supervisor any papers showing signs of violation of regulations that need to be handled, even if there is no record from the Examination Board. After the Grading Board Supervisor has reviewed and concluded on the violations, they shall be handled according to the provisions below:

a) Deduct fifty percent (50%) of the total score for papers clearly marked, confirmed by two grading officers.

b) Give zero (0) points for papers:

- Copied from prohibited materials brought into the examination room.

- Written on scratch paper, incorrect paper, torn or abnormally folded, or submitting two papers for one subject.

c) Invalidate the results of all three subjects for candidates:

- Writing slogans or scribbling on the exam paper.

- Asking someone else to take the exam or complete the exam on their behalf in any form: correcting, adding, or subtracting from the submitted work; using another person's paper to submit.