HCMC proposes separate high school graduation exams for Covid, close contact students

Le Hoai Nam, deputy director of the municipal Department of Education and Training, on Wednesday proposed for the examination to be conducted twice, spaced 10 days apart. The first time would be for uninfected students, and the second for Covid-19 cases and their close contacts.

Nam cited current health policies that require students with Covid-19 to be quarantined and treated for seven days, followed by three days of monitoring. Close contacts would need to be quarantined for five days and monitored for five days, hence the 10-day space.

This year, around 87,000 students are expected to participate in the high school graduation examination in HCMC.

Last year, the examination was planned to be conducted twice too: from July 6 to 9, and from Aug. 5 to 7 amid Covid-19 concerns. But HCMC leaders later decided to conduct the examination just once in July as usual, with students unable to participate considered for graduation without exams.

Vietnam’s national high school graduation exam is considered a make-or-break event for high school students, since results will determine if they can enter a good university.