As many as 98.34% of students sitting the national high school examination in early August have been qualified for graduation, an increase of nearly four percentage points from a year earlier, VnExpress reported, citing Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do.

 Candidates take the national high school exams 2020. Photo: Quynh Tran

More than 880,000 candidates took part in the national high school exam on August 9-10.

This year’s graduation rate is higher because the exams were aimed at assessing whether students were eligible for graduation, not at finding outstanding graduates, in the context that schools in Vietnam were closed for three months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Therefore, students’ average scores increased by 0.2 to 1.2 points year-on-year. 5,500 tests were given the highest mark (10) while there were 1,285 in 2019 exams.

Candidates were tested in maths, literature, foreign language and an optional subject (physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography or citizen education). All the tests were in a multiple-choice format except for literature.

Vietnam’s 2020 national high school exam amid Covid-19 outbreak can be considered an unprecedented one over the past four decades. It had to be divided into two phases, the first one was held on August 8-10 and the second one will be held on September 3-4 for more than 26,000 candidates in Covid-19-hit localities.

In 2019, the high school graduation rate nationwide was at 94.06%, down 3.51% compared to 2018.

In regions with favorable socio-economic conditions and good learning traditions, the rate is often higher.

Since 2015, the high school graduation and university entrance exams have been combined into one national exam in Vietnam. Some universities hold their own exams to qualify candidates.