Le and five teachers from the school have been arrested and detained on charges of forgery, according to Article 359 of the penal code, the Thanh Hoa provincial police investigation agency announced on 14/7.

Details of the case have not been released, but police say they launched an investigation after discovering unusually high scores for several students in the 2024-2025 10th-grade entrance exam.

Police confirmed that at the Tinh Gia 4 High School exam center, one student's exam paper was altered, erased, and had answers added. Le and the teachers are suspected of committing these acts "possibly for personal gain," according to authorities.

In addition to the incident at Tinh Gia 4 High School, the 2024-2025 10th-grade entrance exam in Thanh Hoa saw another irregularity. A student initially ranked first was later disqualified due to a "score entry error."

The incident began in 9/2024 when the Thanh Hoa Department of Education and Training received a complaint concerning the male student who had placed first at Le Hong Phong High School. The complainant noted that the student's academic performance in middle school was average, raising concerns about the exam results.

Inspectors from the Department reviewed the student's exam and found discrepancies between the scores given by examiners and the scores announced. The student’s actual scores were 4.5 in math, 6.5 in literature, and 2.4 in English. However, the recorded scores were 8, 8.5, and 6.4, respectively—a difference of 15 points.

The Department's inspectors attributed the error to the score entry team at the Ngoc Lac High School exam center. Vu Ngoc Liem, principal of Ngoc Lac High School and chairman of the exam scoring committee, claimed the error was due to "pressure and lack of focus," not intentional wrongdoing.

Tran Van Thuc, former director of the Thanh Hoa Department of Education and Training, deemed the incident unusual but asserted there was "no foul play." The student has been expelled. Police are investigating this case, and the results haven't been released yet.

Le Hoang