Circular 13/2026/TT-BGDDT amend Circular 24/2024/TT-BGDDT on High School Graduation Exam Regulations

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the High School Graduation Exam Regulations promulgated under Circular No. 24/2024/TT-BGDDT dated December 24, 2024 of the Minister of Education and Training

Pursuant to the Law No. 43/2019/QH14 on Education, as amended under the Law No. 123/2025/QH15 on Education;

Pursuant to the Law No. 125/2025/QH15 on Higher Education;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 37/2025/ND-CP dated February 26, 2025 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

Pursuant to the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15 dated June 12, 2025 on the reorganization of provincial-level administrative divisions;

At the proposal of the Director of the Vietnam Education Quality Management Agency;

The Minister of Education and Training hereby promulgates the Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of the High School Graduation Exam Regulations promulgated under Circular No. 24/2024/TT-BGDDT dated December 24, 2024 of the Minister of Education and Training.

Article 1. To remove the word “inspection” in Clause 1, Article 1 of the High School Graduation Exam Regulations promulgated under Circular No. 24/2024/TT-BGDDT dated December 24, 2024 of the Minister of Education and Training (hereinafter referred to as the Exam Regulation).

Article 2. To amend and supplement Point c, Clause 1, Article 8 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“c) Members who are leaders of divisions under the provincial-level Department of Education and Training, leaders of relevant provincial-level Departments, committees, sectors, and authorities; and leaders of the People’s Committees of communes/wards/special zones of the province (hereinafter collectively referred to as the commune-level localities) where the exam venues are located;”

Article 3. To amend and supplement Point d, Clause 7, Article 14 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“d) Request Invigilators to make a record of candidates violating the Exam Regulations; and coordinate with inspection and examination delegations in handling violations.”

Article 4. To amend and supplement the 4^th dash at Point c, Clause 7, Article 20 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“- Organize the review of exam registration dossiers and publicly announce cases of ineligibility to take the exam as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 19 of this Regulation at least 05 days prior to the exam date; manage exam registration dossiers and transfer exam registration data to the provincial-level Department of Education and Training;”

Article 5. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 21 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

1. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 2 as follows:

“b) Present their Identity Card/Citizen Identity Card/Passport and the confirmation of entry;”

2. To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 4 as follows:

“a) Sit in the correct seat bearing their registration number; present their Identity Card/Citizen Identity Card/Passport, and confirmation of entry upon the request of the Invigilator or personnel on duty at the exam venue;”

Article 6. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 28 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“1. Based on the exam registration data of candidates, the Secretariat shall finalize the list of candidates (including the list of candidates’ photos) for each exam room.”

Article 7. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 31 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“1. The area for marking answer scripts must ensure security and safety, be equipped with adequate fire safety equipment, and be guarded by the police around the clock. The areas where the constructed-response answer scripts are marked and the marked scripts are crosschecked, and where such answer scripts are stored shall be arranged separately. Multiple-choice answer scripts shall be stored in the room for processing and marking multiple-choice answer scripts or in a separate storage room, depending on the real life conditions of the unit.”

Article 8. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses in Article 34 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

1. To amend and supplement Point c, Clause 2 as follows:

“c) Receive the Software license key from the Ministry of Education and Training, the list of candidates, and the list of exam venues in Excel format from the Exam Council, and save all data to a USB flash drive/CD/DVD (collectively referred to as a CD) which will be brought into the area for marking multiple-choice answer scripts;”

2. To amend and supplement Clause 6 as follows:

“6. The sets of CDs exported at each step as prescribed in Clause 3, Clause 4, and Clause 5 of this Article must be packaged and sealed under the supervision of the Supervisory Team and the police, with a record drawn up. Of them, 01 set of CDs shall be sent to the Ministry of Education and Training (via the Vietnam Education Quality Management Agency), wherein CD0 is sent via express mail, while CD1 and CD2 are handed over to the Secretariat to be transmitted to the Ministry of Education and Training via the Exam Management system. 01 set of CDs shall be sent to the Chairperson of the Exam Council for archival purposes (the use of these CD0, CD1, and CD2 requires approval from the national-level Exam Steering Committee). Proceeding to the next step shall be permitted only after the CDs have been dispatched and approval from the leaders of the Exam Marking Board has been obtained.”

Article 9. To amend and supplement Article 36 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“Article 36. Management of exam scores

1. Upon the completion of marking for all subjects, the Chairperson of the Exam Council shall send the exam result data to the Ministry of Education and Training (via the Vietnam Education Quality Management Agency) for archival and reconciliation purposes. The exam result data must be saved onto 02 identical CDs, which shall be sealed with a sealing record drawn up under the witness of the police; 01 CD shall be handed over to the Chairperson of the Exam Council for archival purposes, and 01 CD shall be handed over to the Secretariat for transmission to the Ministry of Education and Training via the Exam Management system.

2. To ensure the accuracy of the exam result data, the Ministry of Education and Training shall use the data submitted by the Exam Councils to update the Exam Management system. The Chairperson of the Exam Council shall direct the Secretariat of the Exam Council to use the CD archived by the Chairperson of the Exam Council to reconcile the data on the Exam Management system. Exam results shall only be announced in accordance with regulations after all Exam Councils have completed the data reconciliation and fully prepared the necessary conditions.

3. After the announcement of results of the exam and the recognition of high school graduation, high schools shall print and issue the Certificates of exam results to candidates. Each candidate shall be issued with a single Certificate of exam results bearing a unique identification code.

4. All documents relating to exam scores must be sealed and preserved under the arrangement of the Chairperson of the Exam Council as prescribed.”

Article 10. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses in Article 37 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

1. To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. The entity with which the candidate registers for the exam shall receive the candidate’s application for remarking within a time limit of 05 days from the date the exam results are announced and shall forward the data of the candidate applying for remarking to the Exam Council. Within a time limit of 15 days from the deadline for receiving remarking applications, the Exam Council must announce and notify the candidate of the remarking results.”

2. To amend and supplement Point d, Clause 5 as follows:

“d) Any answer script for which the re-marked score differs by 0.25 points or more from the announced score shall have its score adjusted accordingly, regardless of whether the score increases or decreases. All cases of score adjustment require a direct dialogue between the Remarking Examiners and the previous Marking Examiners (with a record drawn up). In cases where there are signs of wrongdoing, such instances must be reported to the leaders of the Remarking Board for handling as prescribed.”

3. To amend and supplement the 3^rd dash at Point b, Clause 6 as follows:

“- The remarking data shall be exported from the software and recorded onto 02 identical CDs, which shall be sealed under the supervision of the Supervisory Team and the police, with a record drawn up bearing the signatures of the leaders of the Remarking Board. Therein, 01 CD shall be handed over to the Secretariat to be transmitted to the Ministry of Education and Training via the Exam Management system for management purposes; and 01 CD shall be handed over to the Chairperson of the Exam Council to update the results into the database of the Exam Management system and for archival purposes;”

4. To amend and supplement Clause 7 as follows:

“7. The adjusted scores of answer scripts following the remarking process shall be submitted by the Head of the Remarking Board to the Chairperson of the Exam Council for decision. The Chairperson of the Exam Council shall update the candidates’ remarked scores into the Exam Management system as prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training; and transmit the data to the Ministry of Education and Training via the Exam Management system.”

Article 11. To replace the phrase “issued by a hospital at district level or higher” in Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 40 of the Exam Regulations with the phrase “issued by a competent medical facility”.

Article 12. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses in Article 42 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

1. To amend and supplement Point d, Clause 2 as follows:

“d) Students of Kinh ethnic group, and foreign nationals residing in Vietnam, who study at upper secondary schools located in extremely disadvantaged communes, border communes, and former wartime safe-zone communes eligible for investment under Program 135 pursuant to Decision No. 135/QD-TTg dated 31 July 1998 of the Prime Minister (counted retrospectively from the time such communes complete Program 135); in extremely disadvantaged coastal and island communes; or in communes in areas I, II, and III, and communes with extremely disadvantaged villages in ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas as prescribed by the current law regulations, for at least two-thirds of their upper secondary education duration;”

2. To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 3 as follows:

“a) Students of ethnic minorities who study at upper secondary schools located in extremely disadvantaged communes, border communes, and former wartime safe-zone communes eligible for investment under Program 135 pursuant to Decision No. 135/QD-TTg dated 31 July 1998 of the Prime Minister (counted retrospectively from the time such communes complete Program 135); in extremely disadvantaged coastal and island communes; or in communes in areas I, II, and III, and communes with extremely disadvantaged villages in ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas as prescribed by the current law regulations, for at least two-thirds of their upper secondary education duration;”

Article 13. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 47 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“2. Sequence of approving the recognition of high school graduation:

a) Within 05 days from the date the exam results are announced, the Director of the provincial-level Department of Education and Training shall approve the recognition of high school graduation for eligible candidates and take accountability to the Ministry of Education and Training for the high school graduation recognition results of their province;

b) The provincial-level Departments of Education and Training shall submit to the Ministry of Education and Training the list of candidates whose high school graduation has been recognized immediately upon completion of the examination (including those recognized following remarking) for management and monitoring purposes.”

Article 14. To annul the word “Inspection” in the title of Chapter IX of the Exam Regulations.

Article 15. To amend and supplement Article 52 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“Article 52. Checking of the Exam

1. All stages of the Exam shall be checked in accordance with the Ministry of Education and Training’s guidelines on checking of exams.

2. The Ministry of Education and Training shall organize the checking of all stages of the exam at localities. The Minister of Education and Training shall decide to establish delegations to check all stages of the exam, or assign such decision-making to the Chief of the Ministry’s Office.

3. The Chairperson of the provincial People’s Committee shall direct the checking of High School Graduation Exam at the locality in accordance with the Ministry of Education and Training’s guidelines on checking of exams.

4. The Director of the provincial-level Department of Education and Training shall decide to establish delegations to check exam preparation, invigilation, marking, remarking, and consideration for high school graduation recognition at the locality.

5. Where necessary, the Minister of Education and Training shall request the Government Inspectorate to organize inspections of all stages of the Exam as prescribed by the Law on Inspection and relevant law regulations. The Chairperson of the provincial People’s Committee shall direct the organization of inspections across all stages of the Exam upon the request of the Ministry of Education and Training or the provincial-level Exam Steering Committee.”

Article 16. To annul Point c, Clause 1, Article 55 of the Exam Regulation.

Article 17. To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 59 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“4. Direct, guide, and organize the checking of the exam in accordance with the law regulations.”

Article 18. To amend and supplement Article 60 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“Article 60. The provincial-level People’s Committees shall:

1. Bear full responsibility for directing the organization of the exam at their localities.

2. Establish provincial-level Examination Steering Committees; approve the plans, schedules, and funding for organizing the examination as submitted by provincial-level Departments of Education and Training; and direct and assign tasks to provincial-level Departments of Education and Training, relevant provincial-level departments, agencies, and sectoral authorities, and commune-/ward-level People’s Committees in organizing the High School Graduation Examination, ensuring full and strict compliance with the Examination Regulations and guiding documents issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

3. Direct and organize the inspection and checking of the exam within their competence at the localities as prescribed.”

Article 19. To amend and supplement Clause 5 and Clause 6, Article 61 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“5. Assume the primary responsibility for the establishment, direction, and organization of the implementation of tasks of the Exam Council and its subordinate Boards; decide on the number of Exam Paper Printing Boards, Dummy Numbering Boards, Marking Boards, and Remarking Boards (where more than one Board of each type is established, a plan shall be developed to ensure quality, efficiency, and consistency among them; each Board shall operate in a single designated area); organize professional training for examination administration; and direct educational institutions to prepare the necessary facilities for the examination.

6. Organize the review and recognition of high school graduation for candidates; direct the issuance of High School Graduation Diplomas and Certificates of completion of the general education program; direct the issuance of Certificates of examination results to candidates; publicly announce the score distribution of exam subjects; and reconcile the average exam scores of the exam subjects against the average scores of the corresponding subjects in the 12^th-grade academic year of high schools within the province.”

Article 20. To amend and supplement Clause 4 and Clause 5, Article 63 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“4. Receive applications, compile a list of candidates applying for remarking, and transfer such list to the provincial-level Department of Education and Training.

5. Issue the Certificates of exam results and the Certificates of completion of the general education program.”

Article 21. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 64 of the Exam Regulations as follows:

“2. Organize the implementation of tasks related to exam organization and checking upon request of the Minister of Education and Training./.”

Article 22. To replace Appendix I, Appendix II, and Appendix III of the Exam Regulations with the appendices to this Circular.

Article 23. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from April 24, 2026.

2. The Chief of the Ministry’s Office, the Director of the Vietnam Education Quality Management Agency, the Director of the Planning and Finance Department, and the Heads of relevant units under the Ministry of Education and Training; the Chairpersons of the People’s Committees of provinces and municipalities; the Directors of provincial-level Departments of Education and Training; the Directors of university systems and academies, and the Rectors of universities; the Principals of high schools shall be responsible for the implementation of this Circular./.