On the afternoon of June 27, 2025, Major General Tran Dinh Chung, Deputy Director of the Department of Internal Political Security (PA03) under Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security, revealed a startling development during a press conference on the 2025 National High School Graduation Exam. Authorities had uncovered three students using artificial intelligence (AI) to illegally solve exam questions, marking a new frontier in exam security challenges.
The Ministry's investigative agency discovered that these three students, spread across two examination boards, employed their mobile phones to photograph parts of the exam papers and then sent these images to AI applications for answers. In a separate case in Lam Dong province, a student went as far as attaching a miniature camera inside their sleeve to capture exam questions and transmit them outside for assistance. While the exact timing of these violations remains undisclosed, the students involved have admitted to their misconduct after being confronted by authorities.
Major General Chung emphasized that these incidents are isolated and have not compromised the overall security or integrity of the exam. Nevertheless, he sounded a cautionary note about the rapidly advancing sophistication of AI technology, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive countermeasures. “The technology will become increasingly sophisticated, requiring coordinated solutions including awareness campaigns targeting students and parents,” he stated.
At the same press briefing, Professor Huynh Van Chuong, Director of the Quality Management Department at the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), confirmed that some students had violated exam regulations by using phones during the test and were duly disciplined. Importantly, no exam officials or invigilators were found to have breached the rules. MOET assessed the invigilation process as proceeding safely, seriously, and in accordance with plan.
The backdrop to these cheating incidents is a significant overhaul of the exam itself. Professor Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Head of the Exam Board for the 2025 National High School Graduation Exam, explained that this year marked the first time MOET developed exam questions without relying on a traditional question bank. Instead, the exam was crafted primarily through expert methodologies and by referencing previously published and tested questions to ensure alignment with teaching and learning objectives.
Unlike previous years, the exam matrix was not predetermined but generated randomly during the question creation process. This randomness allowed for varied combinations of topics and cognitive levels—ranging from recognition and understanding to application—making the exam content unpredictable. “The matrix is generated in a highly spontaneous manner, with no one knowing the exact structure beforehand,” Professor Ha said.
This novel approach aimed to promote fairness and objectivity, preventing students from simply memorizing or guessing likely exam topics. It also intended to encourage genuine learning rather than superficial preparation. However, the new format introduced challenges. Students reported that the 2025 exams contained many innovative question types and were notably difficult, especially in Mathematics and English.
Addressing concerns about the exam's difficulty, Professor Ha clarified that the 2025 test was the first to incorporate competency-based assessment, a core factor in question design. The structure and format of the exams, particularly for foreign language subjects like English, Russian, Chinese, German, Japanese, and Korean, changed significantly to align with these new assessment goals.
“There are two key points about difficulty,” Professor Ha explained. “First, the new question characteristics might be unfamiliar to students. Second, the exam board was directed to avoid abrupt changes in difficulty, aiming for a gradual transition in this inaugural year.”
To prepare students and teachers for these changes, MOET had released the exam structure and sample questions earlier than usual in 2024. They also conducted large-scale trial exams across Vietnam’s three regions to gauge student performance and adjust difficulty levels appropriately. All score distribution data were rigorously analyzed by the exam development teams before finalizing the questions.
Despite these efforts, some students and educators felt that the Math and English exams were harder or different from the published reference materials. Professor Ha acknowledged these concerns and promised a thorough review after the grading process concludes.
Compounding the complexity of this year's exam landscape was an incident that drew public attention shortly after the Math test on June 26. At 3:08 PM, just 38 minutes after the exam began, an anonymous user posted a photo of a Math exam question on an online AI learning platform, requesting an answer. The AI responded within a minute, providing the solution 1682.8. This question matched exactly with Question 2, Part III of the Math exam code 0118 for the 2025 graduation test.
According to exam regulations, students had until 4:00 PM to complete the Math exam, which started at 2:30 PM and lasted 90 minutes. The National Steering Committee overseeing the exam quickly responded to the incident, clarifying that the circulated information was inaccurate but had been taken seriously. They referred the case to the Ministry of Public Security’s technical department to trace the source, motives, verify facts, and enforce strict penalties. Results of this investigation are pending.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training reported that over 6,300 students nationwide registered to take foreign language exams under the 2006 General Education Program, which includes languages such as English, Russian, Chinese, German, Japanese, and Korean. Exam papers were distributed at 2:20 PM, with the official start time for the tests set at 2:30 PM, following strict procedural guidelines.
In light of these recent events, the Ministry of Public Security and MOET face the dual challenge of safeguarding exam integrity while adapting to the evolving educational landscape shaped by technology and reform. The use of AI in academic dishonesty represents a new frontier, requiring innovative solutions and vigilant enforcement.
As Major General Tran Dinh Chung noted, “While these are isolated cases, the rise of AI demands that we develop robust, synchronized strategies that include education and prevention to protect the fairness of our national exams.” Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education and Training continues to refine its exam processes, emphasizing competency-based assessment and randomization to foster genuine learning and uphold the credibility of Vietnam’s high school graduation exams.
