LookAtVietnam – More than one million students will enter the university entrance exams in one week.

More than one million students will enter the university entrance exams in one week. To date, universities have reportedly readied for the exam-takers, but they also remain in a state of anxious suspense that, despite careful preparation, power outages may mar the process.

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Many universities began preparing for the exam season since last December, contacting secondary and high schools to lease rooms for test-taking.

Deputy Director of Post and Telecommunications Technology Institute Le Huu Lap observed that his institute paid deposits for exam rooms in December 2009, allowing them to pay reasonable rates. Early booking also helped the institute choose suitable rooms nearby, making it convenient to transport the exams.

In order to have enough seats for 6500 examinees, the institute rented 50 rooms this year. There will be some 170 exam rooms in total, requiring 400 proctors and staff, according to Lap.

Dr. Bui Thanh Nhan, Deputy President of the Trade University, confirmed tha they are also ready. More than 2000 proctors have been trained for the exams.

Nhan revealed that their preparations also started in December 2009. Besides exam rooms at the university, 900 other classrooms have been rented. The furthest exam room is located 7-8 kilometres from the university. 39,000 students have registered to take exams, so one student will have to compete with 11 others to obtain one of the 3400 seats at the university next year.

Dr. Vu Viet Binh, Deputy Head of the Training Division under Hanoi National University, commented that they did not encounter any big difficulties in preparing for exams. Binh added that rentable rooms were all booked two or three months ago.

The main fear now is that Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) may cut power during the exams. They have every reason to worry. EVN officials, when answering questions from the media, responded that “power cuts for household consumption are unavoidable.”

The number of registered exam takers for the Post and Telecommunications Technology Institute is lower than last year. Lap claimed he is not worried, because he believes a high number will show up to take the exams.

Lap’s biggest worry is that the electricity may be cut, which will not only affect organization, but also make the exam atmosphere tense. Nhan concurred, and also frets that a power outage may occur.

The Ministry of Education and Training has asked people’s committees in provinces and cities to provide power and water and ensure telecommunications and other technical conditions for the exams. EVN has been requested to instruct area power companies to provide stable power during exams, even in inclement weather conditions.

Kieu Oanh