Why did Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine lower the score of candidate Au Nhat Huy?

The Admissions Council of Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine agreed to reduce the score of Au Nhat Huy, a candidate who was just admitted to the doctoral training program at the school, from 88.8 points to 88.3 points. However, this score did not affect the candidate's admission result.

Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine has concluded the 2025 doctoral enrollment process, including the case of candidate Au Nhat Huy.

Photo: Ha Anh

Establish a Working Group to review the doctoral admission process

On the afternoon of October 9, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine sent a dispatch to the leaders of the Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on reviewing the regulations on admission and training of doctoral level for candidates admitted to the doctoral program in 2025.

According to this report, on September 30, the school announced the results of the 2025 doctoral entrance exam. After that, information appeared on social networks that "there was a problem in the admission process". The incident was shared on many social media news sites, some of the content showed signs of speculation, along with the reporting of many press agencies in different directions, affecting the reputation of the school and creating negative public opinion in society.

After receiving the above information, the school established a Working Group to review the doctoral admission process in 2025. On October 9, the 2025-2026 Postgraduate Admissions Council met to consider the case of candidate Au Nhat Huy.

Candidate Au Nhat Huy's mother did not participate in this year's graduate admission process.

Based on the report of the Working Group and the meeting minutes of the Admissions Council, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine concluded.

Regarding the implementation process and admission records, the school has issued a notice of admission to the doctoral level in 2025 on time, publicly announced on the electronic information page according to current regulations, ensuring the conditions for taking the exam are in accordance with regulations. There are a total of 31 candidates taking the doctoral entrance exam in 4 majors, including: surgery (9 candidates), pediatrics (4 candidates), internal medicine (15 candidates) and otolaryngology (3 candidates). Candidate records are received, reviewed and fully archived.

The working group examined the documents and found that the determination of admission requirements (degrees, foreign language certificates, scientific works) was carried out in accordance with regulations. The admission process through the thesis defense and scoring session, the approval of admission results was carried out according to plan, with minutes of the Admissions Council meeting and a transparent scoring list.

Regarding the information reflected on social networks, the conclusion of Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine stated: "Some social networking sites and forums have posted and shared information about the case of candidate Au Nhat Huy, born in 2001, who was admitted to the doctorate program in medicine, along with comments and speculations about personal relationships and the transparency of the admission process." Regarding the case of candidate Au Nhat Huy, through inspection, the school confirmed that there was a candidate whose name was on the admission list, who was admitted according to the correct procedure, had valid documents at the time of admission and had an admission score according to the regulations.

Regarding the case of a relative of candidate Au Nhat Huy participating in the admission process, according to the training and admission regulations for doctoral degrees of the school, if a staff member or lecturer has a relative participating in the admission process, they will not participate in any council in the exam. In this case, Associate Professor, Doctor, Doctor Tran Thi Khanh Tuong, mother of candidate Au Nhat Huy, did not participate in any activities in the post-graduate admission process this year, in accordance with the principle of eliminating conflicts of interest and ensuring the provisions of the current doctoral admission and training regulations.

Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine commits to comply with the principles of scientific integrity in all of its activities.

Photo: Ha Anh

The lead author of an international paper announces the retraction of the published paper.

Regarding the issue related to the scientific article that candidate Au Nhat Huy submitted for the exam, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine said that all scientific articles that candidates submitted were published in journals in the List of Scientific Journals that are counted for points in 2025 according to Decision 26/QD-HDGSNN issued on July 11, 2025; Meeting the admission criteria in the Regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training "having research experience demonstrated through a master's thesis, or published scientific articles and reports" and the Regulations of the school "having research experience demonstrated through: a master's thesis, or published scientific articles/reports in peer-reviewed journals".

Specifically, at the time of application, the candidate submitted 8 articles, including 5 articles published in domestic journals, which are journals with 0-1 points according to the State Council of Professors' classification 2025, and 3 articles published in international journals, listed in the Scopus index at the time of publication.

Based on the 8 papers submitted by the candidate, the total converted score for research experience is 11 points, however the maximum score (ceiling) for the research experience section is only 10 points, and these 10 points are used by the professional subcommittee to calculate the total score. Therefore, the candidate's average total score is 88.8 points.

On October 8, the school received a notice from the main author of an international article, in the list of articles submitted by candidate Au Nhat Huy to calculate the exam score "Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: Insights From Vietnam" (Chronic Obstr Pulm Dis. 2025 Jul 25;12(4):294–303.), with the announced withdrawal of the article. The conversion score for the candidate's research experience with the remaining 7 articles will be 9.5 points. Therefore, the Admissions Council agreed to reduce the average total score from 88.8 points to 88.3 points, with this score not affecting the results of the doctoral entrance exam.

Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine said that the school has proactively responded to the press with official information, affirming that the admission process is carried out in accordance with current regulations, ensuring that training, research and admission activities take place as planned. The school is committed to complying with the principles of scientific integrity in all of its activities. If any issues related to scientific integrity of the school's collectives and individuals are discovered, it will continue to review, verify and handle them in accordance with regulations.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vi-sao-truong-dh-y-khoa-pham-ngoc-thach-ha-diem-cua-thi-sinh-au-nhat-huy-185251009181624359.htm