Vietnam teachers in 'exam bribes'

A group of 26 teachers and education officers are being tried in Vietnam accused of taking bribes from pupils.

The defendants have been charged with accepting tens of thousands of dollars from more than 1,700 students in return for improving their results.

The trial, in the southern Bac Lieu province, comes after a government campaign against rampant cheating.

Last year dozens of students were caught with mobile phones concealed in their clothes during exams.

Court official Tran Van Khang told Thanh Nien newspaper that the defendants are charged with accepting bribes totalling 533 million dong ($33,000; £16,000).

'Achievement syndrome'

Police were alerted to the alleged mass fraud in June 2006, when a teacher was arrested and accused of taking bribes from 11 students in return for passing them, the paper reported.

Exam results for the province were rechecked and the declared scores were found to be significantly higher than the actual figures, Thanh Nien said.

Vietnam has had recurring difficulties with exam cheating and falsified results.

Hoang Nguyen, from the BBC Vietnamese Service, says the problems are partly due to a trend known as "achievement syndrome", where district officials stand to lose their jobs if exam results are poor.

A video emerged last year of a classroom of students apparently making telephone calls and helping each other with questions during their university entrance exams.

Education minister Nguyen Thien Nhanh later announced a crackdown on cheating and the falsification of exam results, and an end to achievement syndrome.

The trial of the teachers, which began on Monday, is due to end later this week.