More than 571,000 high school students nationwide sit for the national university entrance examinations on July 4 seeking a place at one of the 141 universities and colleges.

This begins another nail-biting season that will last throughout July.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the number of registered applications was nearly 768,000, as one student can make several applications.

And as they do every year, in the first days of July, volunteers are busy helping students from other provinces who come to big cities to sit for the exam.

More than 22,000 university students and others have volunteered to help students and relatives find accommodation and ways of getting around the big cities.

Deputy Education Minister Bui Van Ga has called on students to avoid cheating. He said inspectors and local education officers would step up measures to deal with the problem.

The first phase of university entrance exams this year will take place on July 4 and 5, and the second one on July 9 and 10.-VNA