The race to enter public 10th grade is heating up every day.

Double pressure

Studying full-time every week, with only Sunday afternoons and evenings free is the schedule that Phan Thanh H - Van Quan Secondary School, Ha Dong has maintained for many months now. Besides studying at school, he also participates in evening classes, mainly extra classes.

' My goal is Le Quy Don High School (Ha Dong), knowing that the competition is very fierce, I have to 'work day and night' , Phan Thanh H shared. Currently, my friends and I are taking the mid-term exam for the second semester, the study program for final year students will be pushed forward so that they have time to review.

The annual public 10th grade entrance exam is known as a 'fire pan'. Illustrative photo

Setting a priority goal of enrolling in Nguyen Hue High School for the Gifted, Nguyen Hong D from Luong The Vinh Secondary and High School, Tan Trieu campus, said that as a private school, students start school about 2 months earlier than their public school peers. Therefore, final year students finish their semester earlier than their public school peers, giving them more time to focus on reviewing for exams.

Besides the graduation exams, D has to study Biology to take the specialized exam. ' The pressure on us is quite big ,' D shared.

The annual 10th grade entrance exam is known as a "fire pan", not only for teachers and schools but also for parents.

Ms. Nguyen Thanh L - Phuc La ward, Ha Dong district, this year she has a pair of twins studying at Van Yen Secondary School taking the 10th grade entrance exam. She decided to let her children study at a public school to reduce the burden of tuition fees. Right from the second semester of 7th grade, she searched for "reputable" exam preparation teachers for her children to attend.

' I just picked up my child from afternoon class and immediately sent him to evening extra classes. Studying is too hard, ' said Ms. Thanh L.

However, as she said, there was no other way because to raise 2 children to study at a private school in the Ha Dong area with a cost of about 10 million VND/month/student, not to mention other expenses, her family could not afford it.

Besides worrying about the competitiveness of public school places, according to Ms. Thanh L, this year is the first year of students taking the exam according to the 2018 General Education Program, and the exam format is unknown, so she is very worried.

The war 'comes back as scheduled'

Expressing similar concerns, Ms. Pham Thi H - a 9th grade literature teacher at a secondary school in Thuong Tin - said that this year, students will take the exam according to the 2018 General Education Program, which will be very difficult. ' For example, in Literature, students will not take the exam based on the text as learned in textbooks but will have to follow the language material outside the textbook ,' Ms. Pham Thi H emphasized.

This year, the non-specialized public 10th grade exam will take place on June 7-8; on June 9, specialized candidates will take the exam. Photo: Nhat Minh

She also said that the city's Department of Education and Training has disseminated to schools the sample questions for this year's exam. Based on that, combined with documents collected from prestigious universities such as Hanoi Pedagogical University, she researched, learned and found the most concise and succinct way of expression to help students absorb knowledge effectively.

' This year's exam structure is expected to have 2 parts. The reading comprehension part is quite basic. The argumentative part includes: Literary argumentative part will use materials outside of textbooks as shared, which is difficult for students; the social argumentative part with a 5-point structure is really a big challenge, requiring not only thinking and expression but also social understanding of students ,' Ms. Pham Thi H said worriedly.

It is known that in order to best support students in the upcoming 10th grade entrance exam, the school is trying to finish the subjects that are not tested in April, and dedicate the entire month of May for students to review and consolidate their knowledge.

The entrance exam for grade 10 of public schools has been considered 'more difficult than the university entrance exam' for many years, especially in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

In Hanoi, in the 2025-2026 school year, it is expected that about 127,000 students will graduate from junior high school, but public schools can only accept about 79,000 students, accounting for about 60% of the total. This means that about 48,000 students will have to seek opportunities at private schools, vocational training centers or other educational institutions.

The reason for this situation is that the number of public high schools is too small, while the population in cities is increasing rapidly.

It is known that in order to meet the increasing demand for learning and reduce the pressure on enrollment in public grade 10, Hanoi has implemented a plan to build more public high schools in the city. In the period of 2025-2030, the city plans to build 30-35 new public high schools. Districts have allocated land and are in the process of reviewing to implement these projects. For example, Cau Giay district will build 3 new public high schools; Hoang Mai district and Dong Anh district also have plans to build more schools.

Building more public high schools is a fundamental solution to cool down the heat of the annual 10th grade entrance exam. However, this solution requires a long implementation time. With the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year ahead, students and parents need to be well prepared and make appropriate choices.

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training has issued guidelines for admission to grade 10 in the 2025-2026 school year. Specifically, at 9:00 a.m. on June 6, students will go to the exam site to study the exam regulations. The non-specialized grade 10 public exam will take place on June 7-8; on June 9, specialized candidates will take the exam.

It is expected that from July 4 to 7, the Department of Education and Training will announce the exam scores of candidates and the benchmark scores of each school. From July 4 to 10, receive appeal requests from students. From July 7 to 9, return the Result Notification Form to students.

Hai Linh

Source: https://congthuong.vn/cuoc-dua-vao-lop-10-cong-lap-nong-len-tung-ngay-379905.html