'Cooling down' the 10th grade entrance exam in Ho Chi Minh City

INCREASE TARGETS, ADJUST BALANCE BY REGION

According to the 10th grade enrollment target for the 2025-2026 school year announced by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training last weekend, 115 public high schools enrolled 70,070 students, reaching 79% of the expected number of students graduating from junior high school (an increase of 14% compared to the previous school year).

This year, it is expected that the entrance exam for 9th graders to 10th grade in Ho Chi Minh City will be easier because the city has many solutions to reduce pressure.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said that the quota for the new school year is calculated and increased or decreased according to the district. The quota assigned to each high school is suitable to the reality to reduce pressure on students based on the following criteria: Facilities, classroom utilization rate, number of 12th graders graduating and the need to increase/decrease class size of high schools.

According to the Department of Education and Training, Ho Chi Minh City still ensures the rate of students completing junior high school to enter public grade 10 at about 80%, but each district, county, and Thu Duc City area has been balanced, calculated, and adjusted based on the number of grade 9 students in each locality, in harmony with the general rate of the city. Localities with high pressure on students will have the grade 10 quota of public high schools in that area increase. On the contrary, localities with less pressure in enrolling students into grade 10 every year will have a stable grade 10 quota this year.

In particular, areas such as District 12, Tan Binh, Hoc Mon District... have a high number of students, the annual enrollment pressure is greater than other areas, so the Department of Education and Training calculates, balances, and adjusts to increase the 10th grade quota of public high schools in this area or nearby to ensure study places for students. As for saturated areas and areas with stable annual study places such as Binh Chanh, Can Gio..., the Department assigns enrollment quotas according to the needs and proposals of the school, based on the conditions of facilities, teaching staff...

On the other hand, in suburban districts that are building new rural areas such as Cu Chi, Binh Chanh, Can Gio, etc., all schools are required to meet national standards. Therefore, there will be more control over the number of students than in other areas, so the quota for grade 10 will be calculated and adjusted accordingly.

Proposal to establish a high school in Binh Tan District

The People's Committee of Binh Tan District proposed that the Department of Education and Training advise the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to issue a decision to establish Binh Tri Dong B High School in 2025 (expected to start construction in April 2025), in time to prepare for the 10th grade enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year.

In which, the Admissions Council of An Lac High School is assigned to support the 10th grade admissions and hand over students to Binh Tri Dong B High School when there is an official decision to establish.

Regarding the location and facilities serving teaching and learning activities for the 2025-2026 school year of Binh Tri Dong B High School during the construction period, the People's Committee of Binh Tan District proposed to temporarily borrow classrooms from Binh Tri Dong B Secondary School at 19 Ten Lua extension, Binh Tri Dong B Ward, Binh Tan District, to organize teaching and learning activities.

INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING INTO TOP SCHOOLS

According to the roadmap, from the 2025-2026 school year, Ho Chi Minh City will stop organizing specialized classes in 4 high schools: Gia Dinh (Binh Thanh District), Mac Dinh Chi (District 6), Nguyen Thuong Hien (Tan Binh District), Nguyen Huu Huan (Thu Duc City). Thus, from this year onwards, the above 4 schools will only organize regular 10th grade.

It is known that the total quota of the 4 schools above is 3,455 students. Compared to previous years, this year the quota for grade 10 in these schools has increased significantly. Leading the way is Gia Dinh High School, this year increasing 360 students, equivalent to 8 grade 10 classes. Next is Nguyen Thuong Hien High School increasing 315 students, equivalent to 7 classes. Mac Dinh Chi High School increased 180 students, equivalent to 4 classes. Nguyen Huu Huan High School increased 135 students, equivalent to 3 classes.

On the contrary, because there are only specialized classes organized at Le Hong Phong and Tran Dai Nghia specialized high schools, the quota for specialized 10th grade classes this year is 1,330 students (including 70 students from Tran Dai Nghia specialized high school for which the Department of Education and Training is asking the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to approve an increase in quota).

Meanwhile, last school year, a total of 6 high schools organized specialized classes with a total enrollment target of 1,995 students. Thus, this year, there will be a reduction of 635 specialized class students compared to the 2024-2025 enrollment season. This will increase the competition for specialized 10th grade classes at Tran Dai Nghia and Le Hong Phong specialized high schools. A teacher explained that every year, the above 4 high schools organize specialized classes with an enrollment target of about 770 students. By this year's enrollment season, when there are only 2 specialized schools, Le Hong Phong and Tran Dai Nghia, even though the total number of students for these 2 schools has increased by 105, it is still much lower than the previous enrollment target for specialized classes, so the pressure of competition for specialized schools will increase.

Assessing the overall enrollment target and the level of competition for public grade 10 this year, Ms. Nguyen Doan Trang, Principal of Nguyen Du Secondary School (District 1), said that with the fact that the total number of grade 9 students this year decreased by about 10,000 students compared to the previous school year, but the enrollment target increased by 14%, it shows that the pressure on competition for public school places this year is much lighter than in previous enrollment seasons. In addition, the opportunity to enter top high schools is wide open when the above 4 schools do not organize specialized classes and increase the quota for regular classes in large numbers.

Similarly, the principal of a secondary school in District 3 said that stopping enrollment in specialized classes and adding quotas for regular classes could reduce the level of competition for admission to top schools. In recent years, on average, the four high schools listed above have recruited a total of 22 specialized 10th grade classes each year. When they no longer recruit specialized 10th grade classes, the schools will increase the quota for regular 10th grade classes, so students will have more opportunities to get into top schools.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said it will implement synchronous solutions to increase opportunities for students completing secondary school this year to study in public schools.

Photo: Dao Ngoc Thach

N MANY SOLUTIONS TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF ACCEPTING PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Regarding this year's 10th grade enrollment target, Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, said that the Department is implementing synchronous solutions to increase the opportunity to study at public schools for students completing junior high school.

In addition to increasing the rate of students studying in public high schools from 65% in recent years to 79% this year, the 10th grade enrollment is carried out in 2 phases. In phase 2, depending on the actual application submission situation and the needs of high schools, the Department of Education and Training decides to recruit additional students and has written instructions to ensure the rights of candidates, on the basis of recruiting enough students for schools that are still lacking many quotas.

In particular, in the 2025-2026 school year, to ensure sufficient enrollment for specialized 10th graders, integrated English classes under Project 5695 and schools that regularly have a high rate of candidates passing the entrance exam but not enrolling due to regional characteristics, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has authorized the Department of Education and Training to balance and adjust enrollment at these schools higher than the initial target but not exceeding 20%. This is aimed at maintaining enough students according to the school's education plan.

Advice when registering for grade 10

Students applying for grade 10 admission to public schools and specialized high schools will do so entirely online at ts10.hcm.edu.vn.

Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, advised that before registering for public grade 10, students need to find out the criteria such as: Personal capacity is suitable for high schools with standard scores in which group. Parents and students should prioritize schools near home for convenient travel, ensuring health during the 3 years of high school. The subject combinations chosen according to the 2018 General Education Program of the high school they plan to register for are suitable for the career orientation of the students and their families or not...

Technically, it is important to note that the school registering for the first choice must have a clearly different standard score from the high school where the student will register for the second choice; the school registering for the second choice must have a clearly different standard score from the high school where the student will register for the third choice.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ha-nhiet-ky-thi-tuyen-sinh-lop-10-tai-tphcm-185250413193709827.htm