Many parents spend millions to reserve a spot for their children in private 10th grade schools.

Every day, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan (Cau Giay district, Hanoi) goes to work, takes her child to extra classes, and sprints for the 10th grade public school entrance exam this year.

Her daughter set a goal to enter Cau Giay High School, which last year had a fairly high admission score - 41.3 points (equivalent to 8.3 points/subject). Although the teacher assessed her academic ability as being among the top in the class, she was still worried about her daughter's exam results. Therefore, right after Tet, she and her husband frantically searched for information about private schools to make a backup plan for their daughter.

Many parents in Hanoi spend millions to reserve places for their children in 10th grade at private schools. (Illustration photo)

After much consideration, Lan's family decided to apply for her child to Doan Thi Diem High School (Bac Tu Liem District).

According to her, if she fails to get into a public school, paying to secure a place at a private school will also help the family feel secure and reduce pressure on their child during this final stage. To secure a place, Doan Thi Diem High School requires a VND2 million deposit, which is non-refundable if the student does not enroll.

The school is more than 5 km from home and 2 million VND is not too much, so Lan and her husband decided to spend it immediately.

Most private high schools in the city currently require candidates to pay a deposit when registering for admission, which is considered a deposit fee.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Linh (Cau Giay District), whose child is in grade 9 at Trung Hoa Secondary School, said that while waiting for Hanoi to finalize the 10th grade entrance exam plan, his family proactively sought information on admission to some private schools in the city. He decided to register his child for Ly Thai To Secondary and High School (Cau Giay District) with a deposit fee of 10 million VND/student.

He believes that paying the deposit fee at this school helps his child reduce some of the pressure of studying for exams. If he gets into a public school, that's good, but if he doesn't, his family can still afford to send him to a private school.

Booking a place for their children in private schools is being chosen by most parents as a safe solution, helping their children reduce psychological pressure.

Ms. Thu Huong (Dong Da district) is urgently looking for a private school to reserve a place for her child. She is interested in Ta Quang Buu High School but both have not announced enrollment yet.

The 10th grade entrance exam is stressful, although her child has good academic performance, she still plans to register for 1-2 more private schools in Cau Giay district near her house to have more options in the future. Huong and her husband determined that they would have to pay a deposit of 7-10 million VND for peace of mind.

The deposit fees of private schools currently range from 2 to 23 million VND. Archimedes Academy High School (Dong Anh District) has the highest admission fee for first-year students and transfer students to date (23 million VND/student), with monthly tuition of 8 million VND.

The current admission fees at some private schools are as follows: Ly Thai To High School (Cau Giay) 11 million VND/student; Newton High School 12 million VND; Phenikaa Inter-level High School (5 million VND/student), Hanoi Academy High School (Tay Ho) 20 million VND.

In the 2024-2025 school year, Hanoi will have nearly 135,000 students graduating from junior high school and taking the entrance exam for grade 10, an increase of more than 5,000 students compared to the previous year. The city currently has 237 high schools, including 121 public high schools and more than 100 non-public high schools. The annual rate of students studying at public schools is only about 60%, causing pressure on both students and parents.

Khanh Son

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