The number of 9th grade students in Ho Chi Minh City this year is 26,000 less than last year. So will the 10th grade entrance exam in 2025 be 'easy'?
An English lesson of grade 9/5 students at Nguyen Van To Secondary School, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: NHU HUNG
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 89,649 ninth graders are expected to graduate from junior high school in the city. Last year, the number was 115,759.
Famous schools increase quotas
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said that in recent years, the number of students who did not register for the entrance exam to public grade 10 schools was about 14,000 - 16,000, depending on the year. The reason is that these students have proactively chosen other types of study such as: vocational training, grade 10 study at private high schools, international schools, studying abroad...
Thus, if this year is the same as every year, the city will only have about 76,000 students taking the entrance exam to public 10th grade.
Meanwhile, in the 2024-2025 school year, public high schools in the city will enroll 77,355 students. If this target remains the same, perhaps this year Ho Chi Minh City will not need to hold a 10th grade entrance exam (?!).
However, the number 77,355 was increased after the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training realized that the number of 9th grade students that year had increased to a record high, many parents and teachers were worried because the "competition" rate for 10th grade was too high... The original quota was only 71,820 students.
Speaking to Tuoi Tre, a leader of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said: "The city cannot enroll 100% of junior high school graduates into public grade 10. Because determining the enrollment rate for public grade 10 must be based on the orientation of student streaming.
Specifically, based on Clause 2, Article 1 of Decision No. 522/QD-TTg dated May 14, 2018 of the Prime Minister on approving the project "Career education and orientation of student streaming in general education for the period 2018 - 2025".
In particular, the specific goal by 2020 is to strive for at least 30% of junior high school graduates to continue studying at vocational training institutions at elementary and intermediate levels; for localities with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, the target is at least 25%.
By 2025, strive for at least 40% of junior high school graduates to continue studying at vocational training institutions at elementary and intermediate levels; for localities with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, the rate will reach at least 30%".
Not only that, the 2025-2026 school year is the first year that four famous high schools in Ho Chi Minh City will stop enrolling students in specialized 10th grade. They are Gia Dinh, Nguyen Thuong Hien, Mac Dinh Chi and Nguyen Huu Huan high schools.
Mr. Lam Trieu Nghi, principal of Nguyen Thuong Hien High School, informed: "In previous years, we recruited five specialized classes, each class had 35 students. This year, we did not recruit specialized 10th grade classes, so the school proposed to the department to add five regular 10th grade classes, each class had 45 students.
The school's target for enrolling integrated 10th graders remains the same at 3 classes. If this proposal is approved by the department, next school year Nguyen Thuong Hien School will enroll 18 10th graders, an increase of 225 students in regular 10th graders compared to last year."
Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Khanh Van, principal of Gia Dinh High School, also said that next school year the school would like to increase the enrollment quota for regular 10th grade from 13 to 19 classes compared to last year, equivalent to 855 students. For integrated 10th grade, the school will still enroll 3 classes, equivalent to 105 students.
If the above proposals are passed, this is good news for this year's candidates.
Candidates in Ho Chi Minh City take the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2024-2025 school year - Photo: DUYEN PHAN
Additional recruitment into specialized grade 10
Ho Chi Minh City has implemented additional recruitment for public grade 10 (regular class) since 2023. The additional recruitment was decided by the Department of Education and Training of the city right after high schools finished the first round of receiving applications for grade 10. That is, high schools that do not have enough enrollment quotas will continue to recruit additional students.
The reason why schools cannot recruit enough students is because many students have taken the 10th grade entrance exam and achieved the admission score but did not submit their application for admission. The reason for not enrolling is because those students chose a different path of study than public schools.
After 2 years of implementation, experts have assessed this as a humane decision by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training. Every year, thanks to the additional recruitment, about 1,000 students who failed all 3 wishes to enter public grade 10 have a place to study in a public school.
However, public opinion has also raised the question: Why does Ho Chi Minh City only recruit additional students for regular 10th grade but not for specialized 10th grade? While in reality, many specialized classes at Le Hong Phong and Tran Dai Nghia High Schools for the Gifted do not have enough students to enroll?
Many people wonder why the entrance exam to the 10th grade specialized class is so difficult, but why do students who have passed not enroll? Because in Ho Chi Minh City, there are 2 entrance exams to the 10th grade specialized class: one organized by the Gifted High School (Ho Chi Minh City National University) and one organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training.
Students are allowed to register for both exams and many have passed both. Of course, they can only choose one place to study. And it is natural that the specialized classes in this or that school cannot meet the enrollment quota. Perhaps that is why every year the Department of Education
Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training must organize an additional entrance exam for specialized 10th graders (previous years, this exam was held after the end of semester 1, this year it will be held after the end of the 2024-2025 school year). However, this additional entrance exam is not highly appreciated by experts. Because after organizing an additional expensive exam, many specialized classes still cannot recruit enough students.
Not only teachers but also leaders of specialized schools, parents and students are looking forward to a correct decision from the City Department of Education and Training in enrolling students in specialized 10th grade classes next school year.
This year, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training will still base on the facilities, staff... of high schools and the orientation of the stream to determine the enrollment quota for grade 10.
A leader of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City
How is the 10th grade entrance exam in 2025?
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the 10th grade entrance exam in 2025 will take place on June 6 and 7. Candidates will take three subjects: math, literature (120 minutes/subject), and foreign language (90 minutes).
Candidates registering for the entrance exam to specialized high schools in the city must take the fourth subject (specialized subject) with a test time of 150 minutes/subject.
This year is the first year that 9th graders will take the 10th grade exam according to the new program. So the exam will have many new things.
According to Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc - Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, the literature exam will be based on the requirements for reading and writing in the 2018 General Education Program, mainly grades 8 and 9. The exam is designed to integrate the assessment of reading comprehension and writing skills, and the content in the writing section is related to the text in the reading comprehension section.
The math exam will include the following knowledge streams: geometry and measurement; numbers and algebra; statistics and probability. The exam content aims to assess mathematical abilities such as: mathematical thinking and reasoning; mathematical problem solving; mathematical modeling.
The English test aims to assess language proficiency not only based on students' memorized knowledge of grammar and vocabulary; the test also aims to assess the ability to understand and apply language knowledge in appropriate contexts, especially real-life situations.
Should lower the benchmark
"I propose that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training should decide to lower the admission score and recruit additional students as soon as specialized schools finish receiving applications for grade 10. When Le Hong Phong and Tran Dai Nghia High Schools for the Gifted list which classes do not meet their enrollment quota, they will continue to recruit in the second round. The subjects eligible to participate in the second round are students who have completed all four subjects in the department's entrance exam for grade 10 but failed all their specialized choices in the first round.
In previous years, when the city recruited students for specialized 10th grade classes for all regular high schools, the reason was that lowering the admission score would cause a domino effect. This year, the department's exam has only two schools recruiting specialized 10th grade classes, Le Hong Phong and Tran Dai Nghia, so lowering the admission score will not cause any disruption but will have a huge effect," a math teacher at Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted analyzed.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-sinh-lop-10-o-tp-hcm-nam-nay-se-de-tho-hon-20250215075426269.htm
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