According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, preparations are being carried out according to plan, from facilities, personnel, medical work, security and order to anti-fraud plans using high-tech equipment.
2026 is the first year the exam is organized in Ho Chi Minh City after expanding administrative boundaries. The whole city has 142,899 registered candidates, including 7,978 independent candidates. To serve the exam, the city arranges 248 exam sites with nearly 6,000 exam rooms throughout the area.
Because many exam sites were used in the recent 10th grade entrance exam, the review of facilities and equipment has been carried out early, ensuring full compliance with the requirements of organizing the exam.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, said that the expansion of boundaries has significantly increased the distance from the center to some areas, in some places up to nearly 200km. Faced with this reality, the city has developed a plan to transport exam questions and exam papers suitable for each area.
Accordingly, the exam papers will be handed over to the exam sites one day before the exam day under the coordination of the education sector and the police force. After the end of the final exam session, the exam papers are collected, transported immediately to the designated place and organized continuous security to ensure absolute safety.
For the Con Dao special zone, the city develops separate transportation options for exam questions and exam papers, including air transportation options and other contingency scenarios to proactively handle in all situations.
In parallel with the preparation work of the education sector, high schools in the area have also completed the review for 12th grade students. In May 2026, 100% of high schools in Ho Chi Minh City organized a high school graduation mock exam, helping students get acquainted with the exam structure, regulations and official exam organization procedures.
Vo Thi Dong Anh, a 12th grade student in Vuon Lai ward, Ho Chi Minh City, said that in the last days before the exam, she focused on systematizing knowledge in 4 registered exam subjects instead of learning new content. "This year, I chose Foreign Language and Physics as two elective subjects to both consider graduation and serve university admission. After the mock exams, I realized the weak knowledge parts to review again. Currently, I mainly practice exam questions, review errors and adjust the test speed" - Dong Anh shared.
Meanwhile, Tran Quoc Bao (Ben Thanh ward, Ho Chi Minh City) shared that taking only 4 subjects helps him have the conditions to focus on deeper review for subjects serving university admission.
The school organizes mock exams and disseminates regulations very carefully, so I am used to the way of doing the test as well as the regulations in the exam room" - Quoc Bao said.
