In recent years, in Ho Chi Minh City, the situation of students admitted to 10th grade but not enrolling is quite common.
In the period 2023-2025, the city recorded about 2,000-4,000 students admitted but not enrolled each year, mostly concentrated in high schools in suburban areas.
Many cases are identified as being due to students not considering carefully when registering aspirations, leading to the fact that when they are admitted, they realize that the travel distance each day can be up to tens of kilometers, exceeding their ability to meet.
Sharing with reporters, a high school principal in Ho Chi Minh City said that for many consecutive years, the school has always had to recruit additional 10th grade students.
According to this person, the fact that students are admitted but do not enroll not only affects the direct rights of students but also affects the school's admission plan, losing opportunities for other candidates.
Faced with that situation, the regulations on enrollment in grade 10 for the 2026-2027 school year, the distance from home to school when registering aspirations have been specifically stated.
In which, the secondary school is assigned the responsibility of advising students to choose schools close to their residence, convenient to move, suitable for their abilities and family conditions.
The city's enrollment system will support calculating the distance from the current residence (according to VNeID data) to each registered aspiration, and also issue warnings if it exceeds the permissible limit.
In case students still register aspirations with a distance exceeding regulations (over 10 km for Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong before the merger and over 13 km for Ba Ria - Vung Tau before the merger), the secondary school must work directly with parents, make a consultation record and clearly notify: after the adjustment period or after having the admission results, candidates will not be allowed to change their aspirations. This means that all choices must be carefully considered from the beginning.
Mr. Cao Duc Khoa - Principal of Nguyen Du Secondary School (Ben Thanh ward) said that choosing a suitable aspiration is not only based on scores but also must consider many practical factors.
According to Mr. Khoa, first of all, students need to properly assess their academic ability to choose a school with a suitable benchmark score, avoid setting too high or too low aspirations. The selection should be safe, clearly stratified between aspirations to increase the chances of admission.
Besides, the distance from home to school is very important but is often underestimated. If choosing a school that is too far away, daily commuting will cause fatigue, directly affecting the health and long-term learning efficiency of students.
The principal of Nguyen Du Secondary School recommends that parents should prioritize schools with convenient locations, helping students save travel time, have more rest and self-study time. This is even more necessary in the context that the new education program requires students to be proactive, strengthen self-study and apply knowledge.
Parents should also not rush to "top schools" at all costs. According to him, the most important thing is still to choose a suitable learning environment, helping students develop their abilities and develop sustainably.
The entrance exam to 10th grade for the 2026-2027 school year in Ho Chi Minh City will take place on February 1-2. 6.
Candidates take 3 subjects: Math, Literature and English. In case candidates register for specialized and integrated classes, they will take additional subjects accordingly.
Ho Chi Minh City currently has more than 169,000 9th grade students studying at secondary schools, and it is expected that public high schools will enroll about 118,000 students, equivalent to about 70% of secondary school graduates.
