Primary school enrollment and 10th grade enrollment in Hanoi have long been a story that stresses many parents. Not only because of the pressure of school places but also because of administrative constraints, including regulations related to household registration.
According to the enrollment plan for the 2026-2027 school year, Hanoi is expected to implement preschool, grade 1 and grade 6 admissions based on residence, with the principle of "bringing schools closer to students". At the same time, grade 10 enrollment will remove the regulation that candidates must apply for admission according to their permanent address and remove the division of enrollment areas according to administrative boundaries.
This is a notable change, because for many years, household registration was an important factor determining students' learning opportunities. Many families living and working stably in Hanoi, but because they have not been able to transfer their permanent residence registration, their children face difficulties in registering for school in the right area.
Switching to enrollment based on residence and population data is a more reasonable direction. Hanoi plans to apply GIS maps to route enrollment and connect with the national population database through the VNeID application to verify student residence information.
If implemented effectively, this approach will help enrollment be more transparent and practical. Instead of relying on administrative household registration papers, residence data will accurately reflect students' places of residence, thereby helping to allocate schools reasonably.
For 10th grade enrollment, the removal of household registration binding also opens up more opportunities for students. For many years, regulations on enrollment areas have made it possible for students to only register for a certain number of schools according to their area. This partly limits the opportunity to choose a school that suits their abilities and aspirations.
When this barrier is removed, students can register for schools according to their aspirations, instead of being "framed" by administrative boundaries. This not only creates more opportunities for students but also contributes to promoting quality competition between schools.
However, changing enrollment policies also poses many challenges. When there are no longer territorial limits, high-quality schools may face greater enrollment pressure. Competition for these schools will certainly be fiercer.
Currently, Hanoi has nearly 3,000 kindergartens and general schools with more than 2.3 million students. In the context of rapid urban population growth, expanding schools, renovating facilities and adjusting reasonable zoning are still important solutions to ensure learning places for students.
Removing household registration binding in admissions is still a necessary step. When the population database has been digitized and connected, many administrative procedures based on household registration are gradually becoming inappropriate. More importantly, it is a signal that education policies are gradually adapting to the reality of urbanization and digital transformation. When administrative "bottlenecks" are removed, students' learning opportunities will be placed in the right center of the education system.
