Expanding 10th grade admission in Ho Chi Minh City: Reducing pressure but ensuring fairness

In recent days, information that Ho Chi Minh City plans to expand 10th grade admission in some areas instead of just organizing entrance exams has received much attention from parents and students. This is considered one of the steps to reduce the pressure of the public 10th grade entrance exam and towards the goal of universalizing high school education.

Talking to reporters, educator Nguyen Van Ngai - former Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training (GDĐT) - said that this policy is in line with the general orientation.

Mr. Ngai said that previously, Ho Chi Minh City had applied the form of admission consideration in some areas. However, according to him, the admission consideration based on transcripts in the past also revealed many limitations, especially the fairness in student assessment between schools.

Some schools assess strictly, with high requirements, but there are also places that score lighter. If admission is based entirely on transcripts, it is difficult to ensure fairness between students of this school and another school," he assessed.

According to Mr. Ngai, in reality, there has been a situation where some students, despite achieving high academic scores, could not keep up with the program when entering 10th grade due to lack of basic knowledge at the secondary school level.

This makes teachers have to spend more time consolidating knowledge for students. From these inadequacies, Ho Chi Minh City later returned to the form of entrance exams in many areas to ensure input quality.

However, according to educator Nguyen Van Ngai, in the current context, gradually expanding admissions is an inevitable trend if you want to reduce exam pressure and move towards universalizing high school education.

Mr. Ngai said that the prerequisite is that the city must ensure enough schools to receive students after secondary school, and at the same time improve the quality of teaching and learning management at lower levels.

To reduce exam pressure, many things must be done synchronously, from building schools and classrooms to strictly managing student assessment so that transcripts accurately reflect real abilities," Mr. Ngai said.

In addition to the public high school system, Mr. Ngai also emphasized the role of non-public schools, continuing education centers and vocational secondary schools in the goal of universal education.

According to him, it is not necessary for all students after 9th grade to enter public high schools, as long as they continue to study in suitable types to complete the general education program.

The policy is necessary but there must be appropriate steps, careful assessment of actual difficulties and synchronous resolution of many issues to create consensus in society," Mr. Ngai emphasized.

In the 2026-2027 school year, Ho Chi Minh City enrolls students in 2 forms, including entrance exams and admission consideration. In which, entrance exams are the main ones. Admission consideration forms are only applied to some special localities, including: Thanh An Secondary and High School (Thanh An commune), Vo Thi Sau High School (Con Dao special zone) and Ethnic Minority Boarding School.

This year's 10th grade entrance exam has more than 151,000 registered candidates, the total target for public high schools is about more than 180,000 students.