Welcome to the new school year 2025-2026: Many policies beneficial to students

Ahead of the new 2025-2026 school year, many localities have made decisions to support students’ rights. Hanoi plans to spend more than VND3,000 billion to support boarding meals for primary school students.

Hanoi students prepare for the new school year 2025-2026 - Photo: NGUYEN LAM

I calculated that I could save 400,000 VND per month on my child’s boarding fees compared to the previous school year. More importantly, the parents were excited because the city was taking care of their children with practical measures.

Ms. NGOC ANH (parent of Thai Thinh Primary School, Hanoi)

These decisions bring new hope for the new school year.

Support boarding meals for 750,000 students

It is expected that more than 3,000 billion VND will be spent on supporting meals for primary school students, a policy approved in a resolution of the Hanoi People's Council right before the new school year. More than 750,000 primary school students this school year, including both public and private students (except students from foreign-invested schools), will be supported.

According to education officials in the Ba Vi area (Hanoi), the average cost of meals for primary school students was 500,000 - 600,000 VND/student/month. The support level for 23 disadvantaged communes in mountainous areas and the Red River delta is enough to cover the cost of meals, and parents do not need to contribute. In many other places in Hanoi, parents of primary school students only have to pay an additional 10,000 VND/day/student.

"I calculate that I can save 400,000 VND per month on my child's boarding meals compared to the previous school year. More importantly, parents are excited because the city is taking care of their children with practical actions" - Ms. Ngoc Anh (parent of Thai Thinh Primary School, Hanoi) shared her joy before the new school year.

According to data from the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, in the 2025-2026 school year, more than 700 primary schools will organize boarding meals, with meal costs ranging from 19,000 - 50,000 VND/day/student.

According to the leader of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, when consulting with the city, the department's leaders wanted to prioritize supporting primary school students because primary school students study 2 sessions/day, so most schools organize boarding meals.

Primary school students are also at the age of strong physical and mental development and need to ensure nutritious and adequate meals. After one year of implementing this program, Hanoi will evaluate the results and, based on the actual situation and budget balance, consider supporting students at other levels.

According to the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, in the 2025-2026 school year, Hanoi will have more than 2.3 million students at preschool and general education levels, an increase of about 60,000 students. Ensuring enough school places, completely resolving "hot spots" due to overloaded school places, reducing the number of students per class, reducing the number of students outside the school district, and ensuring a reasonable distance to school for students are among the tasks that Hanoi is striving to carry out.

Currently, the city has 2,954 kindergartens and general schools with about 70,500 classrooms, of which over 2,300 are public schools, the rest are private schools. In this new school year alone, Hanoi will build 43 more kindergartens and general schools. Of these, there are 27 public schools (10 kindergartens, 9 primary schools, 5 secondary schools, 3 high schools)...

Specific regulations on tuition fees

On the eve of the new school year, the People's Committee of Hai Phong City issued a decision regulating extra teaching and learning in the city, based on the spirit of Circular 29 of the Ministry of Education and Training regulating this issue.

The most important point of the decision is the specific regulation on funding for extra teaching and learning in schools for three subjects: nurturing excellent students, tutoring students who have not met requirements, and final year students.

According to Ms. Pham Thu Ha, Head of the Secondary Education Department (Hai Phong Department of Education and Training), the regulation is a legal basis to ensure feasible and transparent implementation. This helps schools overcome financial difficulties since the end of the previous school year after Circular 29 took effect.

"The Department of Education and Training will coordinate with the Department of Finance and relevant agencies and units to submit to competent authorities to balance and arrange funding for extra teaching and learning activities in schools into the annual regular expenditure tasks of the units and will guide the units to make estimates, use and settle the funding according to current regulations in the upcoming school year," said Ms. Ha.

The above document also clearly stipulates the responsibility for checking, monitoring and handling this matter after the two-level government operates, with the participation of commune-level education officials.

Meanwhile, according to the leader of the Department of Education and Training of Phu Tho province, in the 2025-2026 school year, the local education sector will carry out comprehensive digital transformation. Accordingly, a shared database will be built from preschool to high school, continuing education, electronic grade books and transcripts will be deployed, online enrollment will be implemented, and data management will be enhanced to serve operations.

Some of the contents considered as "highlights" of this local education are focusing on improving foreign language and information technology skills, promoting STEM education, expanding classroom space, combining traditional teaching and assessment methods with practical learning and experience in diverse forms, closely linked to reality.

This school year, Phu Tho has nearly 2,000 schools of all levels with 960,000 students and over 60,000 cadres, teachers and staff.

Ho Chi Minh City trains teachers to teach artificial intelligence

On the morning of September 3, Saigon University and Soul And Skills Media and Education Services Company Limited and Asia Creative Education Joint Stock Company signed a three-party cooperation agreement on organizing a training program on "international standard artificial intelligence (AI) teaching methods" for teachers.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu - Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City - said that the whole city has more than 3,000 educational institutions. Currently, there are some schools, mainly specialized schools, that have applied AI in teaching. Most of these are socialized activities so only a part of students can learn. According to Mr. Hieu, the city wants to bring AI into the regular curriculum, apply it in more schools, and give more students access, and this requires the city's budget.

"To do that, we need a team of teachers to teach AI. In the short term, we can focus on investing in a few units, but we cannot deploy it to more than 3,000 educational institutions. The Department will widely deploy AI training activities for teachers using the city budget, so that students can access AI fairly and equally," said Mr. Hieu.

Inauguration of digital citizenship skills classroom

On the morning of September 3, Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School, Saigon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City inaugurated a digital citizenship skills classroom. The digital citizenship skills classroom at Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School is equipped with a modern tablet system, a facial recognition attendance machine, and many supporting devices to help students experience learning in a safe and smart digital environment.

According to Ms. Do Ngoc Chi - Principal of Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School, the digital citizenship skills classroom was formed from the contributions of 4 parents and KDC Education Joint Stock Company on a voluntary basis. This is a project implemented in the form of socialization - turnkey.

Students of Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School experience the digital citizenship skills classroom - Photo: H.HG.

"This collaboration not only brings a modern learning space but also demonstrates the expectations we set for the future generation. They are digital citizens with solid knowledge, responsible living and mastering technology in a safe, smart and creative way," said Ms. Chi.

The Board of Directors of Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School informed: The digital citizenship skills education program at the school will be implemented in many diverse forms; designed to closely follow the digital competency framework for learners issued by the Ministry of Education and Training. Including lessons to enhance digital citizenship skills; experience the Play & Learn Station system - an interactive game to practice digital citizenship skills.

Back to topic

VINH HA - HOANG HUONG - MINH GIANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chao-mung-nam-hoc-moi-2025-2026-nhieu-quyet-sach-co-loi-cho-hoc-sinh-20250903231129634.htm