Ho Chi Minh City students return to school from August 20

Students in grades 1, 9, and 12 in Ho Chi Minh City will return to school on August 20, two days earlier than the rest of the country, and the remaining grades will return on August 25.

Students in Ho Chi Minh City return to school on August 20. (Source: VNE)

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has just issued a schedule for the 2025-2026 school year for all levels of preschool, general education and continuing education . Accordingly, students in grades 1, 9 and 12 will be the first groups to return to school from August 20.

According to the 2025-2026 school year schedule, students in grades 1, 9 and 12 will return to school two days later than previously scheduled, on August 18. The remaining grades will still start school on August 25, as proposed by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training.

The official opening day for the whole city is September 5.

Like previous years, this new school year in Ho Chi Minh City is divided into two semesters, starting from September 5, 2025 with semester I lasting 18 weeks of actual study, and semester II from January 19, 2026 with 17 weeks of actual study. All levels of education will end the school year before May 31, 2026, then proceed to consider graduation, completing enrollment for the next school year.

The city requires schools to ensure teaching plans comply with regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training , and proactively develop appropriate educational plans for the unit in accordance with regulations.

Teachers' annual leave is taken during the summer vacation or can be arranged alternately at other times of the year to suit the specific characteristics and schedule of the school year.

After implementing the policy of merging Ho Chi Minh City with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces, Ho Chi Minh City has become the "super city of education" of the country, with nearly 2.6 million students, the most in the country today.

Three days ago, the Ministry of Education and Training issued the school year schedule. Accordingly, students in grades 1, 9, and 12 nationwide will return to school on August 22 at the earliest; the remaining grades can return a week earlier, on August 29.

Semester I will end before January 18, 2026, and semester II before May 31. The 2026 high school graduation exam is scheduled to take place on June 11-12, about two weeks earlier than in recent years. However, provinces and cities are allowed to proactively plan their school year, as long as they ensure 35 weeks (semester I has 18 weeks, semester II has 17 weeks); holidays and Tet according to regulations.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/hoc-sinh-tp-ho-chi-minh-tuu-truong-tu-ngay-208-324375.html