Transparency and fairness in primary school admissions

While Ho Chi Minh City has implemented it since 2023 with initial positive results, in Hanoi , maintaining the old administrative boundary is causing many concerns for parents, especially in the context of preparing to merge administrative units.

Hanoi maintains stable primary school enrollment

Ms. Dang Kim Huong, a parent in Yen So ward, Hoang Mai district, Hanoi city, is preparing for her son to enter first grade in the 2025-2026 school year. Yen So Primary School is located near her house, which used to belong to Yen So ward, but according to the new arrangement plan, this area will belong to another ward, Hoang Mai ward.

“My family’s current household registration is in Yen So ward. But when the plan to merge wards was announced, my house was located on the border, belonging to group 15 of the new Yen So ward. This made my family very worried because there was no school near our house in this area,” Ms. Huong shared, her voice full of concern.

Similarly, at the secondary school level, changes in administrative boundaries also cause many concerns. Mr. Do Huu Man, a parent in Mai Dong ward, Hoang Mai district, expressed: “We want our children to study at a school near home so that pick-up and drop-off are convenient. Especially for families where only grandparents pick them up and drop them off, a close distance is very important.”

Mai Dong Secondary School, where Mr. Man’s child is expected to attend, is currently located in Hoang Mai District, but from July 1, 2025, it will be located in Vinh Tuy Ward, Hai Ba Trung District. This change has left many parents wondering whether their children will still be able to attend this familiar school.

The situation of “near home but far away” also happened in Nam Tu Liem district. At the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, more than 300 parents came to Tay Mo 3 Primary School to complain that their children could not study at the school while their families lived right next to the school. They had to travel 4km for their children to study at Ly Nam De Primary School. Ms. Pham Thi Minh Huyen, a parent, was upset: “The road is difficult, my family spends nearly 1 million VND/month to rent a car to take my children to school.”

In response to parents’ concerns, the Hanoieducation sector has quickly come up with solutions to ensure that enrollment goes smoothly. Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, Vice Principal of Mai Dong Secondary School, shared: “Students in the border area, including parts of the old Mai Dong, Vinh Hung, Hoang Van Thu and Vinh Tuy wards, can still register to study at the school as in previous years. Currently, there are no changes in the instructions, parents can participate in online enrollment on schedule from July 7 as usual.”

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong, Principal of Yen So Primary School, said: “Enrollment for the next school year will be conducted online, the procedure is very simple and convenient. The school has prepared a support team to answer all questions. Parents do not need to worry about enrollment at all.” According to Ms. Hong, schools have been required to publicize their enrollment plans at least 30 days before the start, instead of 15 days as in previous years, to give parents more time to prepare.

Many schools are expected to hold online seminars and admissions consultation tables at the end of June to provide specific guidance to parents. The city has built 1,200 new classrooms in 2024-2025, bringing the total number of classrooms to 85,000, meeting the needs of 95,000 kindergarteners, 155,000 first graders and 161,000 sixth graders. However, rapid urbanization has left some areas still partially overloaded.

Towards enrollment with the principle of "home near school"

According to the plan announced by the Hanoi Department of Education and Training in Official Dispatch No. 759/SGDĐT-QLT dated March 14, 2025, enrollment in kindergartens, grades 1 and 6 for the 2025-2026 school year will be implemented from July 1.

Specifically, first grade enrollment will take place from July 1 to July 3, 5-year-old kindergarten from July 4 to July 6, and sixth grade from July 7 to July 9. Direct enrollment will be held from July 13 to July 18.

The admission method is based on the route determined by the People's Committee of the district, town, and city, and Hanoi will continue to apply online admission to ensure transparency and fairness.

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha affirmed at the meeting of the Admissions Steering Committee: "Despite the change of administrative units, Hanoi still maintains the same admission plan and schedule, ensuring students' rights and minimizing disruption."

This is to ease parents’ concerns, especially in areas affected by administrative unit mergers, such as Hoang Mai district, where the number of ward-level administrative units will be reduced from 14 to 7 wards, including: Hoang Mai, Yen So, Dinh Cong, Hoang Liet, Tuong Mai, Vinh Hung and Linh Nam. Looking further, from the 2026-2027 school year, Hanoi and the whole country will apply a new admission principle: “house near school”.

Mr. Tran The Cuong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, said: The Department is deploying a geographic information system (GIS) to route students based on the actual distance from home to school, instead of according to administrative boundaries. "This system ensures that students study at the nearest school, convenient for commuting," Mr. Cuong emphasized.

Ho Chi Minh City has pioneered this model since 2023 and achieved many positive results, such as reducing the situation of "running" for household registration or studying in the wrong district. Hanoi plans to synchronously deploy the GIS system from the 2026-2027 school year, marking an important digital transformation step in education, towards greater fairness and convenience for people.

In the 2025-2026 school year, Hanoi is expected to welcome about 95,000 kindergarteners, 155,000 first graders and 161,000 sixth graders. To meet this demand, the city has directed districts to review facilities, ensure adequate learning spaces and avoid overcrowding. Schools are also required to publicly announce their enrollment plans with five clear criteria: enrollment routes, quotas, time, methods and responsibilities.

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training strictly prohibits schools from collecting fees outside of regulations during the enrollment process, while emphasizing the responsibility of heads of units in ensuring transparency and seriousness.

With these steps, Hanoi will not only solve the enrollment problem for the 2025-2026 school year but also lay the foundation for a modern and fair education system. Parents need to accompany and trust the city's efforts to build a better school environment.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/minh-bach-cong-bang-trong-tuyen-sinh-dau-cap-post882142.html