The problem of exceeding the permitted number of students per class is a difficult one to solve.

Nearly 60 students per class.

A parent whose child is in 7th grade at a school in downtown Hanoi said that the class size has fluctuated between 57 and 59 students from 6th grade onwards. Students are at a crucial developmental stage, and the desks and chairs are placed very close together, making movement within the classroom difficult. “Attending parent-teacher meetings, I saw the front desks placed right next to the teacher’s desk, with the blackboard right in front of them. The cramped and stuffy classroom space will negatively impact their child’s psychology and academic performance,” this parent said.

For the 2025-2026 school year, Dong Da Secondary School will enroll 707 sixth-grade students, divided into 14 classes, with an average of 50.5 students per class. Ms. Dao Thi Hong Hanh, the school principal, stated that the school cannot yet implement a two-session-per-day teaching schedule due to insufficient facilities. Class allocation depends on the teaching staff and the number of classes. Last year, only over 600 ninth-grade students graduated, fewer than the number of students enrolled.

Similarly, Dai Kim Secondary School in Dinh Cong Ward currently has 2,900 students from grades 6 to 9. With great effort, the school has organized two-session classes per day; however, due to a shortage of classrooms, students have to take turns having one day off per week and attend classes all day Saturday, causing difficulties and pressure. To accommodate more than 50 students per class, Dai Kim Secondary School's solution is to "custom-design" 1.5-meter long desks for three students, instead of the 1.2-meter desks for two students as stipulated. Fortunately, the school was recently built, and the classrooms are quite spacious, allowing for the arrangement of 24 desks in each room.

Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Ha, Principal of Dai Kim Secondary School, said that the average class size is about 50 students, with the largest class having 55 students. Since its establishment in 2020, the school only had 1,500 students, but after 5 years of operation, the number of students has nearly doubled. Ms. Ha pointed out that the reason is the presence of many high-rise apartment buildings in the area, leading to a rapid increase in the migrant population. In fact, two primary schools, Dai Kim Primary School and Dai Tu Primary School, are within the secondary school's catchment area, so each year the number of students entering grade 6 increases by 300. This rapid increase in student numbers puts pressure on the school and classrooms; not only are there insufficient teachers, but the school also has to cope with the shortage of teachers. "This year we've been allocated enough teachers, but next year the number of students increases again, and we have to sign contracts," Ms. Ha said.

Before the enrollment period for the new school year, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training requires schools to implement measures to improve school facilities, reduce the number of students attending schools outside their designated zones, reduce the number of students per class, and increase the number of students attending two sessions per day. This is to avoid situations where some schools exceed their enrollment quotas while others fail to enroll enough students, leading to wasted facilities and personnel, and causing public dissatisfaction and social unrest.

Teachers under pressure

Ms. Thanh Ha stated that the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates 45 students per class in junior high schools. In reality, classes are larger, making it difficult for teachers, who don't have enough time to pay attention to each student. Previously, the school had repeatedly petitioned the People's Committee of the ward to build a new junior high school to separate students, reduce class sizes, and minimize class sizes. It is understood that the ward has also planned to clear land for the construction of a new school.

Ms. K, a former principal of a primary school in the old Hoang Mai district, stated that at one point, the number of primary school students per class reached 57-58, while the Ministry of Education and Training's regulation for primary schools is 35 students. This led to significant difficulties and hardships for students, teachers, and administrators alike. Students had to cram desks and chairs into aisles, sometimes even having two rows of desks joined together, leaving no space to run and play. The front row of desks was also placed right next to the teacher's desk, affecting their eyesight. Furthermore, with nearly 3,000 students, the school had a limited number of restrooms, making regular cleaning impossible even with a dedicated cleaning staff. Teachers struggled to teach such large classes, making it difficult to observe, care for, and understand the strengths and abilities of each student and group as required.

Mr. Dao Tan Ly, Head of the Primary Education Department (Hanoi Department of Education and Training), said that this school year the entire city has seen a decrease of 1,000 primary school students compared to last year. However, there is still a localized shortage of schools and classrooms in some areas such as Thanh Liet Ward, Vinh Hung Ward, and Dinh Cong Ward… “Hanoi’s solution in the coming time is to continue reviewing and building new schools to reduce pressure and spread out the number of students per class,” Mr. Ly said.

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