In recent years, the highest rate of students passing the 10th grade public school entrance exam in Hanoi is just over 60%. A place in a public school in the heart of the capital has become a “hot race”, making many parents and students feel like they are “sitting on hot coals”. This reality has existed for many years because the public school system in Hanoi has not met the demand.
The serious shortage of high schools has existed for many years.
At the end of 2023, in the report of the Hanoi People's Council on the survey results of primary school enrollment and school construction, a series of shortcomings and limitations were pointed out.
According to research, the 2012 resolution of the Hanoi People's Council on school network planning determined that at least each commune and ward with a population of 30,000-50,000 must have one high school. However, an assessment of the implementation process shows a serious shortage of schools at all levels in inner-city districts. However, in the 2020-2023 period, the entire city has only built 6 schools.
According to national technical standards on construction planning, the shortage of high schools in Hanoi is even more serious. Specifically, the standards specify that areas with a population of 20,000 people need at least one high school. Thus, it is estimated that with a population of 8.7 million, Hanoi needs at least 435 high schools.
Meanwhile, the capital currently has only 119 public high schools, more than 100 private schools, nearly 30 vocationaleducation - continuing education centers and a number of international schools. Thus, Hanoi still lacks more than 150 high schools.
In Hanoi’s 12 districts alone, Hoang Mai is the most lacking with about 18 schools. Following are Ha Dong, Dong Da, Ba Dinh, Bac Tu Liem, and Long Bien districts.
Some districts such as Cau Giay, Thanh Xuan, and Nam Tu Liem have enough schools according to standards because, in addition to public high schools, these are areas with many private schools, autonomous public schools, and 1 continuing education center.
For example, Nam Tu Liem district, in addition to 4 public schools, also has 14 private/international schools; or Thanh Xuan district, in addition to 4 public schools, has up to 11 private schools and schools with foreign elements.
According to the report on the renovation and construction of new kindergartens and high schools in Hanoi city at the end of 2023, the demand in the period 2023-2027 was determined to have skyrocketed, requiring the construction of 53 new public high schools.
However, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 1 public high school will be established and by the 2024-2025 school year, 2 more schools will be established. This number does not meet actual needs.
Statistics from the Hanoi Department of Education and Training show that, with the rate of 9th grade graduates in the 2024-2025 school year in districts, towns, and cities, the 5 districts lacking the most public high schools are: Cau Giay, Tay Ho, Ha Dong, Hoang Mai, and Nam Tu Liem.
269 schools of all levels in urban areas are not built on schedule.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thanh Nam, Vice Principal of the University of Education (Hanoi National University), the reason for the shortage of public high schools in the capital is due to the lack of standard planning for school construction, and the large number of people migrating to Hanoi from the provinces, which has not been fully controlled.
Hanoi is also a place where many people immigrate to study and work, leading to a large mechanical population increase. Meanwhile, the speed of school construction is not uniform, schools that want to expand or increase the number of classrooms must meet construction and fire prevention requirements.
“Currently, we approve apartment projects but have not allocated land and space for schools. This leads to rapid urbanization, land for education is not enough, the main consequence is a lack of schools. Not to mention, we have not given many incentives to the non-public education system, so private school tuition is too high,” said Mr. Tran Thanh Nam.
Sharing the same view, Dr. Architect Dao Ngoc Nghiem, former Director of the Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture, said that the capital lacks schools partly due to inaccurate population forecasting, leading to the speed of school construction not keeping up with the population growth rate. For example, before the planning, Hanoi was expected to reach 9.2 million people by 2030, but now the capital has nearly 9 million people.
In addition, according to standards, new urban areas must ensure the number of schools per population, but in reality, the population of these areas increases faster than planned. New schools also do not ensure the scale and area.
Mr. Nghiem said that currently, many opinions suggest that there should be separate standards for Hanoi, such as allowing the construction of multi-storey schools, but it is also very difficult because safety must be ensured, not only stairs are needed but also elevators and necessary emergency exits...
Students taking the 10th grade entrance exam in Hanoi in 2024. (Photo: Pham Hai)
The report on the renovation and construction of new kindergartens and general schools in Hanoi in 2023 also pointed out that the cause of school overload is due to the development of the planned school network not keeping up with the population growth rate, mainly concentrated in inner-city districts where there is no more land to build new or expand schools.
By the end of 2023, there are still 269 schools of all levels (about 70% of the schools in the planning) that have not been built on schedule in urban areas.
Efforts to build more schools, but progress still cannot keep up with demand
Mr. Tran The Cuong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, said that in 2024, the industry has consulted and proposed that the city allocate resources to build new public high schools, but the construction needs a roadmap and cannot be completed in a short time.
“This is a big difficulty, because for a new school to come into operation, there must be preparation from investment, compensation, site clearance to fire prevention permits and new construction standards,” said Mr. Cuong.
However, according to him, recently, the city has paid great attention to building new schools and classrooms. In the period 2017-2023, Hanoi has built and established 11 new public high schools.
In 2025, there are 76 high schools under construction, with 42 expected to be completed and put into service for the new school year 2025-2026, including 3 newly built and established schools. In the period 2025-2030, Hanoi is expected to have 30-35 new public schools to meet the learning needs of students.
“In parallel with building new schools, Hanoi has been renovating existing classrooms to give students more space to study, and increasing laboratories and department rooms. It is expected to renovate and build new classrooms and put them into use in the new school year, about 900 classrooms,” Mr. Cuong informed.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/nghi-quyet-va-chi-tieu-xay-truong-cong-o-ha-noi-nhieu-nam-khong-thuc-hien-duoc-ar943277.html
![[Photo] General Secretary To Lam attends the launch of 3 digital platforms serving the implementation of Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/402x226/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/7/2/d7fb7a42b2c74ffbb1da1124c24d41d3)
Comment (0)