Many parents spend millions to reserve places for their children in private 10th grade schools.

Every day, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan (Cau Giay district, Hanoi ) juggles work with picking up and dropping off her children at extra classes, all in the final sprint towards this year's entrance exam for public high schools.

My daughter is aiming for Cau Giay High School, which had a fairly high cutoff score last year – 41.3 points (equivalent to 8.3 points per subject). Although her teachers consider her to be among the top students in her class, I'm still worried about her exam results. Therefore, right after the Lunar New Year, my husband and I have been diligently searching for information on private schools as a backup plan for our daughter.

Many parents in Hanoi are spending millions of dong to secure a place for their children in 10th grade at private schools. (Illustrative image)

After much consideration, Lan's family decided to apply for their child to attend Doan Thi Diem High School (Bac Tu Liem district).

According to her, if the child doesn't get into a public school, paying to secure a place at a private school would also give the family peace of mind and reduce pressure on the child during this crucial period. To reserve a spot, Doan Thi Diem High School requires a 2 million VND reservation fee, which is non-refundable if the child does not enroll.

The school was more than 5 km from their house, and 2 million VND wasn't a large sum, so Lan and her husband decided to spend it immediately.

Most private high schools in the city currently require applicants to pay a fee in advance when registering for admission; this is considered a reservation fee.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Linh (Cau Giay district), whose child is in 9th grade at Trung Hoa Secondary School, said that while waiting for Hanoi to finalize the 10th grade entrance exam plan, his family proactively researched admission information for several private schools in the city. He decided to register his child for Ly Thai To Secondary and High School (Cau Giay district) with a reservation fee of 10 million VND per student.

He believes that registering his child for a place at this school, based on the deposit, helps alleviate some of the pressure of exam preparation. Getting into a public school would be great, but if not, the family can still afford to send their child to a private school.

Registering their children for private schools is becoming a popular choice for most parents, who see it as a safe solution that helps reduce psychological stress for their children.

Ms. Thu Huong (Dong Da district) is urgently looking for a private school to reserve a place for her child. She is interested in Ta Quang Buu High School, but neither school has announced its enrollment yet.

The entrance exam for 10th grade is stressful, and even though her child has good academic performance, Ms. Huong still plans to register her child for one or two more private schools in Cau Giay district near their home to have more options later on. Ms. Huong and her husband have decided to pay a reservation fee of 7-10 million VND for peace of mind.

The current reservation fees for private schools range from 2 to 23 million VND. Archimedes Academy High School (Dong Anh district) has the highest enrollment fee for first-year students and transfer students to date (23 million VND/student), with a monthly tuition fee of 8 million VND.

The current enrollment fees at some private schools are as follows: Ly Thai To High School (Cau Giay) 11 million VND/student; Newton High School 12 million VND; Phenikaa Inter-level School (5 million VND/student), Hanoi Academy High School (Tay Ho) 20 million VND.

In the 2024-2025 school year, Hanoi will have nearly 135,000 students graduating from junior high school and taking the entrance exam for 10th grade in high school, an increase of more than 5,000 students compared to the previous year. The city currently has 237 high schools, including 121 public high schools and over 100 private high schools. The fact that only about 60% of students attend public schools each year puts pressure on both students and parents.

Khanh Son

Source