10th grade exam in Ho Chi Minh City: More than 76,000 candidates compete for admission to public schools

Today (June 6), more than 76,000 candidates in Ho Chi Minh City entered the first day of the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year with literature and foreign languages.

Today (June 6), more than 76,000 candidates in Ho Chi Minh City entered the first day of the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year with literature and foreign languages ​​(mainly English). Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper will post suggestions for solving the exam questions.

In this year’s 10th grade entrance exam, Ho Chi Minh City has 142 exam sites, including 10 specialized exam sites. From 9:30 a.m. on June 5, candidates gathered at the exam sites to review the exam regulations and prepare for the important exam.

Prepare carefully and safely at all stages

At Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted (District 5), one of 10 specialized exam sites in Ho Chi Minh City, many candidates from other provinces and cities also came to take the exam.

Many parents brought bags and suitcases and asked for time off from work to accompany their children during this important exam. Mr. MN said that he and his wife and daughter took a bus from An Giang province to Ho Chi Minh City at 4:00 a.m. and arrived at the exam site at around 8:30 a.m. Mr. N. kept their belongings and let his daughter go to the mall to change into her school uniform and take care of her personal hygiene after a long journey.

"I have great confidence in my child in this exam because he has had a very good self-study process. My family supports my child whether he studies in Ho Chi Minh City or An Giang. However, if he is lucky enough to get into a specialized school in Ho Chi Minh City, it will be even better. It's okay for parents to have to work a little harder," Mr. N. expressed.

Departing from Binh Duong at 5am, Ms. Minh Anh said she took her nephew to the 10th grade entrance exam. After the nephew finished the entrance exam regulations, the family moved his luggage to the hotel, giving the "student" time to rest and regain strength before the exam.

Mr. Ngo Lap Thu, Chairman of the Examination Council of Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted, said that this year's exam site has 633 candidates, 32 exam rooms with 11 specialized subjects. Of which, integrated subjects and Chinese are chosen by many candidates.

For candidates coming from other provinces and cities, the examination council recommends that the invigilators pay special attention to instructing them on the route, location of the examination room, toilets and other necessary areas. This is to help them feel less confused and more confident when taking the exam.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Tam - Vice Principal of Bui Thi Xuan High School, Head of the examination site of Vo Truong Toan Secondary School - said that this examination site has 721 candidates taking the exam with 31 rooms. The candidate's storage area is arranged on the ground floor, the students take the exam on the 1st and 2nd floors, ensuring a distance of more than 25 m from the storage area according to regulations.

This testing site has also developed a plan to ensure the safety of candidates with a medical room, soap, and hand sanitizer. "This year is the first year the exam will take place under the 2018 GeneralEducation Program with new testing regulations. Therefore, the testing site requires invigilators and supervisors to follow the instructions, not to be creative, not to arbitrarily handle arising situations, but to report to the head of the testing site to ensure maximum benefits for candidates," Mr. Tam emphasized.

According to Mr. Tam, on the morning of June 5, there were no serious errors that required correction from candidates. At this testing site, only one candidate forgot to write down their ethnicity on the test registration form.

Reporters' observations at many other 10th grade exam sites also show that almost no candidates had to edit their information. The exam sites have strictly enforced the regulations for candidates, especially not bringing cell phones into the exam room.

Candidates enter the exam room to listen to the announcement of exam regulations at the exam site of Nguyen Gia Thieu Secondary School (Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City), on the morning of June 5. Photo: TAN THANH

6,000 contestants expected to leave the race

In the 2025-2026 school year, 115 public high schools in Ho Chi Minh City will enroll 70,070 students, compared to 76,435 candidates registered for the exam. Although the enrollment quota for grade 10 has increased significantly, it is expected that more than 6,000 candidates will leave the race for a place in public grade 10.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year is the first exam under the 2018 General Education Program. The city has a total of 3,277 exam rooms, each with a maximum of 24 candidates, ensuring a minimum distance of 1.2 m between two candidates sitting next to each other in a horizontal row.

To ensure the exam is conducted seriously and safely, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has mobilized 9,548 teachers to supervise the exam and 1,846 support staff. Previously, on June 4, the department inspected the facilities at the exam sites and applied the same security procedures as the high school graduation exam.

Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, said that this year's 10th grade entrance exam has decreased by 27,330 students compared to last year. In order for the 10th grade exam to take place seriously, safely, and in accordance with regulations, the department has thoroughly trained the relevant staff and teachers.

Specifically, the HCM City Department of Education and Training instructed that testing sites must do it correctly and not be creative. If any step is wrong, the head of the testing site will be responsible. When unusual situations outside the procedure occur at the testing site or testing room, the testing room supervisor must immediately report to the head of the testing site. At that time, the head of the testing site must immediately report to the Department of Education and Training. Testing sites are absolutely not allowed to arbitrarily handle unusual situations.

Respond promptly if an incident occurs

Implementing the direction of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on organizing exams in the area, the Department of Education and Training has proactively coordinated with related departments, agencies and sectors to make careful preparations. In particular, the Department of Education and Training coordinates with the Ho Chi Minh City Police to ensure absolute confidentiality and safety from the stage of creating and printing exam questions; strengthening the protection of the exam council and exam marking points; participating in escorting and protecting exam questions and exam papers in accordance with the approved regulations and plans...

The health sector creates conditions to prioritize emergency and health care for candidates; ensures accurate and quick certification of illness and injury if they occur during the exam; provides ambulances and is ready to promptly support candidates in case of poisoning. The Department of Health will coordinate with the Department of Food Safety to review, isolate, handle, and identify the source of poisoning; ensure that it does not affect the exam scores and candidates...

The Department of Food Safety is also requested to develop a plan to coordinate with medical facilities and assign staff to be on duty during the exam period to promptly respond to food safety incidents; ensuring effective prevention of food poisoning risks.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thi-lop-10-tai-tp-hcm-hon-76000-thi-sinh-tranh-suat-vao-truong-cong-196250605220043724.htm