10th grade students of Nguyen Huu Tho High School, Xom Chieu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City on the first day of school on the morning of August 25 - Photo: NHU HUNG
Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu said: "HCMC currently has 3,528 schools; 2.6 million students from kindergarten to high school. We have the advantage of receiving attention and close direction from the city's leaders and the Ministry of Education and Training; having a system of documents and legal basis to define the authority to manage education and training when implementing two-level local government...
In which, the Department of Education and Training is responsible for providing professional guidance to all educational institutions in the area; directly managing high schools, continuing education centers, schools for the disabled, and specialized schools. The People's Committees of wards and communes directly manage schools from kindergarten to junior high school.
Dr. Nguyen Van HieuPriority number 1: build more schools!
* With such a scale, what is the biggest challenge for the education sector in Ho Chi Minh City, sir?
- I think the biggest challenge is the lack of schools and classrooms; especially in area 2 (former Binh Duong province - PV). The speed of school construction in this area is very slow, while the population is increasing rapidly, leading to a situation where the number of students per class is too high.
Many primary schools have more than 50 students per class, some even have 57 students per class. The rate of students studying 2 sessions per day is very low. Not to mention some general schools have seriously degraded facilities, lacking practice rooms, laboratories...
It should be added that in the 2025 admission season, high schools in region 2 were only able to enroll 60% of junior high school graduates into public grade 10. While this is a generation of students with a dramatically low number compared to recent years (this generation of students is born in the year of the Tiger. In Vietnam, many people do not want to have children in the year of the Tiger, so the number of students taking the 10th grade entrance exam this year is very low - PV).
Regarding the target of 300 classrooms/10,000 school-age people, before the merger, region 1 (formerly Ho Chi Minh City) had 297 classrooms; region 3 (formerly Ba Ria - Vung Tau ) had 316 classrooms; region 2 alone had only 200 classrooms. After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City only had 277 classrooms/10,000 people.
Furthermore, the current education officials in wards and communes in Ho Chi Minh City have little or no experience in state management of education. Therefore, many people cannot cover all areas and are confused when approaching the task of education management in the locality.
* So you will prioritize solutions to infrastructure problems first?
- The number 1 priority of the city's education and training sector is to implement investment solutions, build new classrooms, supplement and purchase teaching equipment.
In addition to strengthening socialization and attracting investment resources for education, the education sector will advise competent authorities to supplement the regular budget for educational institutions. Ensure that spending on teaching and learning activities reaches a minimum rate of 19% of total regular expenditure as prescribed. Strive to reach 300 classrooms per 10,000 school-age people (from 3 to 18 years old) by 2030.
For the civil servants in charge of education in wards and communes, in the summer of 2025, the City Department of Education and Training organized a meeting and training for this force. In the 2025-2026 school year,
The Department of Education and Training will simultaneously implement the following three solutions: create a question-and-answer channel between the department and the People's Committees of wards and communes on education; organize regular meetings with education officials in wards and communes to listen to opinions and promptly resolve any difficulties, if any; the Department of Education and Training will advise the City People's Committee to issue regulations on coordination between the department and other departments, branches and the People's Committees of wards and communes.
Establish 16 professional clusters
* The education sector of Ho Chi Minh City is associated with phrases such as proactive, creative... However, after the merger, the quality of education as well as the spirit of proactiveness and creativity have a clear difference between regions. Not to mention the current area is too large, the number of schools is too many, the number of students is too large... What will you do to reduce that gap?
come closer?
- The first thing after the merger is that we will establish 16 professional clusters for each level of education, each professional cluster includes schools from 10-12 wards and communes. The cluster leader will be a prestigious, experienced, and professional principal... of that level of education. The clusters will also establish a network of core teachers.
On the department side, we will also assign specialists to be in charge of specific professional clusters to closely monitor and follow the situation. All plans of the department will be sent down to schools through such professional clusters.
One of the key tasks of the city's education sector in the new school year is to promote comprehensive digital transformation, strongly apply digital technology and artificial intelligence in education and training. From there, the education sector will strengthen the organization of activities to support expertise; create conditions for managers and teachers to exchange and learn from each other's experiences, narrowing the gap in education quality between regions.
While previously a seminar could only accommodate a few dozen teachers in the hall, now online training can be conducted simultaneously for all teachers across the city. The same is true of the digital classroom model that Ho Chi Minh City has deployed and implemented effectively for the past two years.
Digital classrooms (teachers in the inner city will teach at digital centers and transmit images and sounds directly to students in the suburbs. In suburban classrooms, there will be teachers directly managing the class and assistants or co-teachers - PV) not only solve the problem of teacher shortage in difficult areas.
Digital classrooms also have a more important task of spreading teachers' good teaching methods to colleagues through organizing teaching conferences, demonstration teaching, co-teaching...
In addition, the shared digital learning materials repository that has been built since previous school years will be regularly supplemented by the Department of Education and Training, helping teachers in different areas to find materials more conveniently and improve the quality of teaching...
* So the new school year of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has many heavy tasks. So what is the main goal that the department is aiming for, sir?
- The first is to ensure fairness in access to education for all subjects. In particular, we pay special attention to subjects such as ethnic minorities, island students, orphans, homeless children, disabled children from poor and near-poor households. The City Department of Education and Training will strengthen inter-sectoral coordination to intervene and provide timely support for children in special circumstances. Ensure that 100% of school-age children go to school.
The second is to train a generation of dynamic, creative students who are good at foreign languages and technology, contributing to training high-quality human resources for the city.
Promote autonomy
* How will the decentralization of autonomy to educational institutions be implemented?
- My policy is to promote autonomy for public educational institutions, promote the proactiveness and flexibility of schools and the autonomous and creative capacity of professional groups and teachers in implementing the program.
Of course, during that process, the Department of Education and Training will provide guidance and training, and at the same time, the department's staff will increase field visits to promptly resolve difficulties for the facilities.
Recruit, arrange and regulate teachers appropriately in the new school year
Ms. Ngoc Quynh - homeroom teacher of class 11A3 at Marie Curie High School, Ho Chi Minh City - announced school rules to students before the official opening day - Photo: TTD
* The teaching staff will determine the quality of education. Can you tell us about the city's teacher training and recruitment plan?
- Improving the quality and standardizing the team of teachers and educational managers at all levels is one of the key tasks in the new school year of the city's education sector. Currently, the city is short of more than 6,000 teachers at all levels. Therefore, in parallel with recruiting, managing and effectively using the assigned teacher quota, the department will arrange and regulate preschool and general education teachers reasonably.
We will strengthen the implementation of the plan to transfer and second teachers, and arrange for teachers to teach in inter-schools. Mobilize a team with high qualifications and professional skills to participate in teaching vocational training programs; artisans, artists... participate in educational activities in schools in the fields of arts, sports...
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tp-hcm-doi-moi-manh-me-trong-nam-hoc-moi-20250828234636697.htm
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