Ho Chi Minh City: Many new schools rush to the finish line

After many years of waiting, this school year, the people of An Hoi Tay ward are happy because their children can study near home when Dang Thuy Tram Primary School is put into use.

According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, in the 2025-2026 school year, the city will have 2.6 million students, an increase of nearly 40,000 students compared to the previous school year.

To make it to the new school year opening ceremony, these days at construction sites, the working atmosphere is bustling, regardless of the hot sun or pouring rain.

With the attention of the government, Ha Huy Tap Secondary School (Gia Dinh ward) is being invested in for repair and renovation with a total cost of 25 billion VND.

The project was deployed from the beginning of August 2025. At this time, the team is at the peak of construction, completing to meet the schedule.

On August 21, it was pouring rain but everyone was still working very hard. One group was cleaning, another group was transporting things, and the remaining area was the work of the tiling and wall building team. Each person had a job, all focused on their part.

Following closely and directing the overall work, Mr. Doan Thien Dang, in charge of engineering at the construction site, said: "We are trying our best to complete the new school in time for the opening ceremony of this school year."

The school has 3 areas, of which area C has the most repairs including building walls, installing doors, tiling, and rewiring the electrical system. Up to now, all stages of this area are almost complete.

“Once a room is completed, it will be cleaned and the tables and chairs will be arranged in their original condition. To ensure the progress as committed to the school, the workforce sometimes reaches 120 people.”

“The spirit is that we hand over the school as soon as possible, so everyone works through the week, through holidays, and overtime. Sometimes I also feel pressured because I have to ensure the quality of the project and ensure the progress. However, the new school year is approaching, so everything must be implemented urgently and quickly,” said Mr. Dang.

During the 3 summer months the school was under repair, every day Principal Hua Thi Diem Tram was present to monitor and support the construction team. Many days she and the school staff went into the kitchen to cook meals for the workers working there.

“This school was built a long time ago, so the facilities are somewhat degraded. When it was repaired and renovated, everyone was very excited. In the new school year, teaching and learning in a new, more spacious school will certainly improve the quality of education at the school,” said Ms. Tram.

In the 2025-2026 school year, Binh Loi commune will put into use 2 new schools including 1 primary school and 1 secondary school.

At 11:00 am on August 22, the sun was scorching hot but workers were still working enthusiastically. At Binh Loi Secondary School, workers were diligently painting the corridors and completing the remaining stages. Classroom equipment will be transported this week for installation in time for the opening ceremony of the school year.

The new school has 45 classrooms, fully equipped with functional rooms on an area of ​​nearly 24,114m2, with a total investment of more than 180 billion VND.

Next to Binh Loi Secondary School is Le Minh Xuan 2 Primary School, which is also gradually being completed. Mr. Tran Nguyen Khoi, the construction unit, said that the school will be handed over to the beneficiary this week.

The school has 30 classrooms, fully functional rooms on an area of ​​nearly 13,000m2, with a total investment of over 135 billion VND. In particular, the school has a multi-purpose gymnasium and a modern swimming pool.

“The school was built on September 4, 2024 and is being actively completed to be handed over in time for operation at the beginning of the new school year. In the past, to meet the deadline, the staff often worked overtime at night and on weekends,” said Mr. Khoi.

These days, teachers at the new Hoa Mai Kindergarten (Chanh Hung Ward) are busy cleaning the school, wiping tables, chairs, and equipment, arranging toys, and decorating classrooms to prepare for the new school year.

Hoa Mai Kindergarten is invested in construction with a scale of 1 ground floor, 2 floors and 1 terrace. The school includes classrooms, 2 functional rooms, a semi-boarding kitchen, and a playground equipped with modern equipment.

Arriving at school very early, Ms. Pham Phuong Quynh is preparing the play areas to welcome the children.

“The facilities and toys at this new school are quite well invested, helping children develop their skills, while also creating conditions for us to organize more diverse activities,” Ms. Quynh happily said.

Ms. Tran Thi Anh Kieu, Principal of Hoa Mai Kindergarten, said the school has 9 classes, including 1 group of children from 25-36 months old, 2 kindergarten classes from 3-4 years old, 3 kindergarten classes from 4-5 years old, 3 kindergarten classes from 5-6 years old.

“In the first phase, the school only opened 5 groups of classes. The school has only recruited 70 students and will enroll students throughout the school year. The school has 6 permanent teachers, and will soon apply for 4 more positions to meet the demand,” said Ms. Kieu.

“I always put the safety of children first, this is a new school so the trust of parents is very important. In the near future, the school will organize open activities to invite parents to come and study and play with the children.

In addition, all activities and meal times of children will be updated via the class group so that parents can regularly grasp and give timely feedback. When the school is public about the quality, parents will easily understand and accompany us" - Ms. Kieu shared.

After many years of waiting and wishing, Dang Thuy Tram Primary School was built and put into use from the 2025-2026 school year, bringing great joy to many people in An Hoi Tay ward, especially parents with children of primary school age.

On the first day of school, bright smiles were evident on the faces of mothers, parents, students and teachers.

Taking her two children to school, Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Thao happily said: "There is a new school built right next to our house, it is so much more convenient."

Previously, because there was no primary school in the ward, Ms. Thao’s eldest son had to study at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Primary School. Every time she took her son to school, it took her 30 minutes because the road was quite crowded. But this year, the new school is close to home, and it only takes about 5 minutes by motorbike.

“I just asked to transfer my older child (in 4th grade) to study with my younger child at a school near my house for convenience. With this new school, people can escape the situation of having to go to school,” Ms. Thao shared.

Students and teachers of Dang Thuy Tram Primary School are happy at their new school.

Taking students on a tour of the classrooms and restrooms, teacher Nguyen Kim Thanh confided: "The new school is spacious, clean, and has adequate facilities, creating conditions for me to teach the children better. The children also have a comfortable environment to study and play."

According to Ms. Thanh, for first graders, due to the new environment, they are often confused with the class, the school, friends and teachers. Some children need 2 weeks to get used to it. "To make the children comfortable and quickly get used to the school, I have to organize many activities and games. Besides, I also have to coordinate with parents to help the children gradually get into the routine" - Ms. Thanh confided.

Ms. Ngo Thi Thuy Lan checks the equipment of the new Dang Thuy Tram school.

Ms. Ngo Thi Thuy Lan, Principal, said the school was built on a land with a construction floor area of ​​4,851.24 square meters, including 1 ground floor and 3 floors.

The school has 19 classrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 multi-purpose hall and rooms. The classrooms are equipped with CPUs, 42" TV screens.

This school year, the school used a warehouse as a classroom because of the large number of students. The total number of classrooms is 20 with 1,000 students.

“The school’s operation has helped reduce the number of students in neighboring schools, but it still cannot meet the learning needs of local children. The number of students in all schools is exceeding the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, ” said Ms. Lan.

In this school year, in addition to focusing on improving the quality of education, Ms. Lan said she will pay more attention to the quality of the restroom area. Ensure that the restroom is always clean, especially during recess and after school hours, to prevent students from being afraid or embarrassed to use the restroom, which could affect their health.

Ms. NGUYEN THI HUONG THAO, Vice Chairman of Binh Loi Commune People's Committee:

Building schools is a key task

Binh Loi commune is a merger of Binh Loi and Le Minh Xuan communes. This is a locality with a population of over 55,000 people, the need for schools for students is one of the key tasks that the commune pays special attention to.

Putting into use 2 new schools with standard facilities to meet the learning needs of primary and secondary school students in the area, increasing the rate of 2 sessions/day for primary and secondary school levels, creating conditions for effective implementation of the 2018 general education program, improving the quality of teaching and learning in the area.

In addition, the use of 2 new schools increased 75 classrooms (30 primary schools, 45 secondary schools), helping Binh Loi commune reach 350 classrooms/10,000 people, exceeding the target of 300 classrooms/10,000 school-age children according to the Resolution of the 11th Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress, term 2020-2025 (currently 284.22 classrooms/10,000 people).

First graders in the new school - Dang Thuy Tram Primary School. Photo: NGUYET NHI

Mr. NGUYEN CHI KIEN, Vice Chairman of An Hoi Tay Ward People's Committee:

More school, more fun

Dang Thuy Tram Primary School was built and put into use as a project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of National Reunification Day, the 80th anniversary of August Revolution and National Day September 2.

An Hoi Tay Ward was established on the basis of merging the entire area and population of Ward 12 and Ward 14 of the former Go Vap District.

Currently, the ward has 56 neighborhoods with over 112,000 people. Previously, Ward 12 did not have a school, and children in the area had to go to school at some schools in other wards. The newly built and operational school is a joy for teachers, students and people in the area because it meets the children's need for a place to study.

In the Resolution of the 1st Party Congress of the Ward, term 2025-2030, the goal is to build 2 new schools (1 primary school, 1 secondary school) by the end of the term. In the immediate future, we strive to start construction of a new primary school in the fourth quarter of 2025, with a capacity of about 1,500 students.

Source: https://ttbc-hcm.gov.vn/tp-hcm-nhieu-ngoi-truong-moi-gap-rut-can-dich-1019478.html