Ho Chi Minh City: Many opinions about adjusting timetables and delaying school start times for students

(NLDO)- Instead of starting the first period at 7 o'clock, many high schools in Ho Chi Minh City have adjusted their timetables to delay the start of the first period for students.

In the 2025-2026 school year, in response to the new regulation on teaching and learning 2 sessions/day, many educational institutions in Ho Chi Minh City have adjusted their timetables. Instead of starting school at 7:00 or 7:15 as before, many schools have announced starting school at 7:15 or 7:30. According to leaders of many high schools, this adjustment is to comply with the new regulation on teaching 2 sessions/day of the Ministry of Education and Training, creating convenience for parents in picking up and dropping off students.

The timetable for students at Nguyen Huu Tho High School, Ho Chi Minh City in the new school year will start at 7:30 am and end at 4 pm. In the morning, students will study 4 periods and in the afternoon, 3 periods.

Compared to previous school years, the school has significantly adjusted the time of entering and leaving school this year. In previous years, students would enter school at 7am.

Notice of timetable of Nguyen Huu Tho High School

Mr. Do Dinh Dao, Principal of Nguyen Huu Tho High School, said that the adjustment of school entry and exit times for the new school year is to comply with the new regulation of teaching 2 sessions/day.

In previous school years, teaching 2 sessions/day was carried out with a maximum of 8 periods/day according to the old regulations, but from the 2025-2026 school year, the teaching duration of 2 sessions/day is only a maximum of 7 periods/day. Therefore, the school adjusted the school start time to be 30 minutes later so that students and parents have more time to leisurely go to school, and for students to have a full breakfast before going to class.

Delaying the morning school start time also helps the school design a suitable dismissal time to make it convenient for parents to pick up and drop off students. In the new school year, students will return at 4 p.m. After this time, they can participate in more sports activities at school while waiting for their parents to pick them up," said Mr. Dao.

At Minh Duc Secondary School (Cau Ong Lanh Ward), the first period of students also starts at 7:30 am and the afternoon at 1:30 pm.

Meanwhile, many educational institutions keep the same timetables and school hours as previous years.

Mr. Nguyen Hung Khuong, Principal of Ten Lo Man High School, said that after consulting with the Board of Directors, the school still decided to keep the first period start time for students the same as previous years.

Specifically, the first period in the morning is still 7:00 and the afternoon is 13:30. However, according to Mr. Khuong, even though the school starts at such times, it is not necessary for all students to start at the first period. For example, the school currently has 39 classes, but only about 30 classes start at the first period, some students start at the second period at 7:45 or in the afternoon, some students start at the second period at 14:15.

According to Mr. Khuong, the above time regulations are intended to facilitate the flexible arrangement of the school's timetable, ensuring the number of periods according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training but still suitable for the arrangement of "running" classes and classes according to groups of subjects chosen by students.

Ms. Nguyen Doan Trang, Principal of Tran Van On Secondary School (Tan Dinh Ward), said that the school will wait for instructions from the City Department of Education and Training to implement. If a general time frame is set, it will be difficult for the school because the school is currently located on a narrow one-way street and currently has to implement staggered start and end times for different grades.

Ms. Tran Thi Thom, Principal of Phan Dang Luu High School, said that due to limited facilities, specifically a lack of classrooms, the timetable is still implemented according to regulations. If school hours are delayed, it will be difficult to arrange the timetable and arrange classrooms...

Previously, the Ministry of Education and Training had "finalized" the plan to teach 2 sessions/day at all 3 levels from the 2025-2026 school year with many changes compared to before. Specifically, primary school will teach 2 sessions/day, each day no more than 7 periods, each period 35 minutes; minimum 9 sessions/week (equivalent to 32 periods/week).

Secondary and high school levels implement teaching 2 sessions/day according to the roadmap, organize and implement teaching 2 sessions/day in schools with adequate facilities and teaching staff. Schools arrange time and study schedule for a minimum of 5 days/week, maximum of 11 sessions/week, each day not exceeding 7 periods, each period 45 minutes. Previously, teaching 2 sessions/day was implemented with a maximum of 7 periods/day for secondary school level and 8 periods/day for high school level, each week not exceeding 6 days.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tp-hcm-nhieu-y-kien-ve-dieu-chinh-thoi-khoa-bieu-lui-gio-vao-hoc-cua-hoc-sinh-196250818132847759.htm