From tomorrow, many schools in Ho Chi Minh City will adjust their dismissal times.

Starting tomorrow (September 15), schools in Ho Chi Minh City will make adjustments to their timetables to suit the reality and needs of the majority of parents after concerns and worries about school dismissal times, Saturday school...

From tomorrow, September 15, schools will adjust to the school dismissal time regulations of Ho Chi Minh City.

PHOTO: INDEPENDENCE

No school until 4pm

Right in the first week of the new school year 2025-2026, many parents expressed their frustration about the fact that many schools set early dismissal times, affecting parents' pick-up and drop-off.

At the meeting to give feedback on building school programs with the participation of high school principals, Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, also acknowledged that many primary, secondary and high schools have inappropriate school schedules for students. Among them, some schools let students finish school at 3:00 PM or 3:30 PM, causing difficulties for parents in picking up and dropping off their children.

Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, also pointed out that some schools teaching 5 periods in the morning and only 2 periods in the afternoon for students to go home at 3:00 p.m. is unreasonable.

Therefore, on September 12, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City issued a daily study schedule for kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, and high schools for the 2025-2026 school year. Accordingly, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City requested schools to review and adjust the time of organizing educational activities during the day with the school start and end times for each level and not to end school before 4:00 p.m.

According to Thanh Nien reporters, high schools have made timely adjustments after the Department of Education and Training issued regulations.

Mr. Le Hong Thai, Principal of Phan Van Tri Primary School (Cau Ong Lanh Ward), said that starting tomorrow (September 15), students will study according to the schedule, 4 periods in the morning, 3 periods in the afternoon, but the afternoon class start time will be adjusted to 1:30 p.m. instead of 2:00 p.m. as before. The students will have a snack time after the first period, then play and then study 2 periods and leave at 4:00 p.m., according to regulations.

The principal said that the school has implemented the above number of classes and hours, so the school's activities have not changed much. Only the teachers' lunch break is a little affected, but the school has also met to unify the general direction so that teachers can feel secure.

Nguyen Van Luong Secondary School (Binh Phu Ward) held a meeting with parents this morning (September 14) to announce the adjustment of study time for nearly 2,000 students.

According to the old timetable, students had two dismissal times, 3:30 PM and 4:15 PM, depending on the class, ensuring the time difference between shifts to avoid traffic jams. At the meeting, some parents proposed to keep the dismissal time at 3:30 PM. However, after that, the whole school agreed that to ensure the regulations and meet the needs of the majority of parents, the new dismissal time would be 4:15 PM.

Mr. Dinh Phu Cuong, Principal of Nguyen Van Luong Secondary School, informed that in the morning students start school at 7:15, in the afternoon they start school at 1:15 and finish school at 4:15.

Nguyen Van Luong Secondary School Library (Binh Phu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) opens its doors for students to read books while waiting for their parents to pick them up after school.

PHOTO: BAO CHAU

Organize after-school programs

After school, the school organizes school programs that have been widely publicized to parents. The programs include sports activities (badminton, basketball, table tennis, soccer, chess, etc.), computer science, and native English. Mr. Cuong affirmed: "The school announces that any students who register can participate in the school program after 4:15 p.m.; if they do not participate, they can go to the library to read books, watch movies, and wait for their parents to pick them up. On weekdays, the library is open until 5 p.m.; on weekends, the gymnasium is open for free, students can go to school to participate in sports activities."

At Nguyen Du Secondary School (Ben Thanh Ward), morning classes start at 7:30 a.m. and afternoon classes start at 1:30 p.m. instead of 1:00 p.m. School ends around 4:20 p.m. to 4:35 p.m., similar to the previous school year.

Mr. Cao Duc Khoa, Principal of Nguyen Du Secondary School, said that in previous years, teaching 2 sessions/day was carried out with 8 periods/day, this year according to the new regulation with 7 periods/day, the adjustment is necessary.

"This adjustment helps students and parents have more time to prepare and move more comfortably. At the same time, when implementing 2 sessions/day, the school arranges a lunch break from 11:00 to 13:15 as the time for eating and sleeping. This arrangement not only ensures that students have reasonable rest time but also helps the school adjust the school dismissal time to match the time for parents to pick them up and drop them off, and contributes to traffic flow," said Mr. Khoa.

The principal ensures compliance with regulations on school entry and dismissal times.

The Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City regulates the time for organizing educational activities during the day with school start and end times for each level of education as follows:

Kindergartens close at 4pm

• School opening hours: from 6:30.
• Pick up time: from 7am onwards, no later than 8am.
• Drop off time: from 4pm.

Preschools must have adequate teachers and staff to ensure absolute safety for children during their time studying and living at school.

Primary, secondary and high schools do not close before 4:00 p.m.

• Morning: First class starts at 7am and no later than 8am. Class ends no later than 10:30am.
• Afternoon: The first period starts no earlier than 1:00 PM and no later than 1:30 PM. The end time is no earlier than 4:00 PM and no later than 5:00 PM.

The Department of Education and Training requires schools to develop plans to open their doors to welcome students from 6:30 a.m.; not allowing students who arrive late or leave early to gather in the area in front of the school gate.

The arrangement of time slots must ensure smooth traffic in front of the gate and around the school during rush hours.

The Department of Education and Training reminds schools to proactively arrange school plans, build flexible and appropriate timetables, ensure the correct time frame; ensure the health of children, students and workers at the unit.

The People's Committees of wards, communes and special zones monitor, inspect and urge the implementation at educational establishments under their management; promptly report and strictly handle violating units. The Department Office, the Department of Preschool Education, the Department of General Education and the affiliated departments coordinate to monitor, inspect and report to the Department's leaders.

The Department of Education and Training requires principals to seriously deploy and fully disseminate the contents to all cadres, teachers, employees and parents; proactively review, make timely adjustments, and closely coordinate with relevant departments to ensure proper implementation of regulations and achieve the highest efficiency in terms of school entry and dismissal times.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tu-mai-hang-loat-truong-tai-tphcm-dieu-chinh-gio-tan-hoc-185250914134518806.htm