Selection process for 9th-grade gifted student competition in Ho Chi Minh City: Different methods in different places, parents express frustration.

Many parents in Ho Chi Minh City are upset about the selection process for candidates to participate in the 9th grade city-level gifted student competition for the 2025-2026 school year.

Ninth-grade students at Nguyen Du Secondary School, Ben Thanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, during a math lesson with teacher Dang Huu Tri. Ben Thanh Ward only has two secondary schools, so the ward allows the two schools to independently select students to participate in the city-level gifted student competition - Photo: NHU HUNG

Distribute equally and divide the proceeds?

"In Tan Hoa Ward, where we live, there are six or more secondary schools. According to the regulations of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the entire ward is allowed to send a maximum of 8 students per subject for the exam (for subjects such as Vietnamese language and literature, mathematics, computer science, English, French, Chinese, Japanese, and technology); a maximum of 12 students for natural science and 8 students for history and geography."

The People's Committee of Tan Hoa Ward requires schools to select students to participate in the 9th grade city-level excellent student competition in the 2025-2026 school year by using a uniform and equal distribution method. "My child's school, Nguyen Gia Thieu Secondary School, only has 1-2 students per subject selected to participate in the competition," said Ms. MH, a parent from Nguyen Gia Thieu Secondary School.

According to Ms. H., previously, when the Department of Education and Training was still in operation, this unit organized the district-level excellent student competition. From the district-level competition, students were selected to compete at the city level - a very clear, transparent, and fair process.

Nguyen Gia Thieu Secondary School used to be the top school in Tan Binh district (formerly) in terms of the number of students participating in and winning prizes in the city-level excellent student competition. Yet now, only 1-2 students per subject are selected to compete at the city level, which is very unfair to those who don't get to participate. "My child has been very upset for the past few weeks after hearing this news," she said.

Similarly, Ms. PT, a parent from Nguyen Gia Thieu Secondary School, also believes that the city-level 9th-grade gifted student competition is meant to foster passion in students with exceptional abilities in a particular subject. Furthermore, students do not receive any special privileges in the 10th-grade entrance exam because they do not receive any bonus points.

Therefore, those students who are willing to attend supplementary classes and advanced courses are those who are truly passionate and genuinely want to study in specialized classes at the high school level. However, this method of selection, which involves indiscriminate and equal distribution, is unfair and stifles students' passion.

"Why doesn't the Ward People's Committee organize a selection exam for students to participate in the city-level excellent student competition, as the education department used to do?" she asked.

Ward-level excellent student competition

On November 29th, the People's Committee of Xom Chieu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, organized a ward-level competition for 9th-grade students from three secondary schools in the area. The exam questions for all subjects were compiled by teachers from the three secondary schools: Van Don, Tang Bat Ho, and Khanh Hoi, following the principle that each school contributed one-third of the exam questions.

To date, the People's Committee of Xom Chieu Ward has announced the results of the exam as well as the number of students selected to attend the training course, preparing for the city-level exam.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre Online , a leader of Van Don Secondary School (the school with the highest number of students participating in and winning awards in the city-level excellent student competition in the former District 4) informed: "Because they went through an exam, the selection results were accepted wholeheartedly by the students."

This year, due to the new regulations, fewer students from Van Don School participated in the city-level competition compared to previous years. The school has informed students who were not selected for the city-level competition team that they will still continue to attend the enrichment classes to prepare for the entrance exam to the specialized high school.

Meanwhile, in Ben Thanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, which has two secondary schools, they neither organize a ward-level competition for outstanding students nor select students indiscriminately. Instead, the People's Committee of the ward allows Nguyen Du and Dong Khoi secondary schools to negotiate among themselves to select students to participate in the city-level competition.

"The entire ward only has two junior high schools. Organizing a ward-level exam would be too expensive, and reaching an agreement among ourselves would be difficult to satisfy both sides," commented a 9th-grade teacher in Ben Thanh ward.

Regarding this issue, Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, requested that the People's Committees of wards, communes, and special zones organize the selection exam for outstanding 9th-grade students at the ward/commune level to ensure the rights and fairness of the students.

"Communes and wards can organize into professional clusters, inviting teachers or experts to create exam questions." The 2025-2026 school year will be the first year that the city-level 9th-grade gifted student competition is organized according to a two-tiered local government model, selecting students from the ward/commune level first, and then selecting those to participate in the city-level competition.

"The Ho Chi Minh City People's Council Resolution clearly stipulates the expenditure level for organizing competitions at the ward/commune level. In addition, the work of promoting education, nurturing talent, and rewarding outstanding students annually at the ward/commune level will not be completed if it is not organized systematically from the ward/commune level," Mr. Quoc affirmed.

HOANG HUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-chon-ung-vien-di-thi-hoc-sinh-gioi-lop-9-o-tp-hcm-moi-noi-moi-kieu-phu-huynh-buc-xuc-20251210182635889.htm