Post-merger primary school enrollment: Place of residence becomes the focus.

GD&TĐ - The 2026-2027 school year's entrance exam will be the first after Ho Chi Minh City merged with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, with the entire process conducted online and data interconnected across sectors.

The method of assigning students to schools based on their place of residence, combined with GIS mapping, continues to be applied, ensuring transparency, convenience, and allowing students to attend schools near their homes.

Students get to study near home.

Following the merger, Ho Chi Minh City became the largest education system in the country with nearly 2.6 million students and more than 3,500 educational institutions, spread across various geographical areas from urban and rural areas to island communes. Given this new scale and unique characteristics, the education sector has identified digital transformation as a key solution to ensure smooth, transparent, and equitable enrollment. To ensure smooth, open, transparent, and fair enrollment for the 2026-2027 school year and to protect students' rights, the education sector has determined that digital transformation will continue to be implemented in all stages of the enrollment process.

Ho Chi Minh City conducts its primary school enrollment process entirely online through the city's primary school enrollment website at https://tuyensinhdaucap.hcm.edu.vn, from registration and result lookup to enrollment confirmation. Enrollment is based primarily on the student's current residence as determined by their parents' VNeID, combined with GIS digital mapping to ensure students attend schools near their homes, rather than being allocated based on administrative ward boundaries.

According to the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, in order to develop the enrollment plan for the 2026-2027 school year, the department has required all schools to review and update complete information on facilities, area, land, types of rooms, etc. In particular, for rooms used by multiple grade levels, the information must be reported to only one grade level, avoiding duplication to other grade levels; priority should be given to reporting to the highest grade level or the grade level that uses the most rooms. The Department of Education and Training also requested that the total area of ​​all types of rooms be entered, broken down by grade level.

After the review, schools must submit accurate reports and enter complete information into the database system of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training. The principal is responsible for verifying the accuracy of the reports and statistical data. Information on facilities and area updated in the database system is one of the bases for considering and deciding on the school's enrollment quota for the 2026-2027 school year.

It is understood that the implementation of online enrollment for primary and secondary schools, combining GIS maps and information on students' "current residence," which Ho Chi Minh City has been deploying since the 2023-2024 school year, is the foundation for the city to further promote digital transformation in primary and secondary school enrollment after the merger, starting from the 2026-2027 school year.

Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of the Office of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, said that for many years, the city's enrollment process for the first grade has always been meticulously prepared, with particular attention paid to specific groups such as students in border areas, children of workers, or families with difficult circumstances. During the zoning process, the factor of schools being close to home is always prioritized to create favorable conditions for students and parents in terms of transportation.

"The application of GIS maps has given localities more flexibility in student allocation, replacing the rigid admission method based on household registration. As a result, students can attend schools near their residences, parents can conveniently drop off and pick up their children, and the admission process ensures transparency, creating high levels of consensus and satisfaction from society," Mr. Minh said.

Students in Ho Chi Minh City participate in the 2025 10th grade entrance exam. Photo: Minh Anh

Openness and transparency

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the enrollment plan for the 2026-2027 school year will officially begin on January 1, 2026, in four phases. Phase 1, from January 1 to February 28, 2026, involves reviewing and evaluating student data across the city; assessing the capacity of educational institutions to receive applications, and subsequently developing detailed enrollment targets. Phase 2, from February 1 to March 31, 2026, involves drafting the enrollment plan for all levels; gathering feedback from relevant parties and issuing the official plan. Phase 3, from March 31 to May 31, 2026, involves implementation, organization, dissemination of the plan, receiving application forms, and preparing facilities. Phase 4, from June 1st to August 31st, 2026, involves organizing and supervising the exams. Ho Chi Minh City will organize the exams and admissions; supervise and evaluate the results; summarize and draw lessons learned.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phong, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, in the enrollment process for entry-level classes from the 2026-2027 school year onwards, the People's Committees of wards, communes, special zones, and schools will strictly implement the plan approved by the City People's Committee. They will also coordinate with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training to standardize the online enrollment process citywide. Furthermore, they will ensure accurate and scientific student allocation, minimizing errors and enhancing professionalism, transparency, and openness.

Specifically, the People's Committees of wards, communes, and special zones are responsible for verifying residency; disseminating information and guiding parents in online enrollment registration; ensuring that all school-aged children have a personal identification code, are fully declared in the sector's database system, and that the data is accurately updated. The People's Committees of wards, communes, and special zones closely coordinate with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training in reviewing and compiling complete and accurate statistics on the number of children and students of school age for enrollment in the first grades within their area and in neighboring areas...

The entire admissions process must ensure fairness, objectivity, openness, and transparency, preventing any negative practices or unauthorized interference. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training requires all units to maintain absolute confidentiality of students' and parents' personal information; violations will be held accountable according to regulations. Specifically, the locality will not request parents to provide additional documents or paperwork if the information has already been verified on the VNeID system, except in cases where verification is necessary or as required by law.

According to Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the entrance exam for 10th grade will combine both selection and examination methods to better suit the current situation. Specifically, the selection method for 10th grade in public high schools will be implemented in some specific areas. Public high schools in the remaining areas will admit 10th grade students through an examination in three subjects: Literature, Mathematics, and Foreign Language. This aims to maintain stability and create convenience for parents, students, and schools after the merger of the three localities.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/tuyen-sinh-dau-cap-sau-hop-nhat-noi-cu-tru-lam-trong-tam-post760076.html