Grade nine students are preparing for the upcoming entrance exam for admission to 10th grade in public schools. — Photo thanhnien.vn

HCM CITY — The 10th-grade entrance exam for public schools will be held on June 11 and 12, the HCM City Department of Education and Training has informed the People’s Committee.  

Candidates will take tests in Vietnamese, mathematics and a foreign language, with those seeking admission to high schools for gifted students taking a test in one more subject of their choice. 

Those failing to achieve qualifying scores have other options such as private schools, international high schools, centres for continuing education, and the kind.

But students and parents prefer public high schools due to their affordable tuition fees. 

According to the department, students lost out due to learning from home during the pandemic as compared to learning in classrooms, and so the tests will be based completely on the secondary curriculum.

Phạm Ngọc Thu Hân, whose daughter is a grade nine student in a school in Bình Thạnh District, said: “When I heard that the [department] will hold an entrance exam for 10th grade, I was both happy and worried.

“I'm glad since the entrance exam will provide accurate results, but what if my child is infected on the day of the test?” 

However, thanks to its past experience during the pandemic, the department has envisaged various scenarios and said students who cannot sit the exam due to COVID could have their school scores used for admission as an alternative. — VNS