Students at Nguyễn Văn Thanh Primary School in HCM City’s District 12. The total number of students from kindergarten to high school in the 2020-21 academic year in the city is expected to be more than 1.74 million. — VNS Photo Gia Lộc

HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Education and Training plans to hire 514 additional teachers and educational staff for schools and continuing education centres in the 2020-21 academic year.  

The recruitment period will continue until July 30. Because of COVID-19, recruitment started a month later than previous years.

The city is permitting recruitment of teachers without permanent residency books. Under the Education Law, teachers for kindergartens will be required to have a degree provided by a college of education. Teachers for primary and secondary schools must have a degree from a university of education.

The Ministry of Education and Training said that more than 40 per cent of primary school teachers need further training, as required under the Education Law. More than 25 per cent of secondary school teachers will also need further training.

According to the District 2 People’s Committee, the district will need 76 teachers and 11 educational staff for kindergartens, and primary and secondary schools, up by 11 teachers and eight staff compared to the 2019-2020 year.

District 3 will recruit 77 additional teachers for the 2020-2021 academic year.

District 9 will need 348 teachers and 56 staff. Kindergartens in District 9 will need the highest number of teachers, with 45.   

The District 4 People’s Committee said it has received more applications from students than its recruitment quotas. Most of the applications are for secondary schools.

According to Bình Tân District’s educational Sub-department, the district will recruit more music, English, and computer teachers.   

The city estimates that the total number of students from kindergarten to high school in the 2020-2021 academic year will be more than 1.74 million, an increase of nearly 54,000 compared to the 2019-2020 year.

Of these, the number of secondary school students will increase the most, with nearly 28,000, followed by high school students, up by more than 14,000.  

The increased number of students is mostly in the districts of 9, 12, Gò Vấp, Thủ Đức, Bình Tân, Bình Chánh, Hóc Môn and Củ Chi which are in the process of urbanisation, which has led to increased population.

As a result, these districts could have 40-50 students in one classroom, affecting the quality of teaching and learning, the department said.

In the 2020-2021 academic year, the city will put more than 1,100 new classrooms into use. Many of them are in Hóc Môn and Bình Chánh districts where a large number of migrants come to work and live.

Enrollment

The People’s Committees in districts will be in charge of enrolling first and sixth graders. The Department of Education and Training will be in charge of enrolling 10th graders for public high schools and sixth graders for Trần Đại Nghĩa School for Gifted Students.

The candidates for Trần Đại Nghĩa School for Gifted Students will take English tests on July 25.   

As of June 30, the city had more than 82,000 candidates applying for the 10th grade. — VNS