Students at Lê Hồng Phong School for the Gifted in HCM City. VNA/VNS.Photo Phương Vy

HCM CITY— HCM City will organise an opening ceremony for the new school year in early September, according to the city People’s Committee.

Kindergartens will hold the ceremony on September 5 and school will begin on the same day. Primary to high schools and continuing education centres will organise the ceremony on September 1, with students beginning classes on September 5. The school year will end in May.

There will be 1.74 million students this school year, an estimated increase of nearly 54,000 students, according to the city Department of Education and Training.  

Secondary schools saw the highest increase, with an additional 28,000, mostly in districts 9, 12, Gò Vấp, Thủ Đức, Bình Tân, Bình Chánh, Hóc Môn and Củ Chi. These districts are in the process of urbanisation, and more people have been moving there from other provinces and cities.

The number of children in kindergartens will increase by more than 3,000; at primary schools, 9,000; and at high schools, 14,000.

Many districts are facing pressure to ensure a sufficient number of classrooms.

In Gò Vấp District, for instance, Phan Tây Hồ and Phạm Văn Chiêu secondary schools will have the highest number of secondary students, while An Hội Primary School will have the highest among primary schools.

Although the district will have a high number of students in the 2020-2021 academic year, it will not have new classrooms.

Tân Phú District, however, will have 1,166 more secondary school students and will have enough classrooms.

In the 2020-2021 year, 1,142 new classrooms in HCM City are expected to be put into use on September 5, increasing the total to 47,438.

Another 229 new classrooms will be put into use from September 5 to the year end.

The new classrooms will help ensure that all children have access to school. The city goal is to have 300 classrooms per 10,000 school-age people aged 3 to 18. The ratio in 2019 was 288 classrooms per 10,000.

The increase in the number of students this year, however, will lead to 40-50 students in each classroom and force district educational divisions to recruit more teachers and other staff.

They need to recruit 6,859 staff for public schools, including 3,462 for primary schools, 2,062 for secondary schools, and more than 500 for high schools.  

The recruitment will be carried out this month before the new school year starts in September. However, Tân Bình and Nhà Bè districts have finished recruitment.

The 2020-2021 school year is the first year in which principals of high schools will take part in the department’s recruitment council. The department does not require candidates to have official residential status in the city.  

The department has asked the city People’s Committee not to increase school fees for the 2020-2021 academic year. VNS