Finding a semi-boarding school for their children is a top concern for many parents in HCM City. — Photo nld.com.vn

HCM CITY — Many parents want to enroll their children in semi-boarding schools, which keep students for a full day.

Mai Nguyên, whose child is in the first grade at Lê Văn Thọ Primary School in HCM City’s District 12, said that she was looking for a full-day school as she had been suffering from hiring someone to pick up and take care of her child every afternoon.

Many parents in HCM City, especially from large migrant areas, are in a similar situation in which their children can only be at school for half a day.

Lê Anh Tuấn said that this was the second year that his family and other parents had had to rent a car together to pick up their children, who then would go to their teacher’s house afterwards.

“The teacher is responsible for taking care of all of the students until late when their parents are then able to pick them up after work. I want to find a semi-boarding school which would allow my child to stay at school for the whole day in Bình Thạnh District,” Tuấn said.

He said that his child was under stress from having to travel between different places during the day.

In the 2020-2021 academic year, many primary schools have given priority to two study shifts or a semi-boarding session for all first-grade students, while reducing the rate of two study shifts or semi-boarding sessions for second graders and upper grades.

According to the HCM City Department of Education and Training, 18 out of 24 districts are relatively stable in terms of arranging two study shifts per day for first graders.

Some districts such as Gò Vấp, Bình Tân, Tân Phú and District 12, however, are not able to do so, due to the large number of children entering the first grade.

At Lê Văn Thọ Primary School in District 12 which has over 4,500 students with about 90 classes, all students have switched to one study shift per day to avoid overcrowding.

In mid-May, many districts in HCM City and Thủ Đức City will announce early entry enrollment for students in the area. Parents should take note of each area’s enrollment regulations to prepare necessary documents for their children.

Even though parents have the tendency to apply for resident registration in District 1, the number of students who are able to attend the first grade in this area is calculated based on the number of fifth graders graduating from the schools.

“Students' resident registration has been carefully reviewed in recent years. Children who are not from the area are not usually accepted to schools in District 1,” a representative of District 1 said.

According to the city People’s Committee’s early enrollment regulations, parents need to pay attention to important timelines and submit documents on time for their children. — VNS