This year, the city has about 700,000 primary school students, 400,000 secondary school students and 245,000 high school students, according to its education department.
The total number of students across the three levels of education is 21,800 more than the previous year, including 15,300 in public schools and 6,500 in private schools.
The increase in students is mostly seen at the primary level, especially in Thu Duc City, District 12 and the districts of Binh Tan, Binh Chanh and Hoc Mon, where rapid urbanisation has resulted in strong population growth.
The city is planning to add another 575 classrooms before September to meet the rise in student numbers.
Ho Chi Minh City’s education sector will also need to recruit over 5,200 teachers for the new academic year, including primarily English and computer science teachers in outlying districts.
On the same day, many primary schools in the capital of Hanoi also welcomed first graders to school two weeks ahead of the formal opening ceremonies to get them acquainted with the school environment, teachers and classmates.
