Nghe An: The number of students has increased sharply, intensifying the race to enter 10th grade.

Double the pressure.

Since before the Lunar New Year, Nghi Phu Secondary School in Vinh Phu ward has begun preparing 9th-grade students for the three subjects of Literature, Mathematics, and English, with three sessions per week. According to Circular 29, although teachers are not allowed to teach more than two periods per subject, in reality, these sessions often last longer than the stipulated time. While the review process has been accelerated compared to many other schools, many students remain anxious as the 10th-grade entrance exam is fast approaching.

Student Do The Bao, from class 9A3 at Nghi Phu Secondary School, has just finished the first semester with an average score of over 9 in all three subjects for the 10th grade entrance exam. Despite this, with the goal of passing the entrance exam to Huynh Thuc Khang High School, Bao says he still faces many challenges: Currently, besides Math and Literature, which he is quite confident in, he is most worried about English. Therefore, in addition to extra classes at school, he is attending extra classes outside of school six times a week and may increase that from the second semester onwards.

Class 9A3 is considered a selective class at Nghi Phu Secondary School, with 100% of its students registering to take the entrance exam.10th gradeHowever, only about 50% of these students plan to take the entrance exam for specialized schools or Huynh Thuc Khang High School. The rest will take the exam for schools with lower admission scores such as Ha Huy Tap High School, Le Viet Thuat High School, and public schools in the former Nghi Loc district.

Teacher Tran Thi Thanh Tam, the class homeroom teacher, shared: "After the first semester's assessment, the class's average score was nearly 8 points. However, there are still some students with scores below average. Therefore, from now until the end of the semester, we will continue to review for the exam using specialized topics. I will conduct a monthly test so that students and parents can understand their children's abilities and encourage them to improve. Before the exam, we held a parent meeting, and everyone expressed their concerns because this year the number of candidates is very large, while the enrollment quota for public schools is limited. I hope the Department of Education and Training will pay attention and increase the enrollment quota for schools."

While Nghi Phu Secondary School had only 203 ninth-grade students last school year, this year the number has increased to 354. Given its location on the outskirts of the city and the relatively low quality of incoming students, the pressure of admitting students to the tenth grade is weighing heavily on both teachers and students.

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We accelerated the review program from the end of the first semester and will continue it until close to the 10th grade exam. The current challenge for the school is that many students have only average academic performance and lack motivation to review. Therefore, the school requires teachers to closely monitor each student, providing review sessions, encouragement, and regular assessments to help them master the knowledge.

Ms. Tang Hien - Principal of Nghi Phu Secondary School

At Hai Hoa Secondary School in Cua Lo Ward, this year the 9th grade has 6 classes with over 250 students, an increase of 1 class compared to the previous school year. To prepare for the 10th grade entrance exam, the school proactively developed a review plan from the middle of the first semester, focusing on consolidating key knowledge, increasing practice with sample questions, and guiding students on exam-taking skills. This helps students systematize their knowledge, improve their application skills, and be ready for the upcoming important exam.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Chau Loan, homeroom teacher of class 9A, said: "The most important factor in helping students prepare for exams is their knowledge. To achieve this, we need the enthusiasm and dedication of teachers and the diligence and eagerness to learn of the students. In our class, with the goal of 100% of students passing the entrance exam to Cua Lo High School, we are striving to achieve at least 7 points in each subject. Therefore, from now until the end of the school year, teachers will review and practice exam questions with students. In addition to basic knowledge, students will also practice application and advanced application exercises to achieve good and excellent scores, increasing their chances of getting into public and specialized schools."

It's difficult to compete for a place in the public school system.

In early March, the news that the Nghe An University Teacher Training High School would be enrolling three additional 10th-grade public classes attracted considerable attention from parents and students, especially in the former Vinh City area. Considering that approximately 8,000 students will be taking the 10th-grade entrance exam this academic year – double the number from the previous year – this is all the more significant. However, adding three public classes is still far from the actual demand.

Because, as in previous years, even though there are 3 public schools and 2 specialized schools, the schools in the former Vinh city area only have just over 3,000 enrollment slots each year. The rest mostly have to attend private schools or advanced programs. This year, with the sudden increase in the number of 9th-grade students, the acceptance rate into public schools may not even reach 50%.

According to statistics from the Department of Education and Training, the 2026-2027 Grade 10 entrance exam across the province is considered the exam with the largest number of candidates ever, with over 57,000 students. In contrast, in previous years, approximately 46,000 Grade 9 students registered to take the exam or apply for admission to Grade 10.

Given the high number of graduating students, the Director of the Department of Education and Training, Nguyen Van Khoa, also stated that this is one of the four challenges facing the education sector in 2026, and the sector is currently seeking solutions to gradually overcome it.

The most feasible solution is to increase the enrollment quota in public schools. In previous years, when approving the school year plan, the department typically approved a class size of 45 students. However, this year, they may approve 50 students per class to increase the chances of admission for students. In addition, the department will also consider increasing the number of 10th-grade classes if schools meet the requirements in terms of teachers and facilities, thereby expanding opportunities for students to attend public schools.

Specifically for schools near the former Vinh City area, such as Nguyen Duy Trinh High School, Thai Lao High School, and Nghi Loc High School, the department will also increase enrollment quotas compared to previous years, to avoid putting pressure on schools in the central area.

In addition to these options, the Provincial People's Committee also held a meeting last weekend to review the process of transferring and establishing Hermann Gmeiner Vinh High School from a private school to a public school. Although there are still difficulties in the implementation process, if the plan is approved soon, it will provide students in the former Vinh City area with more educational opportunities.

To ensure fairness for candidates, this year the Department of Education and Training plans to make some changes regarding the process of changing preferences for students or increase the number of public schools that accept second and third-choice applications.

Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, Director of the Department of Education and Training, stated: Due to the rapid increase in the number of students this year, to ensure fairness, the department will not implement school transfers or class changes at the beginning of the school year. This will prevent students from central city areas from registering for admission to mountainous areas (due to differences in scores) and then transferring schools.

Implementing this solution also requires parents to carefully consider and choose suitable schools and classes when registering for 10th grade to ensure their children's rights are protected.

Although there is no official document yet, this information has received attention from parents and students, and the agreement of many schools. Previously, the leaders of some public high schools far from the city center also shared the difficulties they face when many students who have been admitted transfer to other schools after a short time. This creates problems for schools when they cannot recruit enough students. Conversely, students in the local area lose the opportunity to be admitted because they find it difficult to compete for scores with students from other regions.

Teachers also hope that, instead of allowing students to change their preferences as in previous years, public schools should return to accepting students who applied for their second and third choices. This would give students more opportunities to be admitted, and schools would still ensure the quality of their student intake and meet their enrollment plans.