Up to VND4 trillion (USD186.4 million) is spent on educational programmes in Ho Chi Minh City every year, according to Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Hua Ngoc Thuan.
As a result, 938 educational establishments for first- to twelfth-grade students were built across the city offering 27,901 classrooms, a strong rise from 595 schools accommodating 14,992 classrooms in 1975. After 40 years, the number of classrooms increased 1.86 times in line with the student volume’s rise by 1.51 times. There are currently 48,000 teachers in charge of educating 1.1 million students.
The city has successfully universalised pre-school education among five-year-old children and 100 percent of six-year-old children enter primary school. The rate of children enrolled in junior high schools is 97.8 percent and 91 percent of children in the 14-17 age bracket study at senior high schools.
HCM City also leads the country in applying advance educational models, including an initiative to popularise English for the younger generation since 2011. Now, 91.2 percent of local schools have the language as an integral part of their educational programmes.
As of 2011, it also piloted a no-mark scheme for first grade pupils in a bid to promote the joy of learning from an early age.
Meanwhile, increasing scientific research activities at secondary schools has led to significant numbers of young scientist clubs.