A teacher and her student at a kindergarten in HCM City
The move came after many parents in the city recently complained that their children had to go to school too early in the morning, which badly affected their children's health.
In their document sent to schools at all levels, the department requested that kindergartens and primary schools start morning hours no earlier than 7.30 am; secondary schools no earlier than 7.15 am, and high schools no sooner than 7 am.
Deputy director of the municipal Department of Education and Training, Duong Tri Dung, stressed that the school managers should arrange suitable syllabuses and timetables based on the demands of the curriculum and wider issues such as rush hour traffic.
HCM City has a total of 1.70 million students. Some schools have already delayed morning start hours following parental complaints.