Ho Chi Minh City Proposes Restructuring Nearly 1,900 Public Schools to Enhance Education Quality

Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Education and Training has submitted a proposal to the city government for restructuring the public school network, aiming to enhance educational quality and streamline administrative management. This initiative aligns with the nationwide trend of consolidating public schools, particularly addressing issues of bloated administrative departments leading to budgetary waste and the paradox of having too many administrators but insufficient teachers. As Vietnam's largest educational hub, Ho Chi Minh City currently operates 2,188 public schools. However, many are criticized for being small-scale and fragmented, not fitting the development and population size of new administrative units. This fragmentation reportedly hinders the standardization of facilities and teaching equipment according to national standards. The government has mandated a reduction of at least 30% in the number of public schools. Based on this directive, the Department of Education and Training plans to reorganize 1,891 schools. The restructuring process will be conducted with a spirit of "prudence, phased implementation, piloting first, then scaling up." Certain schools will be exempt from the restructuring. Specifically, kindergartens will not be merged with primary or secondary schools, nor will primary/secondary schools be merged with vocational education centers. Specialized schools will not be combined with mainstream schools, and schools with 50 or more classes (163 schools) are also excluded. The primary approach to restructuring will prioritize merging schools of the same level or those located in close proximity. Kindergartens with fewer than 10 groups/classes will be consolidated, and smaller schools will merge with larger ones to foster mutual development. Efforts will be made to minimize changes in school locations for students and teachers. Each commune and ward is prioritized to have at least one kindergarten, primary school, and lower secondary school. In areas with sparse populations or difficult access, multi-level schools are encouraged. Following consolidation, kindergartens are expected to have no more than 3 campuses and a maximum of 30 groups/classes. Similarly, primary and secondary schools will have a larger scale, not exceeding 100 classes. High-quality schools, those with international integration, and kindergartens piloting new programs are not included in this restructuring plan. This plan by Ho Chi Minh City is consistent with the national policy on school consolidation promoted by the Ministry of Education and Training. The Ministry emphasizes streamlining administrative units and increasing the number of teachers directly involved in instruction. It is also piloting models such as a main school with multiple branches and consolidating management units to form larger educational institutions. On July 10, the government instructed localities to streamline and reduce public schools by approximately 30%, with the restructuring to be completed before August 30.