Ho Chi Minh City has recently been established through the merger of the former Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau. Before the merger, student numbers were: over 1.7 million in Ho Chi Minh City, 520,700 in Binh Duong, and 295,000 in Ba Ria - Vung Tau. Now, the newly merged Ho Chi Minh City leads the nation with 2.6 million students.

Regarding educational infrastructure, the number of schools before the merger included 2,334 in Ho Chi Minh City, 738 in Binh Duong, and 469 in Ba Ria - Vung Tau. Post-merger, the total has risen to 3,541 schools, from preschool to high school level.

The number of teachers has also increased significantly. The old Ho Chi Minh City had 83,146 teachers, Binh Duong had 23,219, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau had 5,147. In total, the new Ho Chi Minh City now has 111,512 teachers.

Despite being a dynamic city with a strong focus on educational development, Ho Chi Minh City has faced a persistent annual shortage of teachers. This ongoing issue remains a concern.

In the last academic year, the city planned to recruit 5,762 teachers but only hired 2,556, falling short by 2,215. The shortage is concentrated in certain subjects, schools, and localities. Additionally, the teacher workforce remains imbalanced across different disciplines. Post-merger, many teachers still do not meet the qualification standards stipulated by the 2019 Education Law.

Public school staffing also falls short of national norms, especially with the implementation of the 2018 General Education Program across all primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary grades. The shortage is most acute in subjects like foreign languages, IT, music, arts, technology, and physical education.

In Binh Duong (prior to the merger), despite support policies for school managers and teachers, many benefits still do not ensure a stable livelihood. This has led to teacher resignations and a lack of appeal for education graduates to work in public schools.

These challenges have directly impacted efforts to build a quality teaching workforce.

Nevertheless, the new Ho Chi Minh City benefits from established educational development policies aimed at comprehensive education, training quality, and regional and global standards. The city has consistently prioritized special policies and mechanisms in education, which have driven significant changes in educational reform.

Still, numerous challenges persist: school planning and management remain inadequate; facilities and teaching equipment have not kept pace with student population growth. Class sizes remain higher than regulations allow, and the percentage of students attending full-day school sessions is still below target - especially in certain areas. Modern teaching equipment has not been synchronized between classrooms and schools.

Furthermore, the management and teaching staff remain insufficient in both quantity and structural balance. Some educators lack adequate foreign language and IT skills, making it difficult to meet the demands of education reform and global integration. In particular, foreign language and continuing education centers and some schools in Area II (formerly Binh Duong) still struggle to recruit teachers.

The merger of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau has created a new mega city, offering the education sector new opportunities and also new challenges. These include a vast administrative geography, diverse terrain ranging from urban, rural, island, and special zones, and uneven infrastructure, especially in densely populated and underdeveloped areas. The city must now focus on solutions to ensure teaching quality and appropriate educational conditions in this new context.

What challenges lie ahead for a city with 2.6 million students?

In the 2025-2026 school year, Ho Chi Minh City is seeing an increase of about 40,000 students. In three of the four school levels - preschool, lower secondary, and upper secondary - student numbers are rising. Preschools now have more than 478,000 students, up nearly 5,000. Lower secondary schools have over 759,000 students, an increase of about 43,000. Upper secondary schools have 352,000 students, up nearly 1,500. Primary schools have 939,000 students, a decrease of 9,000. There are also tens of thousands of students enrolled in continuing education centers and special education institutions.

To prepare for the new school year, the city has added 1,434 new classrooms (an increase of 1,072) with a budget of 4.522 trillion VND (approximately 187.7 million USD) from the city’s budget. All education levels have seen an increase in classrooms, particularly in primary and lower secondary. Hundreds more classrooms built through social investment have also been put into use, ensuring 100% school placement for children in the area.

As the city with the largest student population in the country, Ho Chi Minh City currently needs to recruit over 6,000 teachers. As of mid-August, the Department of Education and Training has publicly announced its recruitment plans. High schools alone need 671 new teachers, while preschools, primary schools, and positions under the jurisdiction of local authorities require more than 5,300.

Recruitment details by region:

Area I (former Ho Chi Minh City) needs 460 general education teachers and 3,098 teachers across preschool, primary, and lower secondary levels

Area II (former Binh Duong) requires 157 upper secondary teachers and 1,990 teachers at other levels

Area III (former Ba Ria - Vung Tau) is seeking 54 upper secondary teachers and 467 for other levels

The theme set by the city’s education sector for the 2025-2026 academic year is: “Uphold discipline, foster creativity, boldly innovate, toward sustainable development of Ho Chi Minh City education.”

The key priorities include:

First, strengthening legal frameworks and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of state education management, renewing school governance, and expanding autonomy for public schools.

Second, ensuring equitable access to quality education for all, with special focus on disadvantaged groups such as ethnic minorities, island communities, orphans, disabled individuals, and those from poor or near-poor households.

Third, continuing to innovate and improve the quality of preschool, general, and continuing education; upgrading, standardizing, and expanding the teaching and school leadership workforce.

Fourth, revamping civic and ideological education, defense and security education for both teachers and students, while continuing to build a model of happy schools.

Additionally, the sector will focus on physical education, school healthcare, school safety, modernizing vocational education, expanding international integration, and accelerating digital transformation. The city will also continue to invest in facilities and efficiently use resources to implement the 2018 General Education Program and preschool curriculum. The target by 2030 is to reach 300 classrooms per 10,000 residents aged 3-18 and ensure 100% school attendance among children.

Le Huyen