The students’ race for seats at state-owned high schools this year has been described as cutthroat, because of the new policy on class size.

State-owned schools are usually the first choice of secondary school graduates. A student pays VND20,000-40,000 a month in tuition at a state school, but millions of dong at a people-founded school.

The Hanoi Education and Training Department has decided that the maximum number of students per standard class will be 40, which is considered a necessary condition to ensure training quality.

The information was released by the department last week, when its officials visited schools to examine material and teaching conditions in order to determine the enrolment plan for the 2015-2016 academic year.
 

The decision has worried parents and students.

Thu Tra, a parent in Cau Giay district in Hanoi, said she is concerned whether can her daughter will be admitted to Tran Phu High School this summer.

“The competition will be very stiff, because Tran Phu is one of the top five high schools in Hanoi,” Tra said, adding that she may consider applying for a less prestigious school in Hanoi.

She now has to pay high tuition for her eldest son, a 12th grader of a privately run school. The boy failed the exam to a state-owned school two years ago and had no other choice than go to a private school.

A parent whose son goes to Giang Vo Secondary School in Hanoi complained that the competition at state-owned schools this year is stiff.

“I am afraid that my son may fail the entrance exam to a state-owned school. The failure will be the first shock in his life,” she said.

Parents and students will make decisions on what schools to apply for in five or six months. However, they have to begin preparing for competition to state-owned schools now.

Bui Thi Huong, a parent in Go Vap District in HCM City, pointed out that students need to prepare for the entrance exam to high school when they enter secondary school.