Deputy Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha on April 25 chaired a meeting of the city's steering committee to discuss preparations for the 2025 high school graduation exam and the 2025-2026 school year entrance exams.

Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, Tran The Cuong, reported that two major exams are upcoming: the high school graduation exam for 2025 and the entrance exam for 10th grade for the 2025-2026 academic year.

The 2025 high school graduation exam will take place on June 26-27. As of April 24, Hanoi had 117,549 candidates registered, including 113,553 current 12th-grade students (accounting for 94.08% of the total) and 3,996 independent candidates.

Hanoi plans to arrange more than 250 exam locations with over 5,500 exam rooms, an increase of nearly 50 locations and 500 rooms compared to 2024.

The entrance exam for 10th grade will be held on June 7-8, with around 110,000 students expected to participate. The city will set up 210 exam sites with more than 4,500 exam rooms.

Hanoi has already assigned enrollment quotas to high schools. The percentage of students admitted to public high schools will reach 64% for the 2025-2026 school year, a 3% increase compared to last year.

A key change in the 10th-grade entrance exam is that exam results and admission cut-off scores will be announced simultaneously. Results are expected to be released by July 6, 2025.

Starting from July 1, Hanoi will also begin admissions for kindergartens, and for grades 1 and 6 for the 2025-2026 school year. Admissions will be based on local enrollment areas assigned by district-level People's Committees.

The city will continue using the online registration system. The admission schedule for grade 1 is July 1-3, for five-year-old kindergarten is July 4-6, for grade 6 is July 7-9, and for in-person admissions will take place from July 13-18.

At the meeting, members of the steering committee contributed feedback to finalize the exam and enrollment plans. Various departments also reported on their preparations, affirming their commitment to ensuring the best conditions for students and their families.

Some officials raised concerns that, starting July 1, a new administrative structure will officially operate across Hanoi following recent reorganizations. Since the enrollment plan was approved beforehand, the new structure might cause minor complications.

They proposed advancing the enrollment schedule to June instead of July.

Deputy Chairwoman Vu Thu Ha said that Hanoi's top priority is to maintain the exam and enrollment schedules with high quality and minimal disruption to students.

Despite the administrative changes, the city will keep the previously approved timelines for kindergarten, grade 1, and grade 6 admissions for the 2025-2026 school year.

The Department of Education and Training, in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Sports, will have to step up communication efforts to ensure parents clearly understand the process.

"Under any circumstances, Hanoi will protect the rights and best interests of students and limit disruption to families," Ha said.

The deputy chairwoman also asked districts and towns to carefully review and prepare exam venues and to implement all assigned tasks.

From now until July 1, steering committee members must closely monitor their areas, quickly address any arising issues, and forecast potential challenges to ensure timely responses, she said.

Ha also instructed the Hanoi Police Department to develop a comprehensive security plan for all exam and enrollment activities across the city, including mobilization and training of forces.

The Department of Education and Training will announce the locations for the 10th-grade entrance exam and the high school graduation exam on May 21 and June 4. This will allow relevant departments, districts, and towns to finalize detailed organization plans, she added.