At the session reviewing performance for the first eight months and August and setting key priorities for September, Director of the municipal Department of Education and Training Nguyen Tan Phat outlined the city's readiness for the school opening ceremonies scheduled for September 5.
The opening ceremony will be conducted in a hybrid format, connecting the primary location at Tran Khai Nguyen High School with educational institutions across the city. All facilities will broadcast the national opening program from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
To mark the occasion, the city will dispatch 102 official delegations led by senior municipal leaders to attend ceremonies at key institutions, including specialized, boarding, newly established, and award-winning schools.
Education authorities have conducted comprehensive reviews to ensure technical readiness, including outdoor sound systems, LED screens, and network connectivity. The department is also coordinating with local authorities, public security, and other city agencies to manage traffic flow, secure power backups, provide weather shelters, and ensure medical support.
Addressing infrastructure needs, the city has pursued a target of 300 classrooms per 10,000 school-age residents alongside an intensive "150-Day Campaign to Complete 1,000 Classrooms for the 2026–2027 Academic Year."
As of September 4, all 53 planned projects under Phase 1 have been completed and handed over. A total of 1,027 new classrooms will be officially put into operation for the new school year, exceeding the initial target by 27 classrooms.
Phase 2 includes 20 additional projects comprising 321 newly constructed classrooms and 288 expanded classrooms. Backed by a city budget allocation of over VND2.48 trillion (US$95.2 million), Phase 2 is slated for completion in December 2026.
Mass health screening reaches nearly 4 million residents
In a separate briefing on the city's universal health screening initiative, Director of the municipal Department of Health Tang Chi Thuong reported that nearly 4 million residents—more than 30 percent of Ho Chi Minh City's population—have undergone free health checkups as of Friday morning.
Currently, 80 wards, communes, and special administrative zones have surpassed a 30 percent coverage rate, with 10 localities reaching over 60 percent. However, officials noted significant progress disparities among different localities.
To support the initiative, the Department of Health has established human resource evaluation criteria and deployed a team of data experts to build an initial health profile of the city's population. The data will help identify priority health issues and inform future policy recommendations.
In the next phase, the city will focus its screening efforts on three key demographics: community residents, students, and public sector workers and employees.
