As the deadline approaches, many schools are reassessing parental demand, adjusting schedules and considering alternative activities for students who do not enroll in fee-based programs.
Schools reassess parents' demand
After one week under a revised timetable that moved afternoon dismissal to 3 p.m., an hour earlier than previously, many parents at Chanh Hung Secondary School in Chanh Hung Ward said they were struggling to arrange their work schedules to pick up their children.
In response, homeroom teachers collected information on students who needed to remain at school after 3 p.m., allowing the school to consider appropriate arrangements. However, as of November 9, the school had yet to announce a specific plan.
One parent said that after the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular 85, the school asked students to register again for optional third-party educational programs and introduced a new timetable effective November 2.
Unlike the previous schedule, the revised timetable no longer included supplementary English lessons. Parents were particularly concerned about the earlier dismissal time, saying students would have to wait around in the schoolyard until their parents arrived.
Last weekend, Dong Thanh Secondary School in Dong Thanh Commune distributed surveys asking parents to indicate their preferences for third-party educational programs.
Beginning November 15, the school plans to offer four programs: English lessons with foreign teachers, costing VND220,000 (US$8.4) per month; internationally certified computer studies, at VND160,000; life skills development, at VND80,000; and advanced STEM education, at VND100,000.
The survey period runs through November 10. The school will compile parents' registrations and use the results to draw up a new timetable, with third-party educational programs scheduled outside regular curriculum hours and free supplementary educational activities.
Meanwhile, Phan Huy Ich Primary School in Tan Son Ward has taken a different approach, presenting parents with three options for arranging students' educational activities.
Under the first option, students would not enroll in fee-based third-party educational programs or participate in the school's lunch program.
The second option would allow students to skip fee-based third-party educational programs while still having lunch at school.
Under the third option, students would continue participating in programs that the school has offered since the beginning of the 2026-2027 academic year, including activities that parents had voluntarily registered for and agreed to pay for.
Parents selecting the third option but wishing to withdraw their children from one or more activities were asked to specify which programs they no longer wanted them to attend.
Dong Da Secondary School in Thanh My Tay Ward has also sought parental feedback on four third-party educational programs: life skills education, elective sports, English lessons with foreign teachers, and supplementary English instruction.
However, the school has yet to decide how to accommodate students who do not register for these programs. One unresolved question is whether they should be dismissed early or remain at school under teachers' supervision and participate in safe, supervised activities while waiting for their parents.
A review as of November 9 found that some schools had made no arrangements for supervising students after dismissal, leaving parents responsible for organizing pickup if their children did not enroll in third-party educational programs. Others continued to provide free after-school activities through extracurricular clubs.
Principals given flexibility in arranging classes
To facilitate implementation of Circular 85, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has issued specific guidance on possible teaching arrangements.
Schools operating under advanced and internationally integrated education models, as well as those participating in Project 5695 — which integrates British and Vietnamese curricula in mathematics, science, and English — are exempt from choosing between the two arrangements, provided they have secured unanimous parental consent since students entered the programs.
Other schools can select one of two approaches.
Under the first, third-party educational programs are scheduled in separate time slots rather than interspersed with regular curriculum subjects. Students who do not register for these programs may arrive later or leave earlier than their classmates who participate.
Under the second approach, third-party educational programs are incorporated flexibly into the overall timetable alongside regular subjects.
During periods allocated to third-party educational programs, students who have registered are assigned to specialized classrooms or computer labs according to their selected programs. Those who have not enrolled can engage in independent study, read at the library, or take part in experiential activities organized by the school.
Mr. Thai Van Tai, Director General of the Primary Education Department under the Ministry of Education and Training, said heads of educational institutions were responsible for developing education plans suited to their schools' actual conditions and would be accountable for those plans.
In the immediate term, schools should make the fullest possible use of their existing teaching staff to organize free activities for students, said Ms. Pham Thuy Ha, Principal of Dang Tran Con Primary School in Vinh Hoi Ward.
However, she said longer-term guidance from education authorities was needed to establish mechanisms for compensating teachers for additional work.
Such arrangements would help provide teachers with greater financial certainty while ensuring that funding for other school activities was not adversely affected.
