The HCMC Party Committee’s Commission for Propaganda and Mass Mobilization yesterday coordinated with the HCMC Department of Culture and Sports to host a press conference providing crucial information on socio-economic issues across the city.
During the press conference, Deputy Director Nguyen Van Phong of the HCMC Department of Education and Training noted that for the 2026-2027 academic year, HCMC is projected to see an increase of 96,258 students, pushing the total student population across the city to over 2.6 million.
Executing the emulation campaign “150 days and nights to complete 1,000 classrooms serving the 2026-2027 academic year,” the city has completed 49 out of 53 projects with 930 out of 1,044 new classrooms as of August 20, achieving 89.08 percent of the total new classrooms in the project group slated for completion before September 5, 2026.
Regarding textbooks, the department has proactively worked with publishers to publicly announce addresses that supply sufficient books. Simultaneously, it directed schools to coordinate with publishers to equip textbooks for borrowing as planned and to support parents in registering to purchase textbooks right at the school.
Through these working sessions, publishers have committed to supplying sufficient textbooks for students before the opening day on September 5, ensuring everything is ready.
Following the Ministry of Education and Training’s directives, the opening ceremony will be held concurrently nationwide on September 5. In HCMC, the main broadcasting point will be situated at Tran Khai Nguyen High School.
The HCMC Department of Education and Training has already submitted a proposal to the Standing Committee of the HCMC People’s Committee, suggesting a list of city leaders to attend the opening ceremonies at various schools.
For Deputy Director Nguyen Van Phong, the readiness is clear as he affirmed that up to this point, the education sector has prepared enough facilities, resources, teachers, and all necessary conditions to kick off the new 2026-2027 academic year.
At the press conference, Head Ly Minh Tuan of the Digital Economy and Digital Society Division under the HCMC Department of Science and Technology stated that the “Digital Mass Education” movement deployed in HCMC is gradually gaining depth, ultimately helping citizens access online public services and digital utilities more conveniently.
During the 2025-2026 period, the city organized 546 training classes and courses with the participation of 77,741 individuals. Meanwhile, over 7,900 cadres, civil servants, public employees, and workers have successfully completed the digital skill popularization program on the “Digital Mass Education” platform.
HCMC currently boasts 5,947 community digital technology groups across 168 wards, communes, and its special zone, encompassing roughly 29,000 members. About 80 localities have established digital mass education squads or equivalent models to directly guide citizens.
Many localities and units have also adopted creative approaches that closely align with practical needs, such as the visual communication and experience model, the “Digital Touchpoint 2026” festival, “Digital Coffee,” and “Digital Citizen Station.” The HCMC Digital Citizen application has attracted over 6 million interactions, alongside 691,042 actual installations and usages.
The Department of Science and Technology assesses that the movement has brought about positive and substantive transformations, as citizens are shifting from a hesitant mindset to proactively using VNeID, cashless payments, and online document submissions. Step by step, they’re integrating AI and information technology to serve professional public duties, and they don’t seem to be slowing down.
Moving forward, the city will heavily push propaganda efforts to elevate the awareness of cadres, Party members, and citizens regarding digital transformation, digital skills, and the “Digital Mass Education” movement.
They won’t neglect prioritizing digital skill popularization for students, workers, the elderly, and vulnerable groups; furthermore, the city will continue perfecting digital learning materials, diversifying training formats, and consolidating the operational efficiency of community digital technology groups.
