The remarkable achievement of outstanding students in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, in the 2023-2024 national high school excellent student selection exam, 110 out of 167 participating students won prizes (4 first prizes, 19 second prizes, 39 third prizes, and 48 consolation prizes; among the 4 first prizes, one student achieved the top score in English). With this achievement, Ho Chi Minh City has surged from its 12th position in the overall ranking of provinces and cities in the 2022-2023 school year, climbing more than 10 places to secure the 2nd position nationwide.

The national high school science and engineering competition had 4 participating projects, all of which won awards (1 project won first prize, 1 project won third prize, and 2 projects won fourth prize). The first-prize winning project was sent to participate in the international science and engineering competition in the US and excellently won second prize and received an additional award from the American Computer Society.

Regarding the city-level excellent student selection exam, at the high school level, 1,957 candidates won prizes (115 first prizes, 405 second prizes, and 1,437 third prizes). At the junior high school level, 1,981 candidates won prizes (72 first prizes, 480 second prizes, and 1,429 third prizes).

With the science and technology competition in the 2023-2024 school year, participating units are investing more significantly in both the quality and quantity of projects, and student research processes are becoming increasingly standardized...

However, the Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training acknowledged that the results of the national excellent student competition were still not uniform across all subjects.

In some units, the teaching staff responsible for training gifted students is insufficient, and many subjects do not meet the requirements; many young teachers are assigned to train gifted students for the first time, so they lack the skills and experience in teaching gifted students... The conditions regarding facilities, equipment, learning materials, and investment in training gifted student teams are still limited.

Therefore, in the coming period, the Department of Education and Training will raise awareness among administrators and teachers in educational institutions about the implementation of gifted student training, considering this a key task in the academic year; encourage and motivate teachers with excellent expertise, dedication to their profession, and commitment to the work of training gifted students; and continue to innovate the content and methods of organizing gifted student competitions in the direction of early identification of talented students to proactively select, review, train, and prepare teams.

Specialized high schools and schools with specialized classes continue to strengthen professional activities to improve the quality of their teaching staff and the quality of student competitions at the city, national, and international levels. In addition, the education sector is enhancing infrastructure, equipment, and teaching materials to meet the requirements of innovative teaching methods; and implementing policies to attract and recruit talented teachers.

At the awards ceremony, Ms. Nguyen Thi Le, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, stated that the city is proud of the two students from Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted who won second prize internationally in the science and technology competition, 186 students who won national prizes, and 286 students who won first prize at the city level during the past academic year. These students are not only a source of pride for their families, but also for the city and the country.

"These outstanding results are primarily due to the efforts of the students themselves, along with the dedicated guidance of their teachers, the care, support, and encouragement of their families, and the collaboration of the school and social organizations. At today's ceremony, we also congratulate the 27 teachers who won first prize in the city-level excellent preschool teacher competition; and the 68 teachers who mentored gifted students and received awards," emphasized Ms. Nguyen Thi Le.

The continuous contributions and efforts of the teachers have helped build a strong educational foundation for the children, and the achievements of the high-achieving students demonstrate the investment and dedication of the teachers to the educational community.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Le, the above results demonstrate the effectiveness of the determination of the entire political system, including focused leadership and guidance, and the attention from the City Party Committee, the City People's Council, and the City People's Committee to the education sector. This is clearly reflected in strategic decisions on education development, including Resolution No. 02 of the City People's Council on regulations on some policies to encourage teachers, students, and trainees who win prizes in city, national, regional, and international competitions, and teachers who have achieved success in training and nurturing students and trainees who win prizes in Ho Chi Minh City.

At the ceremony, the organizing committee awarded certificates of merit from the Ministry of Education and Training to 111 students who had achieved outstanding results. These included certificates of merit for 8 students who won first and second prizes in the national science and technology competition; certificates of merit for 103 students who won first, second, and third prizes in the national high school student excellence competition for the 2023-2024 school year; and certificates of merit from the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to 474 students and 95 teachers.