🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City · Schools
Schooling and childcare in Ho Chi Minh City
A strong international sector clustered in two places, a regulated cap on how many Vietnamese children those schools may take, and fees that rival anywhere in the region.
The thing people get wrongThere are two legally distinct categories — foreign-invested international schools and Vietnamese bilingual private schools — and they are marketed almost identically. The difference shows up in curriculum, in who may enrol, and in fees that differ by a factor of three.
Two categories, marketed as one
Foreign-invested international schools deliver a foreign curriculum in English and are regulated on how many Vietnamese nationals they may admit. Vietnamese private and bilingual schools teach the national curriculum alongside substantial English provision, cost far less, and are the choice of a large and growing share of local families. Both will use the word “international” in their advertising, so ask which licence the school holds and which curriculum leads to which examinations.
- Ask which curriculum the school is accredited to deliver, and by whom — CIS, WASC or the IB.
- Ask what proportion of the cohort is Vietnamese and what the language of the playground is.
- Bilingual schools follow the Vietnamese national curriculum, with its own examination calendar.
- The academic year at international schools generally starts in August.
Where the schools are
Two clusters dominate: Thao Dien on the eastern side of the river, and the Phu My Hung development to the south. Between them they hold most of the established international schools, which is precisely why those two areas carry the expatriate family rents they do. Living centrally and busing a child to either is possible but adds a real commute at both ends of the day.
- Thao Dien: leafy, riverside, several international schools, a long run to the central business district.
- Phu My Hung: planned, spacious, further south, a school cluster of its own.
- Every school runs buses; ask for the route map before you choose a neighbourhood.
Applying and paying
Applications go directly to the school, with reports from the previous two years, an assessment and often an English-language screening. Fees are billed by term or annually, with a non-refundable application fee and usually a refundable deposit or place-holding payment. Withdrawal terms are strict: a term's written notice is standard, and leaving without it forfeits the deposit and sometimes a term's fees.
- Documents: passport, visa or residence card, birth certificate, immunisation record, school reports.
- Application fee, refundable deposit, and a bus fee charged separately.
- Read the withdrawal clause carefully if your assignment length is uncertain.
- Employers often cap education allowance per child; establish that figure before choosing.
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