Hanoi Student Musical Talent Competition: 42 schools only selected 1 student for the final round

The first High School Musical Talent Festival (2025-2026 school year) is for students from grades 1 to 12 throughout Hanoi , regardless of public or private schools.

The festival aims to realize the goal of comprehensive education , focusing on developing aesthetic capacity and artistic expression skills for high school students; gradually encouraging each student to become familiar with and proficiently use at least one musical instrument.

The festival will include 3 rounds: school level, ward/high school cluster/vocational education - continuing education center cluster (GDNN - GDTX) level and city level final.

According to the draft organization plan, in the final round, each commune, ward or cluster of vocational education and training centers can only send 1 candidate to participate; each cluster of high schools can send a maximum of 2 candidates to participate.

Thus, with 126 communes and wards and 16 school clusters, the total number of candidates taking the city-level exam is less than 200.

Representatives of schools and communes and wards unanimously proposed that the Hanoi Department of Education and Training adjust the above regulations to expand opportunities for students.

Yen Hoa Ward said that there are 42 primary and secondary schools in the ward, including many private schools - where the arts movement and arts education are very developed. The total number of students in the ward is estimated at nearly 100,000, but only 1 student was selected to compete in the final round. This will cause great difficulty for the judges.

Ward representatives hope that the Department will increase the quota for wards with many schools like Yen Hoa.

Hai Ba Trung ward representative has a similar opinion. Hai Ba Trung ward’s proposal is to increase the number of “places” for the final round to 2 for each commune and ward.

Explaining the draft of each commune and ward having only one student in the final round of the musical talent festival, Director of the Department of Education and Training Tran The Cuong said that the Department's leaders had carefully considered this target.

“Hanoi currently has 126 communes and wards. If each ward has 1 student in the final round, the total number will be 126 students. Take those 126 students and divide them by 30 districts like before, then each district will have 4 students, which is not a small number.

However, in reality, the number of schools under the management of communes and wards is not equal. Some communes and wards have 42 schools like Yen Hoa, while others have only 2-4 schools. The Department will discuss again and may increase the number of students entering the final round for wards with many schools," said Mr. Tran The Cuong.

Regarding the organization method, the Musical Talent Festival for high school students at the school and ward levels/high school clusters/vocational education - continuing education center clusters will not be divided into groups by age. Only in the final round will the contestants be divided into 3 groups: Primary, Secondary and High School - Continuing Education.

Mr. Tran The Cuong plans to have more professional boards for students studying art at art schools in the capital.

When asked whether the contestants who won official prizes at this festival would get extra points or be admitted directly to public grade 10, the Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training said he really wanted this, but current regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training do not allow it.

It is expected that the school-level round must be completed before November 15, the commune-level round/high school cluster/vocational education center cluster must be completed before November 30. The final round will take place on December 20 and the art performance night is scheduled for February 3, 2026.

The 2025-2026 school year is the first time the Hanoi education sector has organized a musical instrument competition. With a tight multi-round organization and strict artistic criteria, this playground is expected to discover and nurture outstanding musical talents among high school students.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/thi-tai-nang-nhac-cu-hoc-sinh-ha-noi-42-truong-chi-lay-1-em-vao-chung-ket-20251014192344697.htm