Many areas in Da Nang City and Quang Nam Province in the central Vietnam are facing a shortage of school places due to the increased number of pupils which is the result of the boom in local industrial parks and residential areas.

New classrooms being built at Phan Ngoc Nhan Primary School in Quang Nam Province

According to Danang Department of Education and Training, the city has 86,000 primary pupils for the 2017-18 academic year, up nearly 3,200 compared to the previous year.  

Nguyen Thi Thao, head of Son Tra District’s Education and Training Board, the district’s number of primary pupils this year was 850 higher than last year with the highest rise seen in Nai Hien Dong and Tho Quang wards.

Several local schools have invested a total VND49 billion (USD2.2 million) for building new classrooms, including Ngo May, To Vinh Dien, Nguyen Tri Phuong and Hai Ba Trung primary schools.

According to Thao, more industrial parks and residential areas have been built in Son Tra, which is the major reason for the increased number of pupils.

In Cam Le District, Tran Nhan Tong Primary School has built 10 more classrooms due to the sharp rise in the number of first grade pupils.

Pham Hong Thai, head of Cam Le District’s Education and Training Board, said that the district conducts a pupil census before December 31 every year. However, due to the boom in immigrants, the census for this school year had not yet been updated.

Meanwhile, some schools in Quang Nam Province are also in the same situation.

Luu Cuc, headmaster of Phan Ngoc Nhan Primary School, said that the school had seen increased numbers of pupils for many years, but this year had been remarkable. Many local schools have 40 pupils in a class compared to the regulated figure of just 35.  

dtinews