Hanoi lacks nursery schools

Tran The Cuong, a member of the inspection team, said that 70 nursery classes had no operation license and 600 classes had more than the allowed number of children.

Under current regulations, every nursery class/group must not have more than 50 children. 

Meanwhile, the inspectors found classes with 300 children each. The classes cannot be upgraded into schools because they cannot satisfy requirements on facilities and teaching staff.

Since many classes operate without licenses, the local authorities do not have information about them and cannot put them under control. 

A chair of a ward said he discovered one nursery class by chance when he passed by a house and heard a baby crying.

Also according to Cuong, the inspectors discovered classes where babysitters are older people in poor health and with no professional skills.

In Hai Ba Trung district, classrooms with an area of 15 square meters have 20 children. The Ministry of Education and Training stipulates that there must be at least 1.5 square meters for one child.

Meanwhile, other private classes are located in small alleys with no fire prevention equipment. Some classes don’t have toilets.

Le Thu Hang, an inspector, said though Vietnam has many legal documents regulating the establishment and operation of nursery classes, unlicensed and substandard classes still exist.

She believes the problem lies in the licensing policy. In Kim Chung commune in Dong Anh district, where there is an industrial zone, many private nursery classes have been set up to satisfy high demand. 

The classes are put under professional control by the heads of state-owned schools in the same locality. The heads of state-owned schools are busy with schools and have no time to control other schools.

Hoang Thi Tu Anh from the Hanoi People’s Council is worried about the discovery of the inspection tour.

“Seventy nursery classes were unlicensed, but I think the real number of unlicensed classes is much higher,” she said.

“A unit was found organizing eight classes, but only two had licenses. I believe the other six are still operational,” she said.

The current regulations stipulate that daily meals for every child must have the value of VND25,000-35,000. 

However, frugal meals found at many establishments raised concerns that the meals are not nutritional. 

Meanwhile, babysitters could not prove the origin of the food they provided to children.

According to the Hanoi Education Department, the number of children going to nursery school has been increasing by 25,000-30,000 each year.

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Mai Thanh