VietNamNet Bridge - While the number of general school students has risen dramatically in HCM City this year, the city has no more land to build schools and has been unable to employ more teachers.

 

According to deputy director of the HCM City Education and Training Department, the city has 1.54 million students this academic year, or 85,000 students more than last year. 

The number of children going to preschools has increased most sharply, by 26,000, while the number of primary school students has increased by 25,000. Suburban districts had the highest increases. 

Binh Tan district, for example, has 12,600 students more this year, Binh Chanh 11,000 and district 12 has 8,300.

Crowded classrooms with 50 students and more is commonly seen in schools in the suburbs. There are 61 classes in Vinh Loc A Primary School in Binh Chanh district, with more than 50 students in each. 

Ngo Van Tuyen, deputy head of the Binh Tan Education and Training Department, said schools cannot maintain day-boarders because they cannot arrange enough classrooms for students. 

Tuyen cited current regulations as saying that the standard area for primary school is 8-10 square meters per student. 

However, in Binh Tan district, the figure is just 3.4 square meters for primary schools and 5.8 square meters for secondary schools. 

“School yards, libraries, and grounds for physical exercises all have been narrowed to make room for classrooms,” he noted.

Nguyen Tri Dung, head of the Binh Chanh district education, said building more classrooms and employing more teachers was needed but the problem has never been settled.

Binh Chanh needs 421 teachers and 200 workers this academic year, but to date, it has only found one-half of that.

The problem is that schools in HCM City can only recruit teachers who have permanent residential certificates showing that they are HCM City residents, while candidates from other provinces are not accepted.

Since schools cannot employ enough new workers, existing teachers have to take on many tasks and have more lesson hours a week.

A report of the HCM City People’s Committee showed that 44 new schools have been put into operation to serve the new academic year. 

In Binh Tan district alone, 31 state-owned schools have been built and expanded which can provide 639 classrooms since 2010. However, the existing schools still cannot satisfy the local high demand.

HCM City’s Mayor Le Hoang Quan reported at the 19th People’s Council Meeting that the city has spent VND17 trillion to build new classrooms, but this may not be enough.

VNE