VietNamNet Bridge – In HCM City, an inch of soil is an inch of gold. Therefore, pavements, street corners, lake sides and school campuses all have been used as retail premises.

A coffee shop in the Marie Curie High School, HCM City.

A café has arisen for one year on the right side of the main entrance door of the Marie Curie High School located on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street. The café, Green House, covers an area large enough to cover hundreds of people.

A worker of the café said Green House has been enjoying large custom because it is located on the “golden land area of district 3.”

“There is a wall that separates the school and the café. However, the café is situated on the school campus,” the worker noted.

Chu Thi Ha, whose daughter goes to a school in the central area of HCM City, complained that students nowadays cannot have a healthy pedagogical environment, because people have been trying to use every inch of land to do business.

Marie Curie is one of the long lasting high schools in HCM City. It is the only school which has never changed its name, which was given after the world’s famous scientist.

A local resident said in the past, a beer shop, named Khe Ta, was set up within the school’s campus. However, it then quietly disappeared after educators raised their protest, saying that the business would badly affect the schooling environment.

Nguyen Tien Dat, Deputy Director of the HCM City Education and Training Department, said all the non-educational activities carried out within the schools are prohibited. He has promised to check the case for suitable treatment.

Universities turning into street-face shops

The existence of the HCM City University of Education in district 5 has created jobs for many people. A series of tea shops, groceries and photocopy shops have been set up there.

The shops have arisen on the land area put under the school’s control. The land plots have been allocated to some lecturers of the school for their accommodations. However, the houses have turned into the street-face shops which bring profits to the owners.

Sources said that the school’s management board has been trying to take back the land to serve the educational purposes. However, the households there said they would only leave if they can get the compensation from the school.

Dang Chinh Nghia, Vice President of the HCM City University of Education, stressed that the school gave land to the teachers for their accommodation, not for them to turn into the business premises or lease to others.

School powerless

Also according to Nghia, the school has proposed the HCM City People’s Committee to force the households there to stop their business. However, since the households have got the business licenses from relevant departments, nothing has been done to solve the problem.

“We have left no stone unturned,” Nghia said. “Only the city’s authorities can help settle the problem.”

The same situation is occurring with the HCM City University of Technology in ward 14 of district 10. The wall of the school has been broken to give place to tens of building material kiosks. However, the school still does not know what it should do to get the land back.

Le Huyen