VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has increased the number of new preschools built in recent years but parents still can’t find enough state-owned preschools.

Several days ago, a 3-year-old boy was reportedly severely beaten by a teacher during  lunch. The information stunned the public. However, this is just one of many child abuse cases reported recently. Parents say they are insecure about leaving children at school with teachers, even though the classrooms are equipped with cameras.

Van Nhu Cuong, chair of the Luong The Vinh High School, a renowned educator, said: “Vietnam’s preschool education is problematic. Everyone can open nursery schools. Household-run classes are still opened without licenses.”

According to Cuong, preschool teachers are not trained well to work with children. They lack knowledge about child psychology. 

“The problem of Vietnam is that while the state attaches much importance to university education, it pays less attention to preschool education. Preschool education is very important because it lays the foundation for children’s development,” he said.

In fact, the state has spent big money to upgrade preschool education. Nguyen Ba Minh, head of the MOET’s preschool education department, said that great achievements had been gained in the last few years, including school network expansion. 

More than 300 new preschools have been built, while the percentage of children going to school is higher than expected and tens of billions of dong have been spent on toys, teaching aids and to upgrade material facilities. The number of national standard schools has increased by 600.

More than 300 new preschools have been built, while the percentage of children going to school is higher than expected and tens of billions of dong have been spent on toys, teaching aids and to upgrade material facilities. The number of national standard schools has increased by 600.

However, Minh admitted that education quality is different in different provinces and cities. In large cities, new urban areas and industrial zones, the school network is not large enough for all children.

According to Deputy director of the HCMC Education and Training Department Bui Thi Diem Thu, the city now has 8 million people and the number of children increases by 65,000 every year. Many new schools have been built, but the number is not high enough to satisfy demand.

In 2015, HCMC planned to build 20 preschools in export processing zones to provide seats to 8,000 children. However, due to many reasons, the construction has not been completed. 

Dao Duc Trinh, deputy director of the Dong Nai provincial Education and Training, said since existing schools cannot satisfy the demand, parents have to bring their children to privately run classes. The education quality of the classes remains questionable while most of the child abuse cases reported have happened at privately run classes.

Thanh Mai