VietNamNet Bridge – All HCM City districts must ensure that all students can enroll in school this year, Le Hoang Quan, chair of the city's People's Committee, has said.

Students at the An Hoi primary chool in Go Vap District, HCM City. For the 2015-16 school year, the city's number of students from kindergarten to high school level has increased by 85,145 compared to last year. — Photo phapluattp.vn

The schools face an increasing number of students, most of whom were migrants.

For the 2015-16 school year, the number of students from kindergarten to high school level has increased by 85,145 compared to last year.

The 1,518 additional classrooms built for this year do not meet demand, forcing the districts to increase classroom size.

Quan said that a shortage of classrooms, as well as facilities for entertainment and sports, would affect education quality.

Binh Tan and Thu Duc districts, as well as District 12, face a shortage of classrooms because of the high number of migrants who live there, according to Hoai Nam, deputy head of the city's Department of Education and Training.

Nguyen Thanh Tuan, deputy head of Thu Duc District's Viet Nam Fatherland Front Committee, said the solution was to increase the number of students in each classroom and reduce the number of day boarders.

The number of students in each primary school classroom in Thu Duc District is 45, which is over the Ministry of Education and Training's national standard of 35.

Twenty-seven children are at the nursery level and 30 at kindergarten level in the district.

Pham Van Muoi, deputy chairman of Binh Tan District People's Committee, said the number of students in each classroom often exceeded 35 for primary school and 45 for secondary and high school.

He said the areas for libraries and yards were too small as well.

Nguyen Tri Dung, head of Binh Chanh District's education division, said the number of students in each district classroom was more than 60. The district needs 334 additional teachers.

Tuan said that Thu Duc District needed 204 additional teachers. However, the district educational office has been unable to employ more teachers because of a decree on downsizing the public sector that took effect this year.

The city needs 2,025 teachers at all levels for the upcoming school year.

Quan has asked the Department of Education and Training to regularly update reports on classroom construction process.

Last school year, the city spent VND9 trillion (US$409 million) on education, about 70 per cent of the city's budget, he said.

Source: VNS