VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City vows to dissolve 866 unlicensed privately run nursery classes after a series of child abuse cases were discovered. However, this proves to be an “impossible mission.”

The report presented at the meeting between the HCM City Party Standing Committee and the representatives of 24 districts’ local authorities some days ago showed that 84.2 percent of operational nursery classes cannot meet the standards to run.

There are 419 state owned nursery schools in the city and 2,987 private run schools or classes. Of these, 1,959 schools and classes have operation licenses, while the other 1,028 classes don’t have licenses, 84.2 percent of which cannot meet the standards.

The city has instructed the 162 schools that can meet the standards to register their operation with the watchdog agencies, while it has decided to clear the other 866 classes which don’t have the material facilities good enough to exist.

The unlicensed schools employ 1,060 teachers, babysitters, including 284 teachers with pedagogical school degrees, 153 teachers who attended short term training courses and 286 teachers finishing high school. Meanwhile, the remaining 337 did not experience any training course.

By deciding to dissolve the substandard schools and classes, HCM City shows its determination to stop the existence of the low-quality education establishments, thus ensuring the safety and the high quality education service for its citizens.

However, it always is easier said than done. The Thu Duc district authorities have affirmed that it is now impossible to clear the 307 unlicensed household run classes in the districts, because the classes receive the children who are refused by state owned schools.

To date, the state owned schools in the city still cannot receive the children aged 6-12 months old.

A report showed that there are 151 licensed nursery schools in the districts, which gather 20,579 children. Of the schools, there are only 17 state owned schools, which accounts for 11.2 percent of the total schools.

There are as many as 307 unlicensed private run classes, which now take care for 1,199 children.

Of the 363 workers at the education establishments, 300 have been found as having no training degree or certificate. Only 2 have bachelor degree and 9 finished junior colleges.

Nguyen Tho Truyen, Deputy Chair of the Thu Duc district People’s Committee, affirmed that parents have the legitimate rights to bring their children to unlicensed household run classes, because state owned schools refuse to keep their children.

“We still cannot follow the city’s instruction to close all the unlicensed classes,” Truyen stated. “If we do this, parents will not have anywhere to send their children to.”

In the immediate time, Thu Duc authorities will let unlicensed nursery classes to continue their operation, provided that every class receives no more than six children, while every teacher or babysitter takes care for no more than three children.

“The owners of the classes have to promise not to abuse children and participate in training courses,” Truyen said.

Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, Chair of the HCM City People’s Council, said on Tuoi tre that she feels very worried about the plan to close a series of nursery schools, because the parents would have nowhere to leave their children while they are away at work.

Le Huyen