VietNamNet Bridge – Many apartment buildings have shot up in Ha Noi over the past several years, leading to a huge population increase. However, the construction of basic facilities like schools has been ignored or carried out slowly.

A classroom in Thuy Phuong Secondary School in Ha Noi’s Bac Tu Liem District. The construction of basic facilities like schools has been ignored or carried out slowly in Ha Noi in recent years. Photo: VNA/VNS

This has concerned parents as they have no choice but to send their children to private schools, often with expensive tuition fees.

Le Hang, resident in HH3B Apartment in Linh Dam Urban Area, said that she had to send her son to private pre-school as Hoa Huong Duong pre-school, the only public one in the area, was overloaded.

“Linh Dam urban area is quite large with many buildings, but there are few public schools here. I have to send my kid to a private school,” she said.

Duong Thi Lien, resident in Rice City Linh Dam Apartment was luckier. She managed to get child into Hoang Liet Primary School, the only public primary school in the area. However, she was concerned about the high number of students – 57 per class –affecting her child’s education.

The situation is the same in other urban areas like Nam Tu Liem and Hoang Mai districts.

Chairman of Me Tri Ward’s People’s Committee in Nam Tu Liem District, Dao Tang Quynh, said that more than 4,000 households were living in apartment buildings in the ward, and this number would increase by 3,000 households when three more apartment projects were put into use.

However, no new school has been set up in the last few years. About 60-65 children were crammed into some classrooms and secondary students have to use temporary classrooms, he added.

Nguyen Thi Thai, deputy chairwoman of Dai Kim Ward’s People’s Committee in Hoang Mai District agreed, saying that there were only two public pre-schools, a primary school and a secondary school.

Students at primary and secondary schools were forced to go to school at weekends due to a shortage of classrooms, she said.

The current population of the ward is currently about 36,000 and will rise when three more apartment buildings were put into use by the end of this year.

Figures from the city’s Department of Education and Training showed that there were 252 apartment buildings in the city, and most approved projects included the construction of new schools. But only 56 schools have been built.

Government policy dictates a maximum of 35 students per primary class, but no schools in new urban areas have achieved this target.

Meanwhile, many school construction projects have been implemented slowly.

In Hoang Mai District, 96 school building projects have been approved. Of these, 33 have not been handed to investors and 46 have not carried out site clearance.

The reason was a shortage of land funds. Many projects were located in cemeteries, causing difficulties in clearing sites while investors, mostly private enterprises, faced shortages of investment capital.

To solve the problems, local authorities have examined the delayed projects and proposed city assign local authorities as investors to boost the progress of the projects.

The People’s Committee of Cau Giay District said they have taken a project for building a secondary and high school back and will build it in Yen Hoa Ward. It has proposed the city build two more schools in the upcoming time.

In Hoang Mai District, the committee has asked the city’s permission to build 10 schools with State funds.

Source: VNS