The circular also stipulates schools must not be located in the places where students may face risks, such as key transport routes, mountain foothills, along rivers, streams. Schools also must not be located in the areas where there are toxic gases, smoke, dust, noise. They must be situated far from train stations, petroleum stores, markets, rubbish dumps.

The new regulations have caused worries to school headmasters, who believe that very few schools in the inner city can meet the requirements because of the limited land fund.

Meanwhile, analysts have pointed out that the regulations prove be unfeasible, because only a lot of schools now do not have enough classrooms, while many other schools have to set up classrooms in rental houses, and the so-called “school yards” are just the space at residential quarters or terraces of buildings.

School yards shrinking in big cities

The Ba Trieu Primary School has been well known as the school with no school yard in Hanoi. The school headmaster is now an old and small 3-storey building with the modest space of 10 square meters in front. For many years, Hanoians have got used to seeing the students of the school do physical exercises, play, salute the national flag and perform songs on the pavement.

The school’s management board said that teachers and students of the schools rejoiced many times in vain, because they were told that they would have a new school, but no actual changes have been made.

The students of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School in Ba Dinh district, for many years, have been studying in the classrooms located in Kim Ma Thuong Village’s Communal House. Ten classrooms are set up in the 1000 square meter area, next to the worshipping place with strict regulations. Therefore, students here cannot play and do physical exercises as they want.

The Nguyen Truong To High School was listed among the schools which lacked material facilities in the 2011-2012 academic year. The school yard is located on the 8^th floor of a building, which the Hanoi Education and Training Department believes “is not safe for students”. Nguyen Van Thuy, the school’s headmaster explained: “We have to reserve other areas for classrooms”.

In fact, many schools in Hanoi were initially designed with school yards. However, since the number of students has been increasing steadily year after year, the school yards have been shrunk to give place to classrooms.

Hanoi has many schools famous for their learning and teaching achievements, but the schools are also well known for the low ratios of the school areas on the numbers of students. These include Trung Vuong, Nguyen Du, Quang Trung, Tran Quoc Toan Primary Schools, Ngo Si Lien Secondary School, Kim Lien and Thang Long High Schools.

Schools still far from meeting standards

Nguyen Tung Lam, Headmaster of Dinh Tien Hoang High School in Hanoi, has warned that if MOET considers the areas of school yards when assessing schools, most of the schools in Hanoi will not meet the standards.

Thuy from Nguyen Truong To School, also said that the required area for school yard proves to be out of reach of schools. In current circumstances, schools only wish to have a small space for students to enjoy the fresh air.

Leaders of some education sub-departments in Hanoi have frankly said that the requirements set by MOET will only be met if local authorities provide land to build new schools.

Source: Tien phong