News and Events

Students and teachers at some schools in HCM City are struggling to complete their tasks amid substandard facilities.

A “multi-functional” room at Nguyen Anh Thu Secondary School

This is an unexpected result of the sluggish implementation of a school infrastructure upgrading project.

Lack of facilities

Nguyen Anh Thu Secondary School in District 12 is notorious for the quality of its facilities.

The school is the combination of two blocks of one-storey houses which include nine classrooms. Their toilets only have two sinks for over 700 students. So many students don’t bother washing their hands at school.

Both principal and deputy principal have to share a small “multifunctional” room with medical and finance staff.

The room’s corridor is the working place for invigilators who are compelled to sit in the sun. On rainy days, they have to temporarily move to the multifunctional room.

The teacher staff room also acts as a warehouse for all of the school’s equipment. As the room is too tight, several teachers have to sit on benches in front of the classrooms to wait for next class or take a rest after lunch.

Nguyen Thi Tham, the school’s principal said that she was worried about the quality of education the school could offer due to the lack of teaching facilities. The school currently lacks a science lab and safety is a concern, she noted.

“During practical biology lessons, teachers have to do their tasks in the class and then clean themselves up. Some students don’t even get to do practical lessons,” Tham complained.

Meanwhile, parents who have children studying at Huynh Man Dat Primary School in District 5 are worried about the safety of their children due to the school’s substandard conditions.

The school consists of two upgraded blocks of seven-storey houses that were built prior to 1975. They have been in use for around 25 years.

Due to the limited space corridors and parking areas are also used as a playground. Outdoor activities such as PE lessons are conducted on the rooftop.

The stairs are too narrow so teachers have to monitor the pupils as they use them and the desks are too close together in the classrooms impeding access.

A crowded classroom at Huynh Man Dat Primary School

Stagnant projects

Huynh Thi Buc, Principle of Huynh Man Dat Primary School, said she and many other previous principals had been waiting for a project to build a new school for 16 years but the plans remain consigned to paper.

Vo Ngoc Thu, Head of Office for Education in District 5 said a plan to rebuild the school has been approved but changes in the local education managers and obstacles to site clearance work have stalled construction. One household in the selected site has yet agreed to move.

“All we can do now is keep maintaining our existing property,” she added.

A decade long project to build Nguyen Anh Thu Secondary School has also been blocked due to site clearance problems.

Nguyen Thi Tham said many parents don’t want to send their students to the school. Some better-off families had sent their children to other schools. Those who are now studying at the school all come from poor families.

Benches serve as places for teachers to take rest