Universities in Ha Noi and HCM City are required to submit their plans for
moving to the cities’ suburbs by February, but many universities have yet to
draft them.

The plan to move
universities and colleges was formed in 2007 under the Prime Minister’s Decision
121/2007 so that they could expand and reduce traffic jams in the city centres.

The university
collective zone of Ha Noi will have trees and ventilated spaces suitable for
training and scientific research. Because land costs in the city centre are
high, moving to the outskirts will reduce costs and, in turn, provide sufficient
funds for schools to pay for the relocation.

However, in a
conference held recently in Ha Noi, for various reasons many universities did
not agree with the plan.

For instance, Nguyen
Trai Private University had 30ha of land on which to build a school in
co-ordination with foreign universities, so it did not feel the need to move.
Representatives of the National Academy of Public Administration said their
school barely had enough funds for training let alone enough to build a new
school.

Ha Noi Medical
University Principal Nguyen Duc Hinh confirmed that his school would stay put on
Ton That Tung Street.

Hoang Van Chau, head
of the Ha Noi Foreign Trade University, raised another concern–the time frame
for the plan is inaccurate; it would take at least 10 years for schools to
relocate.

While state
universities are still hesitant to move, the private FPT University, which
trains information technology engineers, has made plans to move.

The deputy principal,
Nguyen Xuan Phong, said in October this year that 2,000 students will study in
Hoa Lac, about 35 kilometres west of the city centre. Construction is expected
to be paid for within 20 to 30 years.

“We’ve run into many
difficulties with student housing conditions and other services for both
students and lecturers,” he said.

Although Deputy
Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga admitted that moving universities
and colleges to the suburbs was a good policy, he said the State could not
subsidise the whole process.

“We should call on
investors and enterprises to invest in university construction,” he said.

According to the
general scheme, Ha Noi will have eight university collective zones.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News