The Ha Noi Department of Education and
Training has announced that the capital requires an additional 1,600 new
pre-schools, schools and universities during the next 20 years to meet
increasing student numbers.

The
statement was part of a draft master plan on the city’s education needs for the
next 20 years. The draft is currently under discussion and is expected to be
finalised this month.

The city
planned to build about 1,000 pre-schools, 310 primary schools, 138 secondary and
136 high schools by 2030.

At
present, the capital has about 2,455 educational institutions including 818
nurseries, 678 primary schools, 589 secondary schools and 189 high schools.

However,
the department admitted that all current schools had failed to meet national
standards which require at least 8sq.m per student in urban areas and 15sq.m per
student in rural areas. Schools for disabled students also faced a lack of
space.

“Space
shortages are partly the result of overcrowded classes, which obviously affects
the quality of teaching and learning,” said Dong Da District’s Trung Tu Primary
School teacher Nguyen Thu Ha.

On
average, 50-60 students are crowded into a 60-sq.m classroom in her school and
teachers had to use microphone to deliver lessons, she said.

“We’re
located in a crowded residential area, so it’s hard for the school to be
expanded and incorporate new facilities including a science lab, school garden,
and sports field,” she said.

The
shortage of nurseries in the city was exposed in early July, with parents
queuing in front of pre-schools day and night in order to get their children
enrolled.

Meanwhile, the city population is estimated to expand to 7.4 million in 2020 and
9.5 million in 2030, compared to the current population of 6.5 million,
including 1.4 million students.

Ha Noi
People’s Committee chairman Nguyen The Thao urged relevant sectors and
consultants to make drastic efforts to collect accurate data for the plan.

The
education department also proposed an additional master plan on the city’s
education development to improve education quality.

This
plan would include building standard facilities, increase the focus on
information technology and foreign language teaching and encourage wider
participation by the community, private sector and parents to provide students
with a comprehensive education.

The
committee vice chairwoman Ngo Thi Thanh Hang said the city intended to make the
capital’s education system a national leader, gaining regional and international
recognition.

“The key
to improving the quality of education are to apply student-centred methods, and
clear out passive, old-fashioned learning methods,” she said.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News