LookAtVietnam – Many children in HCM City will not get admission to public preschool and kindergarten classes next year and will have to opt for private schools and family-run facilities.

Many children in HCM City will not get admission to public preschool and kindergarten classes next year.

At present, the city has 266,176 children of pre-school and kindergarten ages, an increase of 12,000 over last year.

But there are only 398 public kindergartens, so many children will have to find places in the 261 private and 830 family-run establishments that currently provide pre-school and kindergarten services in the city.

Nguyen Thi Kim Dung, principal of District 1’s May 19 Kindergarten, said the school’s enrolment target for next school year was 150-160 children, and it had received 250 applications.

“Many parents are still trying to seek admission for their children this year though the school fulfilled its target a month ago,” Dung said.

Hoa Hong Kindergarten in Go Vap district’s ward 3 filled up its admissions in a few hours after it began receiving applications because it could open only two classes with 90 children, said Luu Bich Phuong, the school’s vice principal.

A lot of parents whose children were eligible to study at the school had to rush to find other public kindergartens for their children, Phuong said.

Phuong said that the ward only had two public kindergartens that could accommodate 200 children aged between 18 and 24 months, while the number of children needing pre-school education was 600.

Many schools, certified as meeting national standards, like Ben Thanh, May 19 and April 30 kindergartens, have had to expand their limits to take 50 to 60 children per class.

Even pre-schools in outlying districts like Hoc Mon and Thu Duc are overloaded due to the increase in children needing a place in preschools.

Hoc Mon district has more than 15,000 children needing preschool education, up 2,400 over last year. But it has only 16 public pre-schools, 11 private and 64 home-based ones, with an average of 50 to 60 children in one class.

Projects to build new kindergartens in some districts are being implemented slowly, according to Thanh, head of the Preschool Education Office.

“Although the municipal People’s Committee approved a project to build 17 kindergartens in the city last year, it is still to take off,” he added.

In Tan Phu district, three kindergartens were needed in as many wards, namely Tan Son Nhi, Hoa Thanh and Phu Thanh, but construction could not begin due to slow land clearance, said Hoang Thi Hong Hai, head of the district’s Education and Training Office.

Staff shortages

“Staff shortages in pre-schools have also contributed to the low pre-school enrolment rate,” Thanh said.

The belief that 2007 was a propitious year for having children set off a baby boom, and this has been an important factor in the overload being experienced by preschools in the city this year.

Most parents prefer to send children to public schools because of lower fees, qualified nurseries, better management and well-equipped facilities since they are financially supported by the State budget.

“However, parents can choose private centres or licensed home-based private nurseries, since many of them offer good quality education,” Thanh said, adding that the number of children in a class is likely to be smaller at private institutions.

Significant investments have been made in improving the quality of nurseries to meet national standards, helping reduce the gap between public and private centres, according to deputy head of District 5’s Education and Training Office Nguyet Anh.

Pham Thi Quyen, who has an 18-month-old and a four-year-old studying at the Dien Thao Private Kindergarten in District 2, said she had found a private schools more suitable because they offered thoughtful care, flexible pick-up times and were closer to her house.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News