LookAtVietnam – The deputy director of the Ha Noi Department of Planning and Architecture, Vu Tuan Dinh, spoke to Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper about the shortage of schools

Ha Noi also has general and detailed planning for each district and commune, including the allocation of land for educational development. But many new urban areas lack schools, causing schooling difficulties for many children.

The first reason is population growth, particularly after the city’s administrative boundary was expanded. In reality, the city’s previous planning did not meet the rate of development.

Investors do not pay attention to building schools in urban areas and the situation is quite common. I have visited many urban areas in other countries and found all invested in installing infrastructure before building houses for sale.

When people move into the urban areas, facilities are available.

Do house prices include infrastructure costs?

House price will certainly include infrastructure investment costs, including construction of schools. Many investors collect money twice for infrastructure investment.

The cost would be included in house price but they would also collect fees from those who build schools in urban areas.

When people buy houses they not only buy a place to sleep but it should include basic infrastructure facilities.

After investing in building infrastructure, investors should let local authorities manage the land fund earmarked for education.

Urban area investors lack experience and the capacity to invest in education development and schools, so they often wait for secondary investors to invest in building schools. Investors’ weak capacity is another reason as many do not meet financial and community responsibility requirements.

Do investors think they are not responsible for building schools?

They are wrong if they do. An urban area must include a service system. Investors in the Phu My Hung and Nam Thang Long urban areas invested in building schools as part of their construction planning.

If they let other investors invest in building schools, it would be difficult for them to manage the post-investment period.

The problem is also attributable to education sector responsibilities. During rapid urbanisation, the city’s education and training sector failed to manage school development in urban areas.

To boost efficiency, the sector or local authorities should manage the land fund for education in urban areas. Investors should be made fully aware of their responsibilities in investing in infrastructure and State management and community supervision tightened.

Will social security be ensured if school construction is handed to investors or other sectors?

Education socialisation is necessary but when foreign or joint-venture investors are involved with building schools, the management costs will be much higher than public schools, leading to higher tuition fees.

The number of children from rich families is a small proportion so it will fail to meet the objective of building schools to serve most the majority of people living in urban areas. It means social security is not ensured.

Where will children of poor and low-income earners study? Luxurious education services should be built in other areas.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News