VietNamNet Bridge – The state of Hanoi school toilets is causing concern as they fall short of the target.

The bad conditions of the toilet area of the Hanoi Medical University

Somes schools are even teaching in areas that were once toilets because they are so short on classrooom space.

The Chuong Duong Secondary School in Hoan Kiem district, for example, once had reserved areas for three toilets on three floors. But the three rooms have been turned into healthcare, libraries and trade union meeting rooms.

Meanwhile a room on the first floor has been changed to become a toilet for female students, while male students are forced to use another room.

At Tu Lien Secondary Schol in Tay Ho district, one of the toilets has become the room for information technology learning.

In wider Hanoi, in the area that used to be called Ha Tay, Cong an Nhan Dan found that 2-3 percent of schools are lacking toilets, and many schools do not have toilets at all. The schools with the worst problems are located in Ba Vi, My Duc, Phu Xuyen, Thach That and Dan Phuong districts.

The Hai Ba Trung High School in Thach That district has two buildings. The old one, built in 2001, did not have toilets. The other one also has classrooms only, although it was built recently in 2007. When the school’s leaders asked about toilets, they were told there was no budget allocated.

Students of Dong Quang Secondary School in Ba Vi district have been living without toilet conditions for many years. Students here are told that they are living in a poor community, and that money should be spent on building classrooms first.

Tran Duy Tao, head of the Material Facilities and School Teaching Aids Department under the Ministry of Education and Training, emphasised that it is unacceptable to have schools which do not have, or lack toilets.

He said that the Hanoi Education and Training Department needs to allocate budget to upgrade or build new toilets for schools. If the budget is limited, it is necessary to look for wider investment from different sectors under the ‘education socialisation’ initiative with sources ranging from parents to private sponsors.

VietNamNet/CAND