A lot of students in Hanoi applaud the decision to relocate their universities to the suburb areas of the city, while others say they cannot understand why the schools need to move to other places. However, it is obvious that the relocation plan will cause disorder their working schedules.

Relocation? It’s a good thing

Bui Thuy Anh, a first year student of the Hanoi Medical University, said that she has heard about the plan to relocate some universities, but she still does not know if her school would have to move. Anh said she will not be surprised if her schools has to move, adding that it is a necessary thing.

There, at the medical school, except for a recently constructed building, most other buildings have existedfor a long time and therefore cannot meet the requirements needed for effective teaching and learning. Especially, there is a lack of lecture halls , thus putting big difficulties for students. The school’s management board has decided that the morning learning shift begins at 6.40 am instead of 7.30 am, so as to arrange enough lecture halls for students.

Le Hong Quan, a student of the Hanoi Civil Engineering University, also thinks that the university relocation is a must, because this will help ease the traffic congestion in the inner city, though he knows that students will be the biggest sufferers from the relocation, because this will cause disorder their working schedules.

“I think that we need to make a sacrifice for the community, and we need to join forces to build up a more civilized society and a more ideal area for the future, even though it is not easy to implement the relocation plan,” he said.

Nguyen Thi Giang, a second year student of the Hanoi Open University, was excited when she heard about the relocation plan, because she believes that the new school will be larger with better material facilities.

“This is exactly the thing that my friends and I have been expecting for a long time,” she said.

Tran Van Huy, a first year student of the Hanoi University for Civil Engineering, also hopes that the new school will have better material facilities that can better serve teaching and learning. “The current school is too small for students’ activities,” he said.

Why move?

Dang Nhat Phi, the first year student of the Hanoi University for Foreign Trade, was surprised he heard the news that he called “so sensational”.

“It is not an easy thing to relocate a school, and it will be very costly. It would be a great project to relocate 12 schools at the same time,” he said.

When hearing that schools need to relocate because the classrooms and the schools’ areas are too small if compared with the standards, Phi said that this is not true with his school.

“There are two blocs at our school, including one which has been built up, large and well equipped,” he said. “Why don’t we think of upgrade the existing buildings to make them more suitable, but should we move to other places, a thing that will cause big waste of money and time?” he questioned.

Nguyen Thi Hue city, a student of the Vietnam Trade Union University, also said that the material facilities at her school are bad and it’s necessary to move to another place. She said that all of her friends are living in the inner city, and it would be very difficult to contact them when she is at the new place. “Will there be Internet, telecommunication and places to relax in the new place?” she questioned.

Difficulties ahead

There are many big problems that Bui Thuy Anh has anticipated. First, it will take more time to go to new schools, because the new schools will be located in the suburb areas. Besides, it will be very difficult for the school to contact partners of the school who are still in the inner city. As most of the hospitals are located in the inner city, it will be very hard for students to go the hospitals during their internship time.

With such traffic conditions, it would waste so much time to travel back and forth,” she said.

“I am still not prepared for the relocation,” said Lan Anh, a student of the Hanoi Law School.

Anh said that she hopes the city’s localities and schools’ management boards will draw up reasonable plans for the relocation and that students should be consulted when drawing up the plans, because students will be the biggest sufferers and benefactors from the plan.

Van Chung