Speaking at a recent meeting with the Ministry of Education and Training, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Vu Thu Ha said that the city currently has over 2.20 million students and the number is increasing by between 50,000-60,000 a year, leading to serious school shortages.
"We need to build some 30-40 more schools for the coming 2023-2024 school year," she said. "However, there is no more space for school expansion in many areas, especially in inner districts. Meanwhile, the construction of new schools in outer districts will also take time."
The official proposed that Hanoi be allowed to increase the number of floors on school buildings or build more classrooms underground.
Earlier during a meeting with the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, Ha also revealed a plan to invest more than VND51 trillion to build 433 national-standard public schools totaling 8,323 classrooms between 2021 and 2025.
The Hanoi official expressed concerns that despite efforts to set up standard classrooms to ensure the best possible learning environment, the city's current planning for its schools was still inadequate due to uneven distribution and rapid population growth.
"New urban areas and industrial parks are being built, which has increased the demand for schools and classrooms, leading to a shortage of facilities," she said.
Additionally, despite efforts to support private schools at all levels, only a small percentage of students enroll in them, particularly in suburban high schools. She said that as a consequence, Hanoi's need for educational facilities would only continue to grow.
