Universities in Hanoi and HCM City are required to submit their plans for moving to the suburbs by February, but many have yet to draft them.
The plan to move universities and colleges was formed in 2007 under the Prime Minister\'s Decision 121/2007 so that they could expand and reduce traffic jams in the city centres.
The university collective zone of Hanoi will have trees and ventilated spaces suitable for training and scientific research. Because land costs in the city centre are high, moving to the outskirts will reduce costs and, in turn, provide sufficient funds for schools to pay for the relocation.
However, in a conference held recently in Hanoi, for various reasons many universities did not agree with the plan.
For instance, Nguyen Trai Private University had 30ha of land on which to build a school in co-ordination with foreign universities, so it did not feel the need to move. Representatives of the National Academy of Politics and Public Administration said their school barely had enough funds for training, let alone enough to build a new school.
Hanoi Medical University Principal Nguyen Duc Hinh confirmed that his school would stay put on Ton That Tung Street.
Hoang Van Chau, head of the Hanoi Foreign Trade University, raised another concern - the time frame for the plan is inaccurate; it would take at least 10 years for schools to relocate.
While State universities are still hesitant to move, the private FPT University, which trains information technology engineers, has made plans to move.
The deputy prinicipal, Nguyen Xuan Phong, said in October last year that 2,000 students would study in Hoa Lac, about 35 kilometres west of the city centre. Construction is expected to be paid for within 20 to 30 years.
"We\'ve run into many difficulties with student housing conditions and other services for both students and lecturers," he said.
Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga admitted that moving universities and colleges to the suburbs was a good policy, but the State could not subsidise the whole process.
"We should call on investors and enterprises to invest in university construction," he said.
According to the general scheme, Hanoi will have eight university collective zones.
