February 1 was the first day of changing working hours in 10 inner and 2 suburban districts in Hanoi. Accordingly, high school and university students have to go to school before 7am while other students begin studying from 8am.
At 6.30am, when streets were quiet, the gates of many high schools and universities were in crowds. However, the roads crossing these schools were still clear because many students did not return to Hanoi yet and workers and government employees did not go to office yet.
Meanwhile, though primary schools and kindergartens begin working at 8am but many people took their children to school at 7am as usual.
“I do not want to take my son to school one hour early but my office is far from my house and my working time begins at 8am,” Mrs. Linh, from Hai Ba Trung Street, explained.
From February 1, high schools and universities open before 7am and close after 7pm. Primary, secondary schools and kindergartens start working from 8am and close at 5pm.
Government agencies begin working at 8pm and close at 5pm. Service and trade centers (except for banking and financial services) open from 9am and close after 7pm. Factories that work in shifts and the army, etc. do not change working time.
Traffic jams appeared on some streets where primary, secondary schools and kindergartens are located at around 7.30am of February 1.
“We do not know whether this change works or not because students and workers from other provinces have not returned all to Hanoi,” said an official of Dong Da district.
Deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Transport Nguyen Xuan Tan said that the department’s officials made surveys at major roads in Hanoi from the early morning of February 1.
He observed that Xuan Thuy – Cau Giay, Nguyen Trai and Thuy Khue roads did not have congestion. More buses were arranged to serve students.
The official said the change of working hour did not affect his family. His son, a 9th grade student, got up early and took a bus to school.
Change of family routine
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At 7.15pm of February 1, Nga, a 11th grade student of Yen Hoa high school in Cau Giay, Hanoi began leaving school. She had only two periods. Normally, she left school at over 2pm but because of the change of working hour, she began studying at 5.15pm and left school at 7pm.
“Normally, my family’s dinner would have finished but today I will surely have to eat alone,” she said.
Today, the girl left home at 4.30pm and returned home at nearly 8pm, when her family had already finished dinner. Because of the change of studying time, she will rarely group up with her family on the evening.
Mrs. Lan, whose son is a student of Yen Hoa high school in Cau Giay district, said: “I, my husband and my daughter had to take dinner before my son returns home because my daughter has to finish dinner early to do homework.”
Lan said that because of working hour change, her family would no longer take dinner together though they did not have time together during the day.
Many people had to go to high schools to pick up their children. “Our family’s routine also changes because my daughter will return home very late from now on,” said Mr. Ly, who was waiting to pick up his daughter at a high school in Hai Ba Trung district.
Standing at the school gate at 7.20pm, Nguyen Thi Thuy Anh, headmaster of Yen Hoa high school said that to prepare for the change, the school installed lambs on the school yards and purchased an electric generator just in case power is off.
Today, Thuy Anh and three vice headmasters had to stay at school until all students left school. “Normally, I came home at around 5.30pm and prepared the dinner for my husband and my children. Today I ‘handed over’ this mission to my husband,” she said.
Mr. Tung, from Hang Dao Street, said because of the time change, his daughter, a 10th grade student, arrived home at 8pm and began taking dinner at 8.30pm. After that, she had to study to prepare for the class in the morning of the next day.
“I’m very worried because my daughter has to take the bus to return home late but I cannot pick her up because I’m a driver, my working time is not fixed. My mother has to take care of two smaller children,” Tung said.
Transport Minister Dinh La Thang: “I’ve never seen gridlocks”
Thang told the press on January 31: “I go to the office at 6.30am and return home after 7pm so I’ve never seen gridlocks.”
He said arranging different working time for schools, offices, etc. has been applied in many countries. If people are aware of adjusting time themselves, they will avoid traffic jams.
Thang admitted the state’s responsibility in developing transport facilities but he said funding is limited so transport works will be built gradually.
Thanh Ha
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