Vietnam - Private schools are problem-laden: educators

Private high schools in Ho Chi Minh City have been dogged by many problems, including teacher shortages, inadequate facilities, low enrollment numbers, and financial issues, according to reports released by educators at a conference chaired Thursday by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training.

The number of schools, which amounts to 85, or half of the city’s total, is now in inverse proportion to education quality, the reports say.

Less than 50 percent of them meet the requirement for the number of tenured teachers, while the others suffer from a severe lack of teachers.

Very few schools have their own campuses while the majority have had to lease teaching space to enroll students.

Nguyen Dinh Thai Chau, chief of finance and planning at the city education department, revealed that most of the schools broke their promises regarding teaching facilities they had made to local education authorities when applying for an operation license.

Many schools have fewer than 100 students, while enrollment at others is as low as 33, even though they have operated for years.

Finance has been a headache for some as they collect tuition for only nine months of schooling, while teachers and other employees are paid all year round, Nguyen Thi Son, principal of Duy Tan High School in District 10, divulged, adding that disagreements among the management of these schools are frequent.

Many schools have even opened new branches without permission, whereas a considerable number fail to meet the national standard for the space used by a student.

Personnel and legalities are also a big issue at private schools, as many have been found to lack a required staff management mechanism, and some even have unregistered principals and vice principals.

In Vietnam, private schools are deemed to be lower quality than public ones.

TUOI TRE

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