Accommodation shortage hits annual influx of uni students

HA NOI (VNS)— More than 80 per cent of students, most from rural areas, are struggling to find rental accommodation for the new academic year starting this month.

Ngu Duy Anh, head of the Student Affairs Department under the Ministry of Education and Training, said Ha Noi's 120 or so universities and colleges had about 800,000 students, but were only able to provide accommodation for 10-20 per cent.

Ha Noi University of Technology and Viet Nam National University (VNU) can house about 12 to 13 per cent of their students.

Luong Tuan Anh, a new VNU student, is worried that his rental accommodation is 8km from the university and costs VND1.8 million (US$85) a month – plus electricity and water bills.

To be able to afford it, Anh has to share his 12sq.m room with two other students.

He said he was luckier than most who had to pay more than VND2 million ($95) a month for shared accommodation.

Nguyen Viet Hung, deputy head of VNU's administration department, said student housing at most universities, including VNU, was for students whose families were under the poverty line or for children of invalids and war martyrs.

Hoang Ngoc Vinh, head of the education ministry's Professional Education Department, said that the Ministry of Construction had plans to eventually provide housing for more than 300,000 students.

Teacher Tran Le Anh of Ha Noi University of Agriculture said schools should set up services to provide advice to students about accommodation and build up a network with trustworthy landlords. — VNS