A conference being held in HCM City on August 19 to discuss schools’ preparation for the 2022 – 23 year. – Photo sggp.org.vn

HCM CITY – HCM City schools are preparing for the upcoming academic year by renovating facilities and trying to accommodate the expected spike in new admissions, a conference heard in HCM City on August 19.

Nguyễn Thành Trung, permanent deputy chairman of the city Việt Nam Fatherland Front Committee, said a survey done of over 28,000 parents found that many were satisfied with the school fees, enrollment procedures and curriculums.

But many were unhappy with the quality of facilities, he said.

Some 14.4 per cent of them found the restrooms and cafeterias at their children’s schools unhygienic, and wanted schools to focus more on improving them, he said.

Some parents also complained about having to pay too much for stationery and curriculums being too focused on exams instead of extra-curricular activities and life skills.

The 2022 – 2023 school year will see an increase of 21,800 new students from the previous year.

Trung said this was due to people from other places migrating to the city.

Classrooms would have more students than the prescribed number, he said.

Finding teachers for English, music and art had been difficult and there had not been enough applicants, he added.

Trần Trung Mậu, deputy chairman of the HCM City Association of Former Teachers, said several districts facilitated the opening of non-public schools to share the pressure with government schools.

HCM City needed to pay more attention to paying a good salary to teachers to help them focus on their job, he said.

The Fatherland Front Committee and Department of Education and Training sent inspection teams to several districts to check how they are preparing for the new school year.

Schools reopen on September 5, but students in primary to high schools will go to school on August 22 to meet their teachers and take part in start-of-year activities. – VNS