The former headquarters of a public service unit under the old Thái Bình City People’s Committee has been renovated into four classrooms, seven specialised subject rooms, and 10 functional rooms for Trần Phú Secondary School. VNA/VNS Photo Thế Duyệt

HƯNG YÊN — In the 2025–2026 school year, Trần Phú Secondary School has become the first school in Hưng Yên Province to receive a surplus government building, formerly the headquarters of Thái Bình City’s public offices, as additional classrooms following the merger of Hưng Yên and Thái Bình provinces.

The provincial initiative has helped Hưng Yên’s education sector resolve a longstanding shortage of classrooms, underscoring the local government’s commitment to optimising resources and prioritising investment in education.

Trần Phú Secondary School in Trần Hưng Đạo Ward has long been one of the top-performing schools in the former Thái Bình City. Yet, with a growing student population, the school has struggled for years with a lack of classrooms and specialised subject rooms. Its original facility, built in 2016 on a 7,000-square-metre site with 21 classrooms, forced some classes to share rooms.

Given the urgency of putting surplus office space to use and meeting local development needs, the Hưng Yên People’s Committee on August 15 issued Decision 599 to transfer former city office buildings covering more than 1,700 square metres to Trần Phú Secondary School for use as classrooms.

Students at Trần Phú Secondary School now enjoy well-equipped classrooms. VNA/VNS Photo Thế Duyệt

The five-story building with a floor area of 510 square metres, once a government office, has now been transformed into a 'house of knowledge', where hundreds of students study in bright, modern and well-equipped spaces. The additional rooms allow the school to run full-day classes, expand extracurricular and talent development programmes and provide students with a more well-rounded education.

According to Principal Nguyễn Thị Việt Hoa, the new facility adds four classrooms for about 200 sixth graders, seven specialised subject rooms and 10 functional rooms. This has largely resolved the school’s infrastructure challenges and meets the requirements of the 2018 General Education Programme.

Sixth grader Phạm Minh Anh from class 6A4 shared her excitement about learning in a spacious, clean and comfortable classroom.

“Having more space to study and play not only improves our learning quality, but also makes school more enjoyable every day,” she said.

Teacher Phạm Thị Tuyến noted that teachers, parents and students are all pleased with the upgraded facilities. The new functional rooms allow for club activities and help students explore and develop their individual talents.

Echoing this sentiment, Phạm Thị Nga, Head of the Social Sciences Department, said that after taking over the building, the school has gradually invested in upgrading functional rooms, especially English classrooms, to create a modern learning environment.

“Developing specialised classrooms and functional facilities lays the groundwork for making English a second language at our school,” she said.

Accelerating the use of surplus public assets

Hưng Yên Province has recently implemented a range of measures to manage, reorganise and repurpose public assets, particularly surplus government buildings, including converting them for use in serving socio-economic development goals.

To accelerate the management of surplus public property, the Hưng Yên Provincial Party Committee has instructed all units to complete the inventory, planning and reallocation of public assets by September 30. The goal is to ensure efficient and economical use of public resources, avoiding waste or lax management, especially of public buildings and land.

Surplus government buildings and land must be repurposed for public use such as preschools, schools, parks, playgrounds and community centres. The assets will be sold, liquidated, leased or transferred to State-owned entities that manage public land and buildings for long-term use.

Communes and wards are required to finalise and issue their plans for handling surplus facilities by September 25 as part of the administrative restructuring process.

Despite ongoing challenges, Hưng Yên’s practical and flexible approach to reorganising and repurposing public assets reflects the province’s strong commitment to staying close to the people and serving their needs. — VNS