HCM CITY — A number of dorms at universities in HCM City have set up programmes to offer free or low-cost dormitory rooms for eligible students.

Students from poor families such as Nguyễn Minh Nghĩa from the Mekong Delta province of Đồng Tháp are given first priority. 

“My brother and I study at university, but my family is too poor to afford the costs for our tuition and accommodation,” Nghĩa told Việt Nam News.

Nghĩa, a second-year student at the HCM City University of Architecture, studies at a branch campus in the outlying district of Thủ Đức near Bình Dương Province.

During his freshman year, he stayed at one of the 44 dorms belonging to the Việt Nam National University-HCM City at a discounted rate. He took a bus every day to his university.

Nghĩa is now living at Cỏ May Dormitory, founded by the late Phạm Văn Bên, a humanitarian and businessman whose mission was to help the disadvantaged attend university.  

The dormitory is located on the campus of Nông Lâm University in Thủ Đức District. This year, free accommodations will be given to 100 new students at universities in HCM City.

To qualify, the students must have a high score on the National High School Graduation Examination and show that their family is unable to pay.

The 44 dormitories belonging to Việt Nam National University-HCM City have a total of 52,000 spaces in a variety of rooms. They also have yards for playing sports and green outdoor areas, as well as canteens and outside food areas.

The Management Centre for Dormitories said the monthly price for a room containing eight students in the 2017-2018 academic year is VNĐ130,000 (US$5.7) per student.

Students who share rooms with five others pay VNĐ175,000 a month each. Four students sharing an air-conditioned room pay VNĐ540,000 monthly, and VNĐ325,000 for an un-air-conditioned room.

Besides these dorms, the HCM City University of Technology and Education has two dorms that can accommodate 2,800 students in districts 9 and Thủ Đức.

Priority is given to children of families covered by State policies, or to those whose families are poor, or to female students. The prices are VNĐ230,000 to 340,000 monthly per student.

The University of Transport and Communication’s branch in District 9 has a dormitory that provides accommodations for 1,024 students.

Students at universities in the city’s inner districts can apply for one of the 1,000 spaces at 135A Trần Hưng Đạo Dormitory in District 1 for VNĐ150,000 per month

Priority is given to children of families covered by State policies. For students who are not given priority, the cost if VNĐ200,000 per month.

Other dorms that follow the low-cost policy are in District 5. A seven-storey dormitory at 43-45 Nguyễn Chí Thanh Street houses 800 students, while HCM City University of Technology has a modern dorm with more than 2,500 rooms in District 10.

Đỗ Thị Minh of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province, whose son attends HCM City University of Technology and Education, said the dorm was a safer option than a rented room.  — VNS