HCM CITY — Two more HCM City districts have extended hours at kindergartens for the upcoming 2017-18 academic year for children of factory workers who work overtime at industrial parks and export processing zones in HCM City.

Workers who have kids at nurseries and kindergartens in Tân Thuận Export Processing Zone in District 7 and Tây Bắc Industrial Park in Củ Chi District will be able to send their children to kindergarten at 5:30pm or later.

Kindergartens in the two districts extended hours to 5:30pm and to Saturday this academic year, instead of the previous 4pm Monday through Friday.

In the previous school year, overtime services began at kindergartens in the Linh Trung 1 and 2 export processing zones in Thủ Đức District and the April 30 Kindergarten in Vĩnh Lộc Industrial Zone in Bình Tân District.

The total number of children benefitting from the services totalled 240.

Fifty per cent of overtime charges are paid by the city’s State budget, while the remaining 50 per cent is from parents’ payments and support from companies.

Teachers who have voluntarily registered to work overtime are paid VNĐ33,000 (US$1.5) per hour Monday to Friday and VNĐ44,000 ($2) per hour for Saturday.

Overtime services are expected to be offered at all industrial parks and export processing zones in the city during the 2018-19 school year.

To create favourable conditions for workers’ children, the city will also continue to provide assistance to build or upgrade private kindergartens in industrial parks and export processing zones in districts 2, 7, 12, Bình Chánh, Củ Chi and Nhà Bè by 2020. — VNS