Đinh Tiên Hoàng Primary School in HCM City’s District 1. — VNA/VNS.Photo Phương Vy

HCM CITY — Fifty one private kindergartens in HCM City have closed down, unable to afford rents and salaries to regular teachers amid the COVID-19 shutdown, the city Department of Education and Training reported.

Schools and kindergartens have been closed since February, meaning while they have had no revenues, they have had to meet their regular expenses.    

In the case of new establishments, they also include repayment of bank loans.

The city has 1,002 private kindergartens and schools left. Of them, 879 cannot afford to continue for much longer and face a high risk of closing if the pandemic prolongs, according to the report.

The department wants the Government to issue policies to support them like extension of tax payment deadlines and waiver of loan interest rates.

It has also urged the city People’s Committee to issue policies to support irregular teachers at public kindergartens.

The Government has announced policies to support people affected by the pandemic including payment of a monthly allowance of VNĐ1-1.8 million for three months from April.

Banks for social policies will provide loans at zero interest for 12 months for employees affected by COVID-19.

The Ministry of Education and Training will collaborate with relevant agencies to ensure these also benefit educational establishments, especially the private ones.

Schools in the city reopened on May 4. Each student at public schools was given nine washable anti-bacterial masks for use for three months.

The city has more than 1.7 million students and 2,300 schools and universities, including 1,300 kindergartens.

The city also has 2,000 private nurseries. — VNS