Hanoi land shortage will drive colleges to suburbs
Most universities and junior colleges in Vietnam do not meet current national standards on land area. Urban sites for training establishments in Vietnam remain very limited in contrast to the growing student population and the rapidly increasing number of educational institutions, especially in Hanoi.
 |
2.04 square meters per student
Hanoi has the highest concentration of universities and colleges in Vietnam.
According to Deputy Director of Hanoi Construction Department Nguyen Quoc Tuan, there are 126 training establishments, including 56 universities (37 percent of the 150 universities nationwide), 28 junior colleges (of 226) and 39 (of 81) technical secondary schools.
Some 800,000 students study at Hanoi colleges and universities, or 46 percent of the total students.
Most existing universities were established decades ago on sites of less than ten hectares. Three universities have less than one hectare. Hanoi Foreign Trade University has 2.04 square meters per student and Hanoi Civil Engineering University has 2.32 square meters.
The land fund shortage has become progressively more serious. Since 1997 the number of universities has increased by almost three times and junior colleges have increased by six times. The student population is 13 times larger. Meanwhile, university land has been allocated for commercial purposes rather than for educational pursuits.
The Hanoi University of Technology, for example, had 34 hectares in the 1960s and a dormitory designed for 2,000 students. Since that time, the land has been halved, but the number of students has increased ten-fold.
Because of land shortages, most universities and junior colleges do not have functional areas like dormitories and sport complexes. Dormitories can accommodate 15-20 percent of students, but many buildings have seriously deteriorated.
Satellite centers offer answer
The number of higher education institutions in Hanoi will only continue to increase over the next five years. A study by international consultant PPJ proposes that by 2030, Hanoi will have 1-1.2 million students, but only 50-60 square meters per student.
Hanoi’s authorities plan to relocate training establishments to satellite urban areas and concurrently limit training establishments in the central city. There will be eight higher education clusters.
The Son Tay group will consist of the culture, art, tourism, social sciences and military schools, with some 50,000 students, in an area of 500 hectares.
The Hoa Lac group will gather technology schools with 200,000 students on an area of 2,000 hectares.
The Xuan Mai group will include economics, forestry training establishments with 150,000 students to be located on an area of 1,000 hectares.
The Chuc Son group will be composed of polytechnic and transport schools which will cover an area of 300 hectares, enough for 50,000 students.
The Phu Xuyen group will have polytechnic, agriculture and general training schools with 100,000 students and 300 hectares.
Agriculture, polytechnic and construction schools will gather in Gia Lam group (100,000 students, 500 hectares).
Last, technology universities and vocational schools will be included in Soc Son group. The central area of the city will be reserved for research centers and the leading universities, a total of 300,000 students and an area of 500 hectares.
Source:vietnamnet.vn
Comments