Schools in Mekong Delta in need of teaching materials

VietNamNet Bridge – Even normally cheap teaching materials are an unrealistic dream for many schools in the Mekong Delta. VietNamNet Bridge – Even normally cheap teaching materials are an unrealistic dream for many schools in the Mekong Delta.

The schools in the Mekong Delta provinces lack classrooms and teaching materials, negatively affecting the quality of instruction.

Pham Thi Cuc, a teacher from An Nong Kindergarten in Tinh Bien District in An Giang province, said her school receives new equipment every new school year, but the school seriously lacks teaching materials. Since the school’s finances are so limited, the school can only purchase essential items, while teachers spend their own money to buy supplies and make teaching materials themselves.

At Dinh An Kindergarten in Dinh An Commune in Go Quao District in Kien Giang province, there is nothing valuable except some illustrations for children to learn the alphabet and spelling.

Tran Thi Bich Thuy, Headmaster of Thuong Thanh Kindergarten in Cai Rang District in Can Tho City also said the school seriously lacks teaching materials. However, even if there are teaching materials, they would not be used.

“Our classrooms are located at people’s houses, so they are very cramped. The playground is so small that there is not enough space for children to play, and there is not enough space to install outdoor chalk boards,” Thuy explained.

Ngo Thi Phuong Lan, Headmaster of Co Do town’s nursery school in Can Tho City, said her school is facing the same problem. The school covers a small area of 255 square meters, too small for 120 children and 20 teachers.

Primary schools also complain that they do not have adequate facilities for teaching and learning. Nguyen Thi Tuong Oanh, Deputy Headmaster of Dinh An 1 Primary School in Go Quao District in Kien Giang province, said the school needs a photocopier, but it still cannot purchase it. As for a poor school like Dinh An 1, a photocopier is beyond its reach.

Under current regulations set by the Ministry of Education and Training, primary education needs at least 457 different kinds of teaching materials, while the number is 731 for secondary schools and 648 for high schools. If asked to meet these regulations, most schools in the Mekong Delta provinces could not meet these standards.

Nui Cam Secondary School, located at the top of Nui Cam Mountain, 500 meters high in Tinh Bien district in An Giang province, now has only 93 sets of teaching materials. The thing that all the teachers at the school crave is a computer.

Leaders of Nui Cam Secondary School said under current regulations, teachers have to write lectures on computers, while the school’s management board has to check email twice a day to update instructions from management agencies. However, since the school still does not have computers, the headmaster and deputy headmasters of the school go to Internet shops everyday to check email. Teachers also use Internet shop computers to draw up their lectures.

Vo Van Tot, Headmaster of Hiep My Dong Secondary School in Tra Vinh province, also complained that the school does not have computers. Every time a teacher needs to type up a document, the teacher must go to a neighboring school or borrow a computer from another school.