Big question mark about the quality of school consolidation in Nghe An

Finished school, still have to study

In mid-September, we were present atTung Huong village(Tam Quang commune, Tuong Duong district). This is the most remote border village, more than 16 km from the commune center. Because of the remote location, there is always a satellite school for children to attend. Not far from the village center, dozens of children are crowded in an old kindergarten, with cracks running all over the walls.

“Not only is it degraded, but even more dangerous is that lightning strikes here frequently. Luckily, the previous lightning strikes were at night, so there were no casualties. In addition, this place is also prone to flooding. Just a heavy rain can cause deep flooding, making it impossible to study,” said Ms. Kha Thi Hien - Chairman of the People’s Committee of Tam Quang Commune.

Tung Huong village currently has about 60 children of preschool age. They are divided into 3 groups, studying at 3 different locations. Some groups are anxiously staying at the old school, others run to study at the village cultural house. Even though the new preschool has been built nearby for a long time.

Tung Huong Kindergarten has 1 room, the construction cost nearly 800 million VND was completed a long time ago but still cannot be handed over. Photo: Duc Anh

More than 4 years ago, Tung Huong residents were excited to receive information that they would benefit from a kindergarten located in the area.school consolidation program. The school with one classroom costing nearly 800 million VND was then built on an empty lot in the center of the village. About a year ago, this project was completed. However, it has not been handed over yet. The reason is that many items are not up to standard.

When the reporter was present at Tung Huong kindergarten, the substandard items had been fixed by the construction unit. However, observing this small school with a budget of nearly 800 million VND, it was easy to immediately notice a strange detail that affected the safety of the children. That is, the school was built through the civilian electricity grid leading to the village.

The power lines are about 3 meters above the ground and have been there for a long time. The school construction site is a very large vacant lot. However, when building the school, instead of moving to avoid or relocate the power lines, the construction unit still built right under the power lines. When the wall was raised, the construction unit left 2 walls with 2 holes for the power lines to run through the classroom, right above the heads of the children (?!).

The power line runs through the kindergarten classroom. Photo: Tien Hung

Similar to Tung Huong village, Tam Lien kindergarten students continue to study at the primary school this school year. This row of 5 classrooms was previously unused, so 2 classrooms were reserved for kindergarten students. The remaining 3 classrooms are being rented and used by workers working on nearby roads and bridges. Being both a kindergarten and a place for workers to live, it is clear how hard teaching and learning is for teachers and students. Not to mention, the organization of meals, accommodation and rest for teachers and students has many shortcomings.

Preschool children in Tam Lien have to study at the old primary school. Photo: My Ha

“Unacceptable!”

“It is unacceptable!”, the Chairman of the People’s Committee of Tam Quang commune expressed his indignation when talking about the quality of the school consolidation projects that the locality is the beneficiary of. “The Department of Construction did not approve the acceptance and requested repairs. The locality also requested to fix many items. Up to now, those items have been fixed, but we are still not satisfied and do not dare to accept the handover”...

Since moving to a temporary classroom, teacher Lo Thi Em has had to accept teaching in a makeshift way. Ms. Lo Thi Em said that despite her efforts to decorate the school, the classroom is still shabby and lacking. Next to the classroom is a dining room for 24 students, but at the same time it is also a very messy storage room. Currently, the schoolboarding schoolfor students but food is not cooked on site but has to be transferred twice a day from Bai So school, more than 1 km from Tam Lien. Students in the school do not have toilets to use but are using temporary toilets.

Tam Lien school's foundation structure is not made of the right materials, and the corrugated iron roof is crooked. Photo: My Ha

WhilefacilitiesWhile the temporary school is in dire straits, about 300 meters away, Tam Lien Kindergarten (which is in the old location) has been under construction for a long time but has not yet been used. Similarly, in Tung Huong, the kindergarten with a one-classroom design is part of the school consolidation program invested by the Department of Education and Training, but has yet to be handed over.

According to a report from Tuong Duong district, when the construction was completed, the local authorities discovered that the roof purlins were of different types, the corrugated iron roof was crooked, the foundation structure was made of incorrect materials... "I have never seen a school that took so long to build. Seeing that the school was completed but not yet in use, many parents wondered, but I had to encourage them to try," teacher Em added.

This school year, kindergarten students in Tam Lien continue to have to attend classes with other students. Photo: My Ha

Meanwhile, at Huu Khuong Primary School (Tuong Duong), because they could no longer wait after the time of free-riding, the school had to let the students study at new schools, even though they had not yet received the handover.

The school consolidation program in the period of 2017 - 2020 has built 2 primary schools in Tung Hoc and Xan villages. Each school with 5 classrooms costs more than 3.2 billion VND. In total, it costs nearly 650 million VND to build a classroom.

Because these schools were built on top of the old school, students had to go to school under the local stilt houses. More than a year ago, the schools were completed one after another. However, due to the need to fix substandard items, these two schools have not been handed over yet. Because studying under the local stilt houses was too inconvenient, teachers had to take their students to the new school.

Currently, although it has been fixed, the teachers here are still not satisfied with some items. "Although the handover has not yet been completed, the door locks in the classrooms are all damaged and can no longer be used. If they do not repair it, we will absolutely not sign the handover," said principal Le Tuyen Huan.

September 7,Khanh Yen Thuong Primary School gate, Ban Phung branch, Van Ban district, Lao Cai, collapsed, killing 3 students and injuring 3 others. The Ministry of Education and Training immediately sent a document to the People's Committees of provinces and cities requesting a plan to renovate and repair if the school's facilities are damaged, especially during the rainy and stormy season. If the building has expired or does not meet standards and has not been renovated, it cannot be used. Many accidents such as collapsed fences, school gates, and classroom ceilings have occurred. The main reason, according to the Ministry of Education and Training, is that the school was built a long time ago but has not been renovated or maintained according to regulations and the management agency has not done a good job of evaluating and inspecting.

Damaged before delivery

So far, the teachers at the main point in Huoi To village ofMai Son Primary School(Tuong Duong district), is still not satisfied with the quality of the project despite the contractor's many repairs. In early 2019, the 5-room school block worth more than 2.7 billion VND in Huoi To was completed. However, almost immediately, this school appeared damaged. Specifically, according to the report of the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district, this school has subsided right between the classroom and the hallway, the brick floor has peeled off, and horizontal cracks have appeared on the walls...

Despite many repairs, Huoi To school still has many cracks. Photo: My Ha

Taking reporters to inspect this school, Mr. Dao Xuan Hai - Principal of Mai Son Primary School said that because of the poor quality, the project has not been handed over after more than a year of construction. According to the reporter's records, the subsidence and peeling of the brick floor has been fixed by the construction unit. However, it is still easy to see the sunken areas in the classrooms. Meanwhile, the cracking in the walls has not been fixed by the construction unit.

Learning from the experience of Huoi To school, when constructing Huoi Xa primary school, the school and local authorities proactively monitored closely. According to Ms. Lo Thi Huong - Chairman of Mai Son Commune People's Committee, during the monitoring process, they discovered that the construction unit used unburnt bricks (taplo bricks) that did not ensure quality and had unknown origin. The incident was reported to Tuong Duong district. The district then sent people down to request the suspension of construction. The investor and the construction unit then agreed to discard these bricks. According to the reporter's records, up to now, more than 12,000 of these substandard bricks are still piled up right next to the construction site.

12,000 substandard dashboard bricks were discarded. Photo: My Ha

Not only did they use substandard materials, the teachers also discovered that the construction unit had not built the school properly. Previously, in October 2019, Nghe An Newspaper reporters received a complaint from teacher Dao Xuan Hai about the construction techniques here.

Accordingly, although the construction did not have pillars, the construction unit did not build bricks between the intersecting walls, but only built independently, then attached a few steel hooks 6 and built them together. "Maybe they wanted to build quickly. The principle of building a wall without pillars is to weave bricks to have a bracing force. I was afraid that the wall would collapse later, so when I complained, the construction unit immediately reacted," said Mr. Hai. Nghe An Newspaper reporter then contacted the investor, at which point the construction unit fixed the problem by drilling some points to weave bricks in.

Although the construction unit did not have pillars, they did not use bricks between the intersecting walls, but only built them independently, then attached a few steel hooks 6 and built them together. Photo: Tien Hung

Not only in Mai Son commune, in Huu Khuong commune, the locality also discovered that the construction unit used substandard materials. Specifically, according to the report of Tuong Duong district, at the Pung Bon kindergarten project, the sand and boulders were taken by the construction unit right from the streams and creeks in the commune, which were not suitable for construction. Therefore, the quality of the project did not meet the standards.

Teacher Le Tuyen Huan - Principal of Huu Khuong Primary School said that when he came to the commune to work more than a year ago, the walls at Tung Hoc village school had been built high. "At that time, I went out to see that the dashboard bricks were of very low quality, and when I tried to break some of them, they were very fragile. We reported it but they continued to build, and there was no suspension of construction to replace the bricks," said teacher Huan.

Not only did the teachers use substandard materials, they also complained about the construction techniques of the contractor. Photo: Tien Hung

Many construction items are not designed correctly.

In Tuong Duong district, Nhon Mai is the commune with the most projects in the school consolidation program in the 2017-2020 period. Here, there are 5 primary schools and 3 kindergartens newly built. Perhaps, due to the more remote location, the cost of building schools here is also more expensive than some other communes. Specifically, each kindergarten has only 1 room but costs more than 1 billion VND, while in Tam Quang commune it is less than 800 million VND. And 5 primary schools with 20 rooms have a total investment of nearly 12 billion VND.

According to the project design, the Na Lot primary school (Nhon Mai commune) does not have a school yard, access road, or even a toilet.... Therefore, to get to this school, the reporter had to grope his way through the weeds. Photo: Duc Anh

However, according to Nhon Mai commune leaders, almost every school has problems after construction. Especially the projects in Huoi Co village, one of the most remote villages in Nghe An province. At this primary school, although the 5-classroom project was completed just over a month ago, many items have now seriously degraded.

“Three rooms had wide cracks, running more than 1 meter long. The walls were leaking and seriously leaking. When they shot the corrugated iron roof randomly, it missed the horizontal line below and came loose, and people standing below could still see the blue sky. Therefore, every time it rains, rainwater falls on the concrete roof and seeps into the classrooms,” said Mr. Luong Van Thanh - Vice Chairman of Nhon Mai Commune People’s Committee.

According to the reporter’s investigation, the school consolidation program in the 2017-2020 period in Tuong Duong district has 22 projects. However, most of these projects have “problems” with quality. Not to mention the construction progress set for 6 months, but up to now, many schools that started construction more than 2 years ago have not been able to be handed over.

The first inspection report of the Department of Construction's acceptance work shows that at Luong Minh Primary School, many construction items are not in accordance with the design, such as the foam tank of the fire protection system has not been inspected; the lightning protection system is designed with 2 wires but only 1 wire is installed; the electrical cabinet does not have enough quantity and type of circuit breakers; the three-step barrier has not been installed. Regarding quality, some completed locations do not ensure technical, safety and aesthetics.

Not only are they behind schedule, most of the school consolidation projects in Tuong Duong district have "problems" with quality. Photo: Duc Anh

In addition, the acceptance report also pointed out a series of other problems at Huoi Co, Na Lot, Na Hi kindergartens... in Nhon Mai commune such as: The ceilings are moldy in many places; the walls are cracked horizontally; the sink and toilet water tank systems are not secure. Some equipment has been damaged even though it has not been used, such as electric fans, door locks; the tiles on the steps are broken...

Mr. Kha Van Lap - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Tuong Duong district said that the locality has also sent a document to the Provincial People's Committee and related departments about this situation. According to Mr. Lap, because the district does not have legal documents and project design documents, it has encountered many difficulties in checking and evaluating the quality. During the project implementation process, there was no coordination between the investor and the locality.

Many devices are broken even before being used. Photo: Duc Anh

Discussing this issue, the investor representative, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Hung - Deputy Head of Project Management Department 2 (Project Management Board for Investment and Construction of Civil and Industrial Works of Nghe An Province), admitted that some projects in the school consolidation program have not been able to be handed over yet due to slow progress and unsatisfactory quality.

“According to local feedback and inspections, there are problems with construction quality and progress. On the investor’s side, we have inspected and requested the construction unit to seriously fix the substandard items. The point of view is to ensure the quality meets the requirements before putting the project into use. If the construction unit does not correct the problem, we will take strict measures,” said Mr. Hung.