Schools in Nghe An have to operate in two shifts due to overcrowding and a shortage of classrooms.

The school is facing difficulties.

In late August, teachers at Quynh Phuong Secondary School (Quynh Mai commune, formerly Hoang Mai town) were busily cleaning and renovating the dilapidated single-story buildings to prepare classrooms for students in time for the new school year. "This school doesn't meet any standards now, only the teaching staff has the required training level," said Mr. Ho Tuan Anh, the principal of Quynh Phuong Secondary School.

In the 2025-2026 school year, Quynh Phuong Secondary School will have 1,800 students, making it the third largest secondary school in Nghe An province, after Ha Huy Tap Secondary School and Hung Dung Secondary School (formerly Vinh City). Due to the large number of students and the shortage of classrooms, the school has always had to organize classes in two shifts. This is one of the few schools in Nghe An province that still operates in this manner.

Quynh Phuong Secondary School currently has two two-story buildings, one built in 2006 and the other in 2015. However, these two buildings only have 22 rooms, 5 of which are allocated to functional rooms such as the library and computer lab. Therefore, only 17 permanent classrooms are available for students.

“Last school year, our school had 34 classrooms, which was just enough to teach in two shifts. 17 classes from grades 6 and 9 studied in the morning, while the afternoon classes were reserved for grades 7 and 8. But this school year, the number of students has increased significantly, requiring 38 classes. Therefore, we are still short of 4 classrooms,” said teacher Ho Tuan Anh.

Therefore, the school is having to clear out the old, severely dilapidated single-story buildings to make enough classrooms for students to start the new school year.

Due to a lack of facilities, Quynh Phuong Secondary School has been unable to provide practical laboratories for students. It also lacks a multi-purpose hall, music room, art room, and medical room like other schools. “According to standards, a school should have four science practice rooms, but there aren’t any here. This significantly impacts the quality of teaching and learning. Students don’t get proper hands-on practice and have to make do with outdoor lessons. Without practical sessions, teachers are forced to teach without any equipment,” Principal Ho Tuan Anh added.

On exam days, students are divided into smaller classes. Due to insufficient classrooms, the school has to cram hundreds of students into the parking garage for the exams. Furthermore, the two-shift teaching schedule makes it difficult for the school to organize teacher meetings. On average, the school holds nearly 10 meetings per month, ranging from professional development meetings to Party activities. However, because teachers teach two shifts, filling their schedules all week, there's never a time when all teachers are free to hold a meeting.

"We have to schedule Wednesday afternoons to teach only two lessons, then give the students a break for the teachers' meetings. But we have to make up for it on other days of the week," said the principal of Quynh Phuong Secondary School.

Tired of waiting

Similarly in Quynh Mai, Quynh Lap Secondary School (Tan Mai ward) is also facing difficulties due to a shortage of classrooms before the start of the new school year. According to our reporter's observations, this school has a two-story building, constructed in 2009 and 2017, with a total of 26 rooms. However, currently, 9 of those rooms are being used for functional rooms such as computer labs and practical training rooms. Therefore, only 17 classrooms are available for students.

“Last school year, we had over 1,000 students in 23 classes. Therefore, we had to utilize functional rooms to provide enough classrooms for one shift. But this school year, the number of students has increased by 200, bringing the total number of classes to 27. However, we only have 26 classrooms in total, including the functional rooms, so we can no longer utilize them. Therefore, the school has had to switch to a two-shift system like in Quynh Phuong, with grades 6 and 9 attending in the morning and grades 7 and 8 attending in the afternoon,” said Mr. Ngo Van Binh, Principal of Quynh Lap Secondary School.

According to Mr. Binh, in previous years, in order to have enough classrooms for one shift, the school utilized functional rooms, which disadvantaged students. "Actually, if classes were held in one shift, it would be easier for teachers and the school. But utilizing rooms like that puts students at a disadvantage because they lack functional rooms," Mr. Binh said, adding that it is projected that in the next five years, the school will continue to add hundreds of students each year. Therefore, the issue of classrooms is becoming increasingly overloaded.

"We have also just submitted a proposal to the Tan Mai ward authorities, requesting them to expedite the construction of new classrooms so that we have enough classrooms for the following school years. Otherwise, we will definitely have to teach in two shifts this school year," Mr. Binh added.

The principal of Quynh Phuong Secondary School stated that, similar to Quynh Lap, the number of students in Quynh Phuong will continue to increase in the coming years. “It is projected that in the coming years, the number of secondary school students in Quynh Phuong will exceed 2,000, possibly reaching 44 classes. At that point, even utilizing the old, dilapidated single-story buildings will certainly not be enough. Therefore, we request that the authorities pay attention and promptly implement the project to build more classrooms,” said Mr. Ho Tuan Anh, adding that nearly 10 years ago, since taking over the school, the school and parents have repeatedly petitioned for the construction of more classrooms. The project was approved in 2019, but construction has yet to begin.

Discussing this issue, a former leader of Hoang Mai town said that before the implementation of the two-tiered government system, the former Hoang Mai town government had also drawn up a project to build new school buildings for Quynh Lap and Quynh Phuong Secondary Schools. However, the project was temporarily halted before it could be implemented due to the two-tiered government system and the merger of communes and wards.