With construction still unfinished, teachers and students anxiously await the new school building.
Some school construction projects, although started a long time ago, have been delayed for a long time due to various reasons, affecting the teaching and learning process of the schools. While waiting for the projects, many classrooms have to be crammed into temporary rooms, lacking the required space.
The school was almost finished but then abandoned.
For nearly six months now, the two-story building of Nghi Phong Kindergarten (Vinh Loc Ward) has been devoid of construction workers, even though the project only has a few more items left before it can be put into use. The reason is believed to be a lack of funds, with the contractor refusing to continue construction.
"We are very anxious and have made requests repeatedly, but so far we haven't seen any action," said Ms. Truong Thi Loc, Principal of Nghi Phong Kindergarten.
The project to build a two-story building with eight classrooms and a canteen for the school began in 2023, with the People's Committee of Nghi Phong commune (formerly) as the investor. The project has a total investment of over 13 billion VND and is planned to be completed and handed over in June 2025. To make way for the project, some classrooms and multi-purpose rooms in the old building were demolished. Therefore, the school had to consolidate students, and some classes even had to temporarily move to the principal's office while waiting for the new building.
The principal stated that the school currently has 475 children, and according to regulations, this number should be divided into 16 class groups. However, it is not possible to arrange more classes.classroomThe school was left with only 15 class groups. Even so, some groups had nearly 30 children crammed into a room that was only 15 square meters in size.2This room used to be the vice principal's office.
"The other classrooms are larger, over 60 square meters."2According to the new regulations, classrooms must be larger than 120 square meters.2But because it's a temporary school, waiting for the new school to be built, the children have to be crammed into a room that's only 15 square meters.2"This room is not only cramped but also lacks a toilet and storage space, making it very inconvenient. The children have to use the toilet elsewhere, and their belongings are left outside on the stairs. Furthermore, they have to eat in the hallway; it's bearable in warm weather, but it's heartbreaking in this cold season," Ms. Loc said.
Because they had to give up their classrooms for the students, the two vice principals of the school had to share a small room with the medical staff. According to the reporter's observations, the project is about 90% complete, with some equipment such as electric fans already installed inside the classrooms. Only a few minor items remain to be constructed, such as railings and stairs… “A few months ago, several delegations from Vinh Loc ward leaders came to inspect and said they would urge the contractor to put the kitchen into use at least by September 2025, however, since then, no workers have come to work,” the principal added.
Mr. Nguyen Cong Anh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghi Phong commune (formerly), said that during the construction of this project, due to the need to adjust some items, the progress was delayed compared to the plan.
It's true that the project was previously under the investment of Nghi Phong commune, but now it's under Vinh Loc ward. The commune had already paid the contractor approximately 10 billion VND, but when the two levels of government came into operation, the project was transferred to Vinh Loc ward when it was almost completed. Due to a lack of allocated funds, the contractor hasn't resumed construction. We also hope that the ward will pay attention to and prioritize schools, allocating funds so that the project can continue to be put into use.
Mr. Nguyen Cong Anh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghi Phong commune (formerly)
Worried about the dilapidated condition of the classrooms.
Also in Vinh Loc ward, more than 700 students at Nghi Thai Secondary School are anxiously studying in dilapidated classrooms. Meanwhile, the new school project keeps stalling after only a few months of construction, causing delays. "This is probably one of the oldest and most dilapidated schools in Nghe An today. And the new classroom block is taking forever to build," said Mr. Nguyen Huu Tho, the principal of Nghi Thai Secondary School.
According to Mr. Tho, the school also has two two-story buildings, but they were built more than 25 years ago and are now dilapidated. Many cracks have appeared in the statues, and the ceilings are rusty and decaying. The school has hired repairmen many times, but the problems have not been resolved. In addition, the school is still using a single-story building, constructed nearly 40 years ago.
Faced with this situation, in the 2023-2024 school year, a project to build a three-story school building with nine classrooms was started. This project was invested in by the People's Committee of Nghi Thai commune (formerly). “However, after land clearance, the contractor erected a fence and began construction of the foundation when complaints arose alleging that the project lacked complete documentation and procedures. Specifically, the project lacked community supervision. Therefore, the project was suspended for about four months. After the procedures were completed, workers resumed construction, but stopped again shortly afterward. The contractor stated that this was due to a lack of timely funding. As a result, the project has been on and off repeatedly, dragging on until now,” Mr. Tho said, adding that the project has a total investment of over 7 billion VND.
Besides this three-story classroom building, Nghi Thai Secondary School has another project that has been halted for nearly half a year. This is a multi-purpose building project with a total investment of over 5 billion VND. This multi-purpose building is nearly 600 square meters in size.2Construction on the new building, which began in early 2025, was to be built on land that was previously the school's gymnasium. By June 2025, with only four walls completed, the project was halted for reasons unknown to the school. Since then, no workers have been seen continuing the construction.
According to Mr. Tho, because the school had to give up space for the construction of a multi-purpose building, students have to do physical education classes right behind the school gate, causing inconvenience. Meanwhile, the schoolyard is already cramped, and the unfinished three-story building project, which is currently enclosed with corrugated iron, occupies a significant portion of the area. "The school earnestly hopes that the local authorities will pay attention to this matter so that these facilities can be put into use soon," Mr. Tho said.
Regarding this issue, Mr. Nguyen Huy Hoang, Chairman of the Vinh Loc Ward People's Committee, said that the ward had also received requests from Nghi Phong Kindergarten and Nghi Thai Secondary School.
The reason for the halt in construction is that the investors, the People's Committees of the communes, previously lacked matching funds for the contractors, causing them to stop work. Regarding the two school building projects at Nghi Phong Kindergarten and Nghi Thai Secondary School, they are nearing completion. Next week, the People's Committee of the ward will work with the contractors to urge them to resume construction and put them into use. As for the multi-purpose building project at Nghi Thai Secondary School, the relevant documents and procedures are currently being reviewed.
Mr. Nguyen Huy Hoang - Chairman of the People's Committee of Vinh Loc Ward
