Universities and colleges in Vietnam are facing serious shortages of dormitories and libraries because up to 24 out of 196 educational institutions nationwide are operating without a library and only 18% of students in the country have got accommodation supply, state media reported. The figures were released at a conference on estimating infrastructure and teaching equipment of public universities and colleges, which was held by the Ministry of Education and Training in Hanoi on October 25. As many as 119 universities and colleges across the country have not yet had e-libraries amid the digital era that has begun for years, the ministry said, adding that on average, 21 students share a seat at library. Educational institutions are also falling short of campuses as each student now has only round 3.6 square meters for studying, which is much lower than the standard of six square meters. Dormitory is another concern to public universities and colleges as they could provide accommodations for only 18% out of over 855,000 students in total nationwide. The ministry elaborated that local educational institutions need an additional 12,000 hectares of campus in the 2011-2015 period, which equal to around VND827 trillion ($42.4 billion) and is out of the state budget’s reach. To ensure better educational facilities, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan suggested that schools should apply tuition hike of 20% per year. Currently, Vietnamese students who mostly come from rural areas have been being asked to pay more for training courses year after year, although they are providing with substandard study facilities. (VOVNews Oct 26, www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn [1] Oct 26)
