The Ministry of Education and Training has urged educational departments and local authorities to urgently inspect operations of all private pre-schools nationwide to assure the safety of children. The move came after a number of scandals concerning the safety of kids have happened at private pre-schools, triggering high concerns among parents, said head of the ministry's Preschool Education Department Nguyen Ba Minh. Accordingly, local educational authorities must be responsible for implementing safety regulations to prevent kids from possible injures and accidents at their pre-schools. Any schools found lacking equipment to secure children’s safety would be shut down, he added. Early this month, a one-year-old girl suddenly died after having lunch at Little Angels Private Pre-school in Hanoi City’s Long Bien district while another two-year-old boy drowned in a manhole at a communal pre-school in the central province of Nghe An. In the past several years, there has been a boom of private pre-schools in big cities due to high demand by city parents. In Hanoi, there are more than 900 pre-schools (202 of which are private), excluding thousands of groups temporarily opening as private businesses. Hoang Thanh Huong from the Hanoi Department of Education and Training said these kinds of pre-schools, without proper licenses and standards of facilities, are usually located in crowded residential areas. The professional knowledge of the teaching staff at these facilities remains low. (Sai Gon Giai Phong – Saigon Liberation Sept 14, moet.gov.vn Sept 10)
