The Vietnamese government has agreed to invest VND4.8 trillion (USD233 million) in the construction of new student dormitories this year.

The Vietnamese government has agreed to invest VND4.8 trillion (USD233 million) in the construction of new student dormitories

Duong Van Ba, Deputy Head of the Department for Student Affairs under the Ministry of Education and Training, released the information at a conference held on June 8.

According to Ba, with the investment, around 330,000 Vietnamese students will be able to use dormitories by the end of this year. By 2015, dormitories can accomodate 60% of students.

The country’s current student dormitories are only capable of accommodating 20% of students, with the rest forced to rent rooms in privately-run hostels or live with their families or relatives, Ba added.

Rising demand, but limited supply

Hoang Van Quy, Head of hostel management board of the University of Technical Education Ho Chi Minh City, said his university’s dormitories could accommodate only 8% of their students.

Initially, the university expected to finish building a VND87-billion (USD4.22 million) hostel area for 2,000 students early in the 2011-2012 academic year. However, work has been delayed because of a government freeze on bonds issued for their construction, Quy said.

The construction is part of a wider project to build dormitories for 6,000 students previously agreed by the government.

Nguyen Van Cuong, Dormitory Centre of Tay Nguyen University, said the university has 11,000 students, but dormitories can only house 1,200. Since 1998, the university had been banned from constructing any new accommodation.

Cuong added that the university’s dormitories lack common rooms or entertainment facilities. “Recently, the university received approval to build two more dormitories, but they might only attract a small number of students because they are located quite far from the university,” Cuong said.

Hue University faces a similar situation with only 20% of its 25,000 students being housed.

At the meeting, many dormitory managers asked for more autonomy in their operation and financing, rather than having to rely on subsidies.

Nguyen Ba Kham, Dormitory Centre of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, said dormitory operations depended on university leaders.

Annual financial plans are sent to university headmaster to be signed, and based on this, the state would advance the finance, Kham said, suggesting a common regulation to raise financial autonomy in the student accommodation sector.