Students, teachers, and even parents in Hanoi are protesting new school hours that will be in effect from Wednesday.
In a bid to curb traffic jams, the Hanoi government has directed students at higher education, high school, and vocational training levels to start their school day before 7:00 am and end it at no later than 7:00 pm.
Previously, they began school at 7:00 am or 7:30 am and finished around 5:30 pm.
“This change will damage our health as we will have to get up earlier while still staying up as late as before for studies,” Vu Long, a student at a junior college in the capital, said.
It would be far tougher for them if their schools are to be moved to the outskirts of the city in the future as part of its school relocation plans, Long added.
He pointed out that those who are attending extra evening courses in English or other soft skills will suffer the most, as they already get home around 10:00 pm.
Lan Huong, another college student, complained it is unreasonable for students to have to start earlier but finish much later.
“Hanoi has become frostier these days so leaving school as late as 7:00 pm would be a real ordeal for us.”
Nguyen Tung Lam, principal of Dinh Tien Hoang High School located in Ba Dinh District, said the new school hours will be a terrible burden for students when they go to school in winter.
This change will do more harm than good in the long term, Lam warned.
The new school hours will exert a great impact on the daily routines of students and teachers alike, said Phan Thanh Tung, principal of Tran Nhan Tong High School in Dong Da Disitrict.
Hang, a parent, strongly protested the adjusted school hours, fearing studying until 7:00 pm will worsen her son’s short sightedness because his classroom is inadequately lit in the evening.
Another moaned that she will have to wait for another hour after work to pick her daughter up at school following this adjustment.
Hanoi has also staggered the school hours of kindergartens, elementary and middle schools, and the business hours of shopping centers and the service sector in order to fight traffic congestion, which has grown worse and worse in recent years.
