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Children play at a festival in HCM City. The city needs to reserve more areas to build playgrounds for kids. — VNA/VNS Photo Trang Duong |
The city has not shown enough interest in this issue despite an obvious need for more areas and entertainment for kids, Thao told a TV talkshow Noi va Lam (Words and Deeds) on Sunday.
The talkshow hosted a discussion with Thao about the playgrounds after a survey by the Cultural and Social Affairs Board under the city Council.
Pham Sy Sau, a representative of the Youth Publishing House, pointed out that most schools are tube houses without room for playgrounds, so kids stay in the building all day long.
"Some schools don't even have enough library space for pupils, even though reading is important for a child's development," Sau said.
Sau said he was concerned because in the last ten years, HCM City's population has increased by three times, while the number of books published has dropped to a tenth of what it was.
Huynh Anh Tuan, director of IDECAF, said the main reason that playgrounds were so inadequate was that kids didn't have time to play.
"They usually spend six to eight hours a day at school. When is there time for them to read and have fun?" Tuan said.
This is the reason why each district has a children house, but children seldom go there, so the space gets rented out for other purposes.
"Children's theatre is generally invested five – to ten-times higher than other productions but the season never lasts more than a month," Tuan said.
"The reason, again, is children do not have time for drama unless it's performed at schools," he said.
Thao said Khanh Hoi Park in District 4, which was managed by the district's Public Benefit Corporation, was a good example of a children's playground.
The corporation used 1.3ha of the 10ha block for an outdoor playground with swings and games for children, Thao said, adding that this model should be spread.
According to Tran Thien Ha, director of the city Greenery and Park Company, the company manages seven city parks, of which only Tao Dan Park in District 1 has a free playground for children that is financed by a private company.
"We want to build many playgrounds for children at other parks but could not find the sponsorship," Ha said.
Nguyen Thi Dieu Thuy, deputy secretary of the city's Communist Youth Union, said the salaries for managers of Young Pioneer children's houses were too low at VND2 million considering the importance of the position.
"The low salary forces them to take other part time work, which affects their commitment and impacts on the management of children's houses," Thuy said.
Thao said the city Council would issue a resolution on policies after more was known about the issue. — VNS
A United Nations report on August 31 about the situation of children in Vietnam called for the country to make greater efforts in dealing with child poverty, especially among ethnic minorities and rural communities.