Minimum facility standards for primary schools in Vietnam

What are the minimum facility standards that a primary school in Vietnam must meet?

Based on Article 10 of the Regulations on the standards of facilities for preschools, primary schools, lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools, and general education schools with multiple levels (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) issued together with Circular 13/2020/TT-BGDDT, the minimum facilities standards for primary schools are as follows:

(1) Administrative Management Rooms

- Principal's Room must be equipped with a workspace and full office machines and equipment as prescribed by current regulations;

- Vice Principal's Room must be fully equipped with office machines and equipment as prescribed by current regulations;

- Office: the school must have at least one room; fully equipped with office machines and equipment as prescribed by current regulations;

- Security Room:  the school must have at least one room; located near the school’s entrance, with convenient observational position;

- Restrooms for teachers, staff: arranged according to functional room blocks, separate restrooms for males and females; number of facilities: for males, 1 urinal/15 people, 1 toilet/20 people, 1 hand washing basin/4 toilets but not less than 1; for females, 1 toilet/15 people, 1 hand washing basin/2 toilets but not less than 1. If the restrooms are separate, they must be conveniently located for use and not affect the environment;

- Parking Area for teachers, staff must be covered and provides enough space for the teachers and staff.

(2) Study Rooms Block

- Classrooms: each class has a separate classroom; it may be used as a rest area for students (if any); fully equipped with desks and chairs of proper standards and enough for all students; teacher’s desk and chair; chalkboard; lighting and fan system; cabinets for storing documents and teaching equipment;

- Specialized classrooms for Music, Art: the school must have at least 1 room;

- Specialized classroom for Science – Technology: the school must have at least 1 room;

- Specialized classroom for Information Technology: the school must have at least 1 room;

- Specialized classroom for Foreign Languages: the school must have at least 1 room;

- Multi-function Room: the school must have at least 1 room.

(3) Study Support Rooms Block

- Library: each school has at least 1 library, each school area has a common bookshelf; the library must have functional areas: book storage, management area (workspace for library staff), separate reading areas for teachers and students;

- Educational Equipment Room: the school must have at least 1 room; fully equipped with shelves, cabinets for storing and preserving teaching equipment of the entire school;

- Counseling and Support Room for students with disabilities: the school must have at least 1 room, located on the first floor;

- Traditional Room: the school must have at least 1 room; fully equipped with necessary equipment;

- Pioneer Team Room: the school must have at least 1 room; fully equipped with necessary equipment; it can be combined with the traditional room.

(4) Auxiliary Block

- Meeting Room: the school must have at least 1 room, fully equipped with necessary equipment as prescribed by current regulations; used for collective activities and teacher work outside teaching hours;

- School Clinic: the school must have at least 1 room; equipped with a medicine cabinet containing essential drugs, first aid tools, sickbed;

- Warehouse: the school must have at least 1 room; for storing common tools and school supplies;

- Student Parking Area must be covered; area for students with disabilities near the entrance/exit;

- Student Restrooms: arranged according to functional room blocks, separate restrooms for males and females, ensuring access for students with disabilities; number of facilities: for males, 1 urinal, 1 toilet, and 1 washing basin for 30 students (in case of urinal troughs, ensure a trough length of 0.6m for 30 students), partition between urinal and toilet; for females, 1 toilet and 1 washing basin for 20 students. If restrooms are separate, they must be conveniently located for use and not affect the environment;

- Gate, Fence: the school campus must be separated from the outside by protective fences (brick walls or green fences), ensuring solidity and safety. The school gate must be solid and stable to mount the gate and nameplate of the school.

(5) Playground, Sports Area

- A common playground for the entire school to organize school-wide activities; the playground must be flat, with shade trees;

- Sports playground ensuring safety and equipped with equipment for student activities.

(6) Living Facilities Block

- Kitchen (for schools with kitchen services) must be separated from the study and support blocks; one-way workflow, hygienic;

- Kitchen Storage (for schools with kitchen services) has separate storage for food and groceries; convenient access for entry and exit of goods, separate zones for different types of food; equipped with storage facilities;

- Dining Hall (for boarding schools) must be fully equipped to serve students;

- Dormitories (for boarding schools) must have sufficient sleeping rooms for students, with restrooms and showers; separate areas for males and females; fully equipped;

- Student Management Room (for boarding schools) must be located in the dormitories, used for teachers to manage boarding students.

(7) Technical Infrastructure

- Clean Water Supply: meeting usage demand, ensuring regulations and standards for water quality according to current regulations; drainage, collection system combined with covered ditches and wastewater treatment system ensuring regulated wastewater quality before discharge;

- Power Supply: providing sufficient power capacity for school activities safely;

- Firefighting System: compliant with current regulations;

- IT and Communication Infrastructure: telephone; internet connection for school activities;

- Waste Collection Area: located independently, far from functional room blocks, at the end of the wind direction; with separate access, convenient for garbage collection and transportation; has a separate drainage system, not affecting the environment.

(8) Construction Items for the facilities specified in Clause 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of Article 10 of the Regulations issued together with Circular 13/2020/TT-BGDDT must be built either permanently or semi-permanently. The rate of permanent structures must be no less than 40%.

(9) Teaching Equipment

- Teaching equipment must be provided according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training;

- Specialized classrooms must be fully equipped with desks, chairs, cabinets, shelves, electrical system, water system, fans, ventilation, supportive devices, and teaching equipment and materials according to the nature of each subject.

Minimum facility standards for primary schools in Vietnam​ (Image from the Internet)

What are standards for size of primary schools in Vietnam?

Based on Clause 2, Article 9 of the Regulations issued together with Circular 13/2020/TT-BGDDT, the standards for primary school size are as follows:

- Primary schools must have a minimum scale of 10 classes and a maximum of 30 classes. For schools in disadvantaged communes, the minimum scale is 5 classes;

- Depending on local conditions, school areas can be arranged in different locations to facilitate student access to school. There can be no more than 5 school areas; for schools in disadvantaged communes, depending on actual conditions, there can be no more than 8 school areas.

What are requirements for location of primary schools and school areas in Vietnam?

Based on Clause 1, Article 9 of the Regulations issued together with Circular 13/2020/TT-BGDDT, the requirements for the location of primary schools and school areas are as follows:

- Suitable with the local educational development plan;

- The surrounding environment must ensure safety for students, staff, teachers, and employees;

- Convenient transportation connections for students to commute to school, meeting fire prevention and control requirements.