Moving to the suburbs to study, Hanoi students fear boredom and lack of part-time jobs

(Dan Tri) - Nguyen Ha Chi (a student at the University of Education) expressed her concern that she will have to move to Hoa Lac to study. The female student is currently working part-time at an English center with a salary of nearly 2 million VND/month.

Students are worried about moving to the suburbs.

Students of the University of Education currently study in parallel at 3 campuses: Hoa Lac, Luong The Vinh and Cau Giay. Nguyen Ha Chi is a second-year student, studying at 2 campuses in the center. For female students, this causes a lot of inconvenience.

“In my first year studying at Luong The Vinh campus, I found a job as a teaching assistant at a nearby English center. This year, I moved to Cau Giay to study, and had to move to a new place, more than 10km away from my workplace. I still tried not to quit my job because I didn’t want to lose my income. Currently, only students majoring in Pedagogy study in Hoa Lac. If we all have to move up, I will have to quit my job,” Ha Chi confided.

The female student said she is not afraid to move to the suburbs, but is only worried about not having a part-time job. The big English centers are all concentrated in the inner city. Teaching assistant work is both Ha Chi’s strength and a good income. Meanwhile, the current public transportation is not convenient for students like Chi who study in Hoa Lac during the day and work at the center in the evening.

Sharing the same thought, Nguyen Van Anh (second-year student at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities) said that moving to the suburbs to study is a big change.

“For over a year, we have been coming from the countryside, gradually getting used to the new life and settling down. We are not yet familiar with the roads, and now there is a change so our mood will be somewhat unstable,” Van Anh said.

Female students are worried about the lack of amenities, boredom, and lack of part-time jobs in the suburbs. However, she also sees immediate benefits such as reduced living expenses, less rent and food, and more open space.

Students worry about the lack of amenities and boredom of suburban life (Illustration: My Ha).

For third and fourth year students, transferring to the suburbs is not a concern because they will graduate before the school moves. However, from the perspective of young people, moving to the suburbs to study is less exciting.

Pham Huong Giang, a senior student at Hanoi National University of Education, believes that most young people like vibrant, fun places. Moving to the suburbs has the advantage of large spaces and cheap living. Fewer services also help students focus on studying. However, the inner city has values ​​that everyone wants to live in.

“Student life is not only about studying but also about playing and working. Working part-time not only brings income but also helps accumulate many necessary skills for the future. Entertainment spaces in the inner city are also more diverse, rich, and attractive, making student life more colorful.

When students move to the suburbs, the services and amenities will follow, but they certainly will not be as good as in the city center because the universities are scattered in many different areas. Students who want to work part-time or have fun still have to go to the inner city,” Giang stated.

Moving to the suburbs to study will be inconvenient at first but beneficial in the long run.

From the parents' side, many families do not want their children to study far away but agree with the policy of moving university training out of the inner city.

Ms. Nguyen Thi My (Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi) shared: "No one likes having a house in Hanoi but their children have to rent a room to study. But on a macro level, I think this is the right policy.

Moving university students out of the inner city will help reduce traffic congestion and also help the suburbs develop.

In the future, when public transport develops, connecting the suburbs with the city center and connecting neighboring urban areas with each other, the inconveniences in commuting, working part-time or enjoying entertainment, cultural and artistic services will no longer exist.

Mr. Tran Hoang Nam (Thanh Tri, Hanoi) also pointed out the important economic and planning benefits of moving universities to the suburbs.

Moving university students out of the inner city will help reduce traffic congestion and also help the suburbs develop (Illustration: University of Technology).

“In the future, when universities have to merge according to the Government’s request, moving to the suburbs will be more reasonable to create space for the schools to develop into large universities. If the schools remain in the center, spreading out to many different facilities will only cause more inconvenience to students and lecturers.

Students also do not have to worry about boredom or lack of part-time jobs. Because wherever the university goes, services will follow. Most importantly, the traffic infrastructure needs to be invested synchronously,” Mr. Nam analyzed.

Le Tran Khanh Lam - a second-year student at the National Economics University - said that although his house is in Hanoi, he does not hesitate to move to the suburbs to study.

“Hanoi’s public transport is improving day by day. Buses are relatively developed for students to study far away. There will also be trains in the near future. Going to school or work 30-40km every day will no longer be a problem.

Nowadays, you can study in the center but the space is getting more and more cramped, renting a room near the school is no longer easy. The boarding houses are overloaded, the prices are escalating, you have to rent a room more than ten kilometers away from the school. Meanwhile, if you go to the suburbs, you will be closer to the school, maybe have a larger dormitory, cheaper price", Khanh Lam shared.

At the press conference after the 18th Hanoi Party Congress on the afternoon of October 17, Standing Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee Nguyen Van Phong discussed the capital's planning orientation.

Accordingly, regarding the urban planning of the West of Hanoi, the city is preparing to start construction of the Van Cao - Hoa Lac urban railway line to promote the development of the Hoa Lac university urban area.

This will be a large training, research and innovation center, with the core including Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, Hanoi National University and a concentrated university area of ​​about 300 hectares, to gradually relocate universities in the inner city to this area.

However, moving educational and medical facilities out of the inner city does not mean moving all universities.

“The city will only relocate the regular university training block, which concentrates a large number of students, while research facilities, postgraduate training, and international cooperation will still be retained in the center, in line with the development orientation of Hanoi as a learning city, a center of knowledge and innovation of the whole country,” said Mr. Phong.

In Hanoi, there are currently 97 universities, academies and 33 colleges, accounting for 1/3 of the total number of schools and 40% of the total number of students nationwide. Of these, there are 26 schools in the inner city area.

(*) Student name has been changed

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/chuyen-ra-ngoai-thanh-hoc-sinh-vien-ha-noi-so-buon-te-it-viec-lam-them-20251028110153513.htm