Teachers and students are struggling because of the lack of desks and chairs.

In Da Nang, schools are using desks and chairs that are attached together, or having 4th graders sit at desks and chairs the same size as 1st graders, causing many inconveniences for teachers and students.

Class 4/7 at Duy Tan Primary School, Lien Chieu District, has 43 students. On the afternoon of October 5th, when the homeroom teacher called her to the blackboard, Nguyen Hoang Khanh Ly struggled for a long time before finally managing to free her leg from the attached desk and chair.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Xuan, the class teacher, using desks and chairs that are attached together makes group activities difficult because students have trouble moving around. She gave an example: at the beginning of each lesson, there's usually a warm-up to create enthusiasm, but when the teacher has students move to music, they can't form rows of four or three because it's too crowded; the desks and chairs can't be moved. Sweeping and mopping the floor also takes more time.

Khánh Ly said that although she had been familiar with these desks and chairs since first grade, she found it difficult because of her height of 1.59 m and weight of nearly 50 kg.

"Every time I move, if my feet don't hit the chair, my knees hit the table," Ly shared. The female student, along with a dozen other students of similar height, was seated at the back of the class.

Students in class 4/7 at Duy Tan Primary School, Da Nang, sit at desks with attached chairs during class on the afternoon of October 5th. Photo: Nguyen Dong

According to Mr. Nguyen Hy, Principal of Duy Tan Primary School, the school has 319 sets of desks and chairs of the same size, used in 14 out of 35 classrooms. For first and second graders, it's easy, but it will be quite difficult for fourth graders. Many students have grown physically beyond the size of the desks and chairs they used to have.

"Changes should be made soon to ensure students' normal learning and physical development," Mr. Hy said, adding that he had submitted a proposal to the District People's Committee and the Department of Education and Training.

The problem of old and mismatched desks and chairs is prevalent in many schools in Da Nang.

Ms. Anh Ngoc, a parent with children in grades 1 and 5 in Thanh Khe district, frequently has to ask her children about desks and chairs to discuss with their homeroom teachers. According to her, the class size is higher than the standard set by the Ministry of Education and Training (35 students/class), so when extra desks are added, the distance between them is too close.

"The students are also exceptionally tall; some students want to stretch their legs but their legs bump into the student in front of them. The sitting posture is very cramped; to take notes, they have to bend over and hunch their backs...", Ms. Ngoc said.

Desks with attached chairs make it difficult for students to move around, and the classroom space is limited. Photo: Nguyen Dong

At the 2022 year-end session of the Da Nang City People's Council, this was also an issue of concern to many delegates.

"There are schools where 5th-grade students sit at the same desks as 1st-grade students, and 9th-grade students sit at the same desks as 6th-grade students," said Representative Nguyen Thanh Tien, Head of the Urban Affairs Committee.

Mr. Mai Tan Linh, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Department of Education and Training, said that the issue of desk and chair sizes being unsuitable for students had been jointly raised by Da Nang and many other provinces and cities in a report on the adjustment of Circular 26 issued jointly by the Ministries of Education and Training, Science and Technology, and Health.

"This is a story that has been raised as a petition for the past 5-10 years," Mr. Linh said.

In February, voters in Tuyen Quang province also expressed similar opinions, suggesting that the Ministry of Education and Training should study and amend Circular 26 to increase the size of desks and chairs to suit the physical stature of students at all levels.

First-grade students sit at desks with attached chairs, the same size as fourth-grade students. Photo: Nguyen Dong

Circular 26 of 2011, issued based on the 2005 National Standard, regulates the dimensions of desks and chairs for students from primary to high school. Based on student height (1-1.75 m), desks and chairs are divided into six sizes. Depending on the size, desks range in height from 45 to 69 cm, and chairs from 26 to 41 cm. Schools have flexibility, with multiple sets of desks and chairs of different sizes arranged in a single classroom. The circular also does not mandate the use of desks with attached chairs.

Mr. Pham Hung Anh, Director of Facilities Department, Ministry of Education and Training, said that not too many students would be affected if the desks and chairs were arranged according to the regulations in this circular.

"Over 70% of the problems with desks and chairs being too small for students' physical size stem from the organization and arrangement by schools and localities," he said, adding that many schools face this situation.

According to him, the reason is that many places organize the purchase of desks and chairs in a centralized manner, while schools have not done a good job of surveying students' heights, leading to desks and chairs that may be suitable for students in one school but not in another.

Furthermore, many schools arrange for students to sit in the same classroom with the same set of desks and chairs from the beginning to the end of the school year. Therefore, the desks and chairs are designed for first-grade students, but they are still used in fifth grade. This situation is particularly common in primary and secondary schools where parents purchase air conditioners and televisions themselves and are unwilling to have their children moved to a different classroom.

According to Mr. Hung Anh, the only point needing revision in Circular 26 is the provision of desks and chairs for students taller than 1.75 meters. He stated that surveys in many localities have shown that some high school students are taller than this height, making the desks and chairs unsuitable. In the future, the Ministry will coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Health to study student anthropometry in order to revise and adjust Circular 26.

Many schools in Da Nang have found solutions to adapt. For example, Nguyen Hue Secondary School in Hai Chau district regularly checks the height of students in each class at the beginning of each school year to arrange two types of desks and chairs in the same classroom.

"Many sixth-grade students are the same height as eighth or ninth-grade students, and some ninth-grade students are as tall as sixth-grade students. Therefore, we have to be flexible in arranging the desks and chairs accordingly," said Principal Vo Thanh Phuoc.

Nguyen Dong - Duong Tam

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