Le Thanh Hai told a recent meeting that to achieve this target the administration would draft preferential policies to enable districts to build schools and hire staff especially to care for pre-nursery children.

"The committee has also instructed the Department of Education and Training to work with teachers training colleges to make plans for training at least 2,000 pre-nursery teachers by 2015," he said.

The department would have to coordinate with the Ho Chi Minh Women's Association and people's committees of districts to start short-term professional training courses.

Authorities in the city's 24 districts have been told to survey and report to the city administration about the demand for pre-nursery schools and availability of land and funds so that appropriate measures can be taken.

According to Thai Thi Bich Lien, deputy chief of the city Party Committee Office, there are 417 public pre-nursery schools which have 156,212 children aged from 18 months to five years.

But there are still 11 wards and communes without such schools.

Thai Van Re, director of the Department of Planning and Investment, said in 2000-08 priority was given to building primary, junior, and senior secondary schools.

"In the last three years the city has focused on building pre-nursery schools," Re said.

In the period 118 schools costing VND4.39 trillion (US$208.15 million) have been approved.

The director of the Department of Education and Training, Le Hong Son, said the city would continue to lack facilities to take care of children aged six to 12 months, but did not have the resources to build schools and train teachers for the purpose.

"The department's immediate solution to this shortage problem is to set up trial classes in some rural and urban districts and [later] expand the effective model.

"From now to 2015 the city is expected to have a shortage of 5,000 pre-nursery teachers.