The fund, calls for 1,000 scholarships worth a total of VND1 billion (USD47,314) to be granted to the preschool-aged children of industrial park workers in Dong Nai, Binh Duong and HCM City.

Fund pledges 1,000 scholarships for disadvantaged children of workers in industrial parks

The fund, established jointly by HCM City University of Pedagogy’s Institute of Educational Research and Home Credit Vietnam will provide 350 scholarships to underprivileged children in HCM City, while the provinces of Dong Nai and of Binh Duong will be granted 325 each.

Apart from such scholarships, the fund will also invite experts in preschool education and child psychology for the purposes of training in childcare for workers in industrial parks and export and processing zones.

Dr. Nguyen Kim Dung, Deputy Director of the Institute of Educational Research, said that the areas targeted are places that house a large number of immigrant workers. These areas have been experiencing overcrowding of preschools, forcing many parents to send their children to unlicensed family-based daycare centres which lack trained staff.

“Even though the authorities have conducted regular inspections and applied fines to these low-quality centres, and in some cases asked them to shut down, several child abuse cases involving such businesses have come to light recently. More attention should be placed on pre-education,” Dung recommended.

According to her, the institute is conducting a study on the practical application of childcare at the preschool level in these three localities in order to assess the quality of education and the difficulties faced by workers by sending their children to daycare. Based on their findings, they will propose long-term solutions to improve the situation.