The Can Tho city's People's Committee has decided to stop constructionon the restoration of the 100-year-old Chau Van Liem High School in NinhKieu district, after receiving strong objections from residents andexperts.
Under the project, the school will be demolished to build a new school with a similar architectural style.
The construction of the new building is expected to be completed by early 2017 to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Oneof the oldest schools in the south, the school originated in the 1880sas a much smaller school known as the Ecole Provinciale de Can-Tho.
In 1917, it was rebuilt as a high school named the College de Can-Tho.
In1945, the two-storey school was renamed Phan Thanh Gian High School. Itcontinued to rename Chau Van Liem High School after one of its mostfamous former students.
The school has been praised for itsoriginal French architecture and for nurturing several talentedmusicians, writers and revolutionaries of the country.
Le HungDung, Chairman of Can Tho city's People's Committee, said French expertswarned about the deterioration of the school in 1987.
He saidthat during the last 10 years, the city's Department of Education andTraining has received warnings from experts about the severedeterioration of the school due to many cracks on the school's walls,rotten wooden stairs and doors, and damaged pillars.
Last year,the French Embassy in Vietnam invited two experts to study the school'sstatus and they warned that the school should not be rebuilt instead ofrenovated.
Before launching the project to rebuild the school, local authorities collected ideas from teachers and students.
Theschool has 45 classes with a total of 1,700 students. Duringconstruction, the students will study at An Khanh High School in NinhKieu district.
The city has decided to stop the project and has invited experts from State-owned agencies to examine the school's status.
"Wehave received many ideas from the public about the school construction.Some people suggested that the school should be renovated. But I thinkthe new construction, which will remain faithful to the oldarchitecture, will help the school preserve its old style, whileensuring the security of the teachers and students," Dung said.-VNA
Under the project, the school will be demolished to build a new school with a similar architectural style.
The construction of the new building is expected to be completed by early 2017 to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Oneof the oldest schools in the south, the school originated in the 1880sas a much smaller school known as the Ecole Provinciale de Can-Tho.
In 1917, it was rebuilt as a high school named the College de Can-Tho.
In1945, the two-storey school was renamed Phan Thanh Gian High School. Itcontinued to rename Chau Van Liem High School after one of its mostfamous former students.
The school has been praised for itsoriginal French architecture and for nurturing several talentedmusicians, writers and revolutionaries of the country.
Le HungDung, Chairman of Can Tho city's People's Committee, said French expertswarned about the deterioration of the school in 1987.
He saidthat during the last 10 years, the city's Department of Education andTraining has received warnings from experts about the severedeterioration of the school due to many cracks on the school's walls,rotten wooden stairs and doors, and damaged pillars.
Last year,the French Embassy in Vietnam invited two experts to study the school'sstatus and they warned that the school should not be rebuilt instead ofrenovated.
Before launching the project to rebuild the school, local authorities collected ideas from teachers and students.
Theschool has 45 classes with a total of 1,700 students. Duringconstruction, the students will study at An Khanh High School in NinhKieu district.
The city has decided to stop the project and has invited experts from State-owned agencies to examine the school's status.
"Wehave received many ideas from the public about the school construction.Some people suggested that the school should be renovated. But I thinkthe new construction, which will remain faithful to the oldarchitecture, will help the school preserve its old style, whileensuring the security of the teachers and students," Dung said.-VNA
