Kids call for better times

No child abuse, no violence at school, no traffic jam, more places for amusement and less heavy school curriculum - these were among the demands children and teenagers made to the HCM City authorities at a recent meeting.

No child abuse, no violence at school,no traffic jam, more places for amusement and less heavy schoolcurriculum - these were among the demands children and teenagers made tothe HCM City authorities at a recent meeting.


Cityleaders had invited more than 80 children from primary and secondaryschools and shelters in the city's 24 districts for the exchange onJanuary 1 titled Lang nghe tieng noi tre em (Listen to the Children).

After they went around the century-old city hall on Le Thanh TonStreet in District 1 to look at the offices and meeting rooms, thechildren were asked for their opinions to improve the city this year.

Chairwoman of the City People's Council Pham Phuong Thao, and Chairmanof the City People's Committee, Le Hoang Quan, were among those wholistened respectfully to the young ones.

Ngo Thi Minh,vice chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture,Education, Youth, Pioneers and Children, and officials from variousdepartments were also present.

Many of the childrencomplained that they have to work very hard because of the heavycurriculum, and have no time to rest or play. Besides, their learning ismore about theory than practice, they said.

Tran Thi TrucQuynh from Nguyen An Khuong Secondary High School in Hoc Mon Districtsaid she has to stay up very late every day to learn theory and has notime to play or be creative.

Ninth grader Phan Thi PhuongAnh from Tam Thon Hiep Secondary High School in Can Giodistrict said frankly that her rural district does not have goodteachers because all the good ones were posted in urban districts. "Butthe city government says all the time it will give priority to outlyingdistricts."

Teachers in her area have to juggle severalsubjects at a time, she said, adding the authorities should appoint moregood teachers in the district.

Many spoke about violence in school and child abuse which are becoming increasingly prevalent in the city.

Huynh Dinh Can, an eighth grader from Dong Den Secondary High School inBinh Chanh district, said he is worried by the violence and urged theauthorities to curb it.

The children also expressed their opinions about environmental protection and social welfare.

One suggested setting up a park for children since other parks arefrequented by necking couples and drug users, and another called fordesignating a day when no vehicles except bicycles should be used in thecity.

A child pointed to the electricity that was beingwasted in the hall by air-conditioners running at very low temperaturesand lights burning unnecessarily. City authorities have been urgingresidents to save energy to protect the environment.

The city has named 2011 as the Year of Children.

Quan said the city would offer children the best conditions fordeveloping their talents and protect them from negative impacts.

"The city of nine million people has more than two million students.They will be very important human resources contributing to the city'sdevelopment. That's why the People's Council has chosen this as the Yearof Children."

Thao too promised the city would do more to create favourable conditions for children to develop and contribute./.

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