The Nghi An Secondary School project, facility 2, is invested by the People's Committee of Nghi An commune (old) - now Vinh Phu ward, Nghe An province, with a total investment of more than 23 billion VND, starting in 2023, to be completed in October 2024. The school consists of a 3-storey building, 18 classrooms with more than 1,900m2 floor space, gate, fence, parking lot and security house.
The strange thing is that up to now, more than a year has passed, this school is still closed and quiet, not put into use.
But it is worth mentioning more, according to Ms. Bang Thi Thuy Ha - former Principal of Nghi An Secondary School for the period 2020 - 2025 - to Lao Dong newspaper reporters, that during the construction of this school, the school did not know.
It was not until the parents accidentally mentioned it that Ms. Ha sent someone to check and discovered that the People's Committee of the commune had truly built a school.
Because the People's Committee of Nghi An commune (old) invested up to 23 billion VND to build facility 2 but did not report, discuss, or get opinions from the Board of Directors of facility 1, so when the school was completed and the commune government requested acceptance, Ms. Ha and the Board of Directors did not agree. The reason is that the school does not have a headquarters, functional rooms, playgrounds, or practice areas - essential items for teaching according to the new general education program.
Recently, Vinh Phu Ward People's Committee held a meeting to discuss the plan to put Nghi An Secondary School, campus 2, into operation to serve the 2025-2026 school year.
The meeting agreed on the immediate plan of organizing parallel teaching at both facilities. Accordingly, Facility 1 will continue to teach the main subjects, while Facility 2 will be used to organize gift-giving subjects such as music, fine arts, physical education, enhanced English and culinary learning.
At the same time, funding will be allocated to renovate the road to the school and add necessary equipment.
The fact that the People's Committee of Nghi An commune (old) invested up to 23 billion VND to build a school but lacked progress and growth, without coordination with the unit for use is extremely unreasonable and unacceptable.
This shows that those who decide to invest and build projects may have another reason, not really aiming to build a true school to serve the community.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the construction of this school reflects a group of leaders who acted irresponsibly, took risks, disregarded legal regulations and did not foresee the consequences.
This process also shows the laxity in public investment management and control - from the stage of survey, appraisal, approval to acceptance, handover - at all levels from the commune, district (old) to Nghe An province at that time.
Therefore, in parallel with the correction of errors, the authorities need to urgently intervene to investigate and strictly handle the responsibility for causing waste and violations related to the collective leadership of the People's Committee of Nghi An commune (old) and competent authorities in the process of deciding and approving this project.
Clarifying the black and white and handling the case thoroughly will not only be a deterrent lesson but also contribute to maintaining people's trust in the strictness of the law and the public authority apparatus.
