Students choose books from a cabinet placed under a tree in the yard of Hồ Văn Thanh Primary School in HCM City’s District 12 (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Students of Ho Van Thanh Primary School inHCM City’s District 12 once used to huddle in a small library with only enoughspace for 10 of them.
Two years ago a portion of the yard in front of the library was converted intoa place for students to sit and read, Pham Thuan Chau, the school’s viceprincipal, told Viet Nam News.
“The yard was also not large enough and so school authorities put small cabinetswith books under the trees in the yard for the students to read during breaks.”
Of the books available in the school, many have been donated by students, whopassed them on after reading them, he said.
Pham Duy Khanh, a third grader, said: “I like reading books and often readduring the break.”
Chau said that the district education division had encouraged schools withsmall libraries to set up outdoor libraries.
In the 2014-15 academic year Ky Dong Primary School in District 3 designated a120sq.m area in its garden as a place for students to sit and read books theyborrow from the library.
Concrete benches and shelves were installed in what the school has dubbed the“green library.”
Many other primary schools in the city such as Tran Hung Dao, Nguyen Binh Khiemand Tran Van On have also created outdoor libraries.
‘Smart’ libraries
Many schools in the city have set up ‘smart’ libraries.
In 2019-20, for instance, the Tran Dai Nghia High School for Gifted Students inDistrict 1 set up one with nearly 15 billion VND (651,000 USD) it borrowed fromthe city promotional programme.
The 1,000sq.m two-storey library has dozens of thousands of books andelectronic books. The second floor is meant for students to read or study ingroups. The library also enables teachers to use IT in their teaching.
Others such as Nguyen Van Troi Primary School and Lac Long Quan Primary schoolalso have electronic libraries.
Encouragement to read
At Phan Chau Trinh Primary School in Tan Phu district, small book and newspapershelves have been installed in each classroom to encourage students to read.
Teachers introduce books to students each week.
Students at Hung Vuong Primary School in District 5 are encouraged to choosetwo or three times a week for compulsorily reading books. Teachers persuadeevery student to donate two books to create a plentiful source.
Since 2015-16 the city Department of Education and Training has been organisingan annual contest titled Growth with Books to develop the reading habit amongstudents./.
Numerous efforts have been made to encourage reading habit among young Vietnamese people, especially in the digital era when more entertainment forms are available and reading enjoyment declines.
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Friendly libraries funded by Room to Read, a non-governmental organisation based in the US, in 22 primary schools in Vietnam have helped develop reading habit and life-long learning skills among local students since they were established in early 2017.
To foster reading culture, it is necessary to improve public awareness of books and reading habit first, heard a seminar held by the Ministry of Information and Communications in Hanoi on April 17.
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Students choose books from a cabinet placed under a tree in the yard of Hồ Văn Thanh Primary School in HCM City’s District 12 (Photo: VNA) 
