A low-cost preschool in the southern province of Dong Nai has become a trusted place for factory workers to send their children since the 2013-2014 academic year for its environmentally-friendly design and high-quality education.

Last December, Nhung Bong Hoa Nho (Little Flowers) Kindergarten, established in the provincial capital of Bien Hoa by Taiwanese-invested Pouchen Vietnam Company, received a green building certificate from the Vietnam Green Building Council.

The council, which is a program begun by California-based non-profit Green Cities Fund, Inc., aims to raise awareness and build capacity for the development of green buildings in Vietnam.

Nhung Bong Hoa Nho applies green solutions like recycling material and water and using solar-electric systems to heat water in order to help the school save energy, as well as to educate kids on energy saving from an early age.

The clover-shaped school cost more than VND60 billion (US$2.8 million) and features vines in the classroom windows. Around 70 percent of its over 10,000-square-meter campus is covered with trees to make the place more natural.

It also has 18 classrooms, outdoor play zones, and functional rooms for music, painting, and sports to help children develop their skills, thinking, and physicality.

The school has around 42 teachers who teach children under a program provided by the Ministry of Education and Training. Nhung Bong Hoa Nho is capable of holding 700 kids and was built after a meeting between the company’s leaders and their workers to discuss what the firm could do for them.

At the meeting, the workers said they wanted a preschool inside the company that they could send their kids to and do not have to worry about them while working.

Mai Thi Chau Van from Bien Hoa, the parent of 3-year-old girl Vu Thi Yen Nhi, said this is the second year she has sent her kid to the school.

According to Van, the VND700,000 ($32.95) monthly fee is much lower than at other local schools and is affordable for workers.

Van said her daughter prefers going to school to staying at home.

“Our house is small and we just have a few toys at home so she likes to be at school and play with friends,” Van said.

Lam Mai Que Chi, the principal, said the school is planning on receiving more students and acquiring more educational devices and outdoor games.

Nguyen Phuoc Manh, deputy director of the Dong Nai Federation of Labor, confirmed that Nhung Bong Hoa Nho preschool has helped workers care for their children at a low cost.

It has also helped improve the relationship between workers and the company, as well as to strengthen a policy that calls for private investment in education in Bien Hoa City in particular and the whole province in general, Manh added.

“We hope more enterprises will pay attention to building preschools to satisfy increasing demand,” she stated. 

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