At a time when parents are concerned about physical abuse from their childrens babysitters, the employees at Phong Thai Group in Dong Nai province can rest easy that their kids are in the right hands.
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Youngsters play football in the yard at Dong Phuong Kindergarten, located in an industrial park in southern |
At a time when parents are concerned about physical abuse from their childrens babysitters, the employees at Phong Thai Group in Dong Nai province can rest easy that their kids are in the right hands.
Unfortunately, not every company in industrial parks in Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces has the same set-up as Phong Thai, which in 2008 opened a kindergarten in
The groups Dong Phuong Kindergarten has 29 classrooms that house 850 children, a gym room, kitchen, library and healthcare room, built on 5,000-square metre area.
Most of the employees are migrants from other provinces and have difficulties sending their kids to public kindergartens.
"Im really happy that my son receives the best care. This frees me from worry so I can work better," said Pham Thi Lien, a worker native in
Other workers say the kindergarten, which was built and run by the Phong Thai Group, helps them learn more about their childrens health and studies.
"Its fantastic to know that my kids are playing near me when Im in the factory. Babysitters inform me immediately when the kids get sick," said worker Trinh Cong Thanh.
Many of the employees feared that their children would not be treated well as physical and emotional abuse of children has occurred at family-run kindergartens, most of which operate without a license.
Previously, a group of workers had sent their children to a retired or unemployed woman for care for an inexpensive fee.
The kindergartens principal, Luong Thi Diem Chi, said that the school offered 20 classes to 500 children of workers under standards required by the Ministry of Education and Training.
"Facilities are equipped and staff recruited under standards of the ministry, and application is supervised by the local Department of Education and Training," Chi said.
"Although we have the same quality as a public kindergarten, these are not the only things that have made workers happy about our service. Parents say they are grateful for extra classes to take care of children during their extra working shifts at factories," she added. "Also, our fee is only VND300,000 (US$15) a month for food and VND30,000 a year for the school."
Most public kindergartens cost around VND900,000 a month for food and VND2 million ($97.5) for operational fees. Private kindergartens charge much higher fees.
Thanh said the kindergarten allowed him to work an extra working shift, if necessary, since he was unable to pick up his son at 4.30pm.
The kindergarten has become a model for other IPs in the province and the country.
"Its not a service, but social welfare for our workers," Chi said.
Tran Phan Cam Van, manager of the group dormitory, said the kindergarten was located next to the dorm, which allowed for better relations between workers and their children.
The Phong Thai Group, which is a subcontractor for US-based NIKE, built the kindergarten and the dorm on 10,000sq.m of land at a cost of $14 million.
(Source: VNS)
