School desks and chairs are no longer suitable for students' physical condition.

P HAD TO BEND DOWN TO WRITE

A student who just graduated from Chu Van An High School, Hanoi, shared: "From grade 10 to grade 12, we still sit in the same classroom and the desks and chairs do not change while the 3 years of high school are the time when we grow the fastest. By the beginning of grade 11, sitting in class is already stuffy. In grade 12, the seating space becomes even more cramped and uncomfortable. Students have to bend down to write, sometimes suffering from back pain and neck pain due to incorrect or uncomfortable sitting posture.

The parents of this student added: "We also feel sorry when we attend parent-teacher meetings for our children. Parents are shorter and lighter than their children, but sitting in meetings for a while makes us feel tired all over because of the cramped seating. The children sit and study all day, all year round, so we can't say it doesn't have an impact."

A parent whose child is studying in a secondary school in Hanoi shared: The current reality is that the desks and chairs for 6th graders are also the same as those for 9th graders. My child is in 9th grade, 1.8 m tall, seeing him struggling to sit and study with a tiny desk and chair, the parents are very worried that it will affect his health.

The structure of desks and chairs in many schools today is no longer suitable for the height development of students, sometimes forcing them to bend down to write.

Ms. Ha Thi Thu, Principal of Ba Thuoc Secondary and High School (Thanh Hoa), said that 10 years ago, the average height of male students in grade 9 was about 130 - 140 cm and students in grades 11 and 12 were about 140 - 150 cm, but now students in these grades have developed remarkably. Entering grade 8, most students have "dramatic" growth in height and weight; many students in grade 9 are taller than 170 cm; some high school students are taller than 175 cm.

" MANY POOR CHILDREN SIT WITH THEIR BACKS HUNTED"

The vice principal of a primary school in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, said that currently, private schools, international schools and schools with socialized facilities have modern desks and chairs that can be adjusted in height. Or public schools that have been built in recent years, even in the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, have the conditions to invest in new desks and chairs, with "notches" and screws that can adjust the height of the desks to suit the height of the students. As for schools that have been built for a long time, even those in the center, most of them have wooden desks and chairs with fixed heights that cannot be adjusted.

"Any parent who attends meetings for their children in grades 1 and 2 and sits in their child's chair will understand the feeling of tall children still having to sit on low desks and chairs - the standard for desks and chairs from decades ago," this person said. According to this manager, in each primary school there are currently about 3 sizes of desks and chairs: for grades 1 and 2; for grades 3 and 4; and for grades 5. However, in reality, many primary school students are now taller than they were 10 years ago, so many of them have to sit with their backs bent, pitifully."

The current size of school desks and chairs is implemented according to the parameters specified in Joint Circular No. 26/2011/TTLTBGDĐT-BKHCN-BYT

TABLE AND CHAIR SPECIFICATIONS WERE REGULATED 12 YEARS AGO!

According to teachers, the current size of school desks and chairs is implemented according to the parameters specified in Joint Circular No. 26/2011/TTLTBGDĐT-BKHCN-BYT between the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Health.

Ms. Hoang Thi Hao, Principal of Dao Son Tay High School (Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City), said that the standards for student desks and chairs were set in 2011, 12 years ago, and are no longer compatible with the physical development of current students. However, according to Ms. Hao, for high school students, desks and chairs with a standard height of 175 cm are still acceptable, but for primary school students, height is growing more rapidly.

Similarly, Mr. Khuu Manh Hung, Head of the Department of Education and Training of District 12 (HCMC), said that schools from primary to secondary schools in the district have arranged student desks and chairs according to the standards in Circular 26. However, in the past few school years, due to the fact that students have developed more than before, some primary schools have also proposed to adjust the standards and sizes of student desks and chairs.

SINGLE TABLE AND CHAIR SOLUTIONS, MANY SIZES

A representative of Marie Curie School (Hanoi) said that the school has about 300 students with a height of 175 cm or more. Because it is an inter-level school, the school has arranged many sizes of tables and chairs for students with a height of 100 - 200 cm. The tables and chairs are not attached but are single tables and chairs to easily arrange according to the height of the students and also easy to arrange when students participate in group activities in the classroom...

Ms. Nguyen Thu Huong, Principal of Nguyen Du Secondary School (Hanoi), also said that because the school was rebuilt and new desks and chairs were purchased in 2019, single chairs were arranged instead of benches. Previously, students had to sit on benches, but because their physical condition is now more developed, many students complained that sitting on benches was not comfortable, and the benches also quickly broke due to sagging after a period of use.

Newly built schools use single desks (one desk per student), which can be adjusted in height to suit the current physical condition of students.

Ms. Ha Thi Thu said that some standards for student desks and chairs according to current regulations are no longer suitable, and should be adjusted to increase the size of desks and chairs to suit the current physical condition of students. "Educational institutions should be given autonomy in purchasing desks and chairs, because only teachers in schools understand and grasp the physical condition of students. Based on the survey, there will be separate "designs" (if necessary) for special students, ensuring that every student has a desk and chair suitable for their physical condition. To do so, the regulations need to be open and flexible so that educational institutions and localities can apply them."

An expert from the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City said that since 2011, when the circular took effect, Ho Chi Minh City has made successive changes and additions to ensure that student desks and chairs meet the regulations.

Specifically, newly built schools must use desks and chairs according to the correct specifications before they can be accepted and put into use. For the remaining schools, every year when approving the budget, there is also additional content about desks, chairs, and facilities.

At Nguyen Du Secondary School (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City), the school has been replacing tables and chairs in a rolling manner and by 2016, all the school's tables and chairs were completely replaced according to the specifications of Circular 26. In each classroom, students sit in separate chairs and each table has 2 students. In addition to the standard size, tables and chairs have locks to adjust the height to suit the students in case their height exceeds the regulations.

At Dao Son Tay High School (Thu Duc City), classrooms are also arranged with separate desks and chairs and are designed with the correct height to meet the height of high school students. The school principal said that the school's desks and chairs meet the average height of students from 145 - 159 cm and 160 - 175 cm, respectively.

Many consequences if you sit and study for a long time with a desk and chair of inappropriate height

Dr. Tran Dinh Minh Huy, lecturer of the eye department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City, said that when children have to sit on desks and chairs that are not suitable for their height, they can easily sit in the wrong posture, bend too much, look too closely... These are all risk factors that stimulate the risk of causing myopia in students.

Doctor Do Thanh Tai, Orthopedic Trauma Specialist, Head of Karatedo Club of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, said that in recent years, people's living standards have improved, parents are more and more aware of the intellectual and physical development of students, especially primary and secondary school students who are in the stage of strong height development. Families increase nutrition for children. Families and schools also pay attention to school sports. Because of these things, the height of primary and secondary school students is getting taller than before.

"However, the paradox is that desks and chairs in many public schools still follow the standards of ten or twenty years ago, which are completely unsuitable for children's physical development. That is why many school-related diseases have occurred. No matter how many sports activities children participate in, they still spend more time sitting and studying with inappropriate desks and chairs. So playing sports cannot compensate for the harm to the spine, typically spinal diseases such as hunchback and scoliosis. The more children are focused on height development, while the quality of school desks is not appropriate, the more common the situation of school-related diseases such as hunchback and scoliosis is," said Dr. Do Thanh Tai.

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