The road to school is still not open.

Following Typhoon No. 10, many schools in North Central Vietnam suffered severe damage to their facilities and teaching equipment. In many localities, authorities and teachers are still working hard to clean up and repair school buildings in order to welcome students back as soon as possible.

Cleaning up mud after floods at Muong Tip Kindergarten (Muong Tip commune, Nghe An province)

At noon on October 3rd, a reporter from SGGP newspaper visited Thinh Loc Kindergarten (Loc Ha commune, Ha Tinh province), one of the schools severely damaged by Typhoon No. 10, and observed that the repair work was basically complete. Damaged corrugated iron roofs, steel, and infrastructure had been removed and collected at designated collection points.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Loi, the school's Vice Principal, said that the school has 13 classrooms with 333 students. However, two consecutive storms recently caused severe damage to the school's property and facilities, estimated at billions of VND. Immediately after Typhoon No. 10, dozens of officers and soldiers from the Border Guard, the Military Command of Ha Tinh province, and local authorities were mobilized to help the school overcome the consequences. Thanks to their efforts, on October 3rd, the school began welcoming about 150 out of 333 students back to class, but could not yet provide lunch for the students due to incomplete repairs to the facilities. It is expected that the school will resume providing lunch for the students in the middle of next week.

In Nghe An province, in the communes of Lam Thanh, Hung Nguyen Nam, Tan Ky, Nghia Hanh, Nghia Dong, etc., students are still unable to return to school because the floodwaters have not receded completely and cleanup is not yet finished. In Cua Lo ward, the epicenter of the storm, 23 out of 26 schools were damaged. Currently, many schools have only cleared fallen trees and cleaned classrooms; repairs are pending funding from higher authorities.

Mr. Tran Sy Ha, Principal of My Ly 2 Ethnic Boarding Primary School (My Ly commune), said that because the main school building was completely destroyed by floods at the end of July, students are currently still studying temporarily at satellite school locations or in village cultural centers. After the recent Typhoon No. 10, many roads to the school were damaged by landslides, making travel extremely difficult and dangerous for students and teachers.

Meanwhile, Ms. Tran Thi Oanh, Principal of Hung Loi Primary School (Lam Thanh commune), said that two classrooms in the single-story building collapsed, and the two-story building had its corrugated iron roof blown away. Currently, the school and local authorities are monitoring the receding water levels and cleaning up as needed. If the weather is calm and there is no more rain or wind, students may be able to return to school next Monday.

According to the Department of Education and Training of Nghe An province, Typhoon No. 10 and the recent floods have caused damage to 222 schools, with roofs blown off, 18 schools affected by landslides, and 45 schools flooded. In Thanh Hoa, students are still unable to attend school at 21 schools in Nong Cong commune because the floodwaters have only just receded and cleanup efforts are underway. In addition to local forces, the Thanh Hoa Provincial Military Command has mobilized more than 200 officers and soldiers to help clean up the schools. Ms. Le Thi Hien, Principal of Minh Tho Primary School (Nong Cong commune), said that the school and the forces will organize a thorough cleaning throughout Saturday and Sunday to welcome students back next Monday. According to preliminary statistics from the Department of Education and Training of Thanh Hoa province, the typhoon and floods have damaged 187 educational facilities.

DUY CUONG - DUONG QUANG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/duong-den-truong-van-chua-thong-post816274.html