Various ways to protect students from the cold.

Delay the start time of class.

On the morning of January 23rd, according to the weather forecast in the "Good Morning" program on VTV1 , Vietnam Television , the temperature in Hanoi was 9.9 degrees Celsius. Based on regulations from the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, all kindergartens and primary schools in the city simultaneously announced that parents should not send their children to school, but keep them at home to ensure their health.

In mountainous areas like Meo Vac District ( Ha Giang ), days of intense cold and frost are more frequent and longer than in the lowlands, so school closures based on weather conditions are considered, but not strictly enforced.

Many young families in Hanoi with preschool and elementary school children have been planning since last weekend about who will look after their children if they stay home from school to avoid the cold while the parents go to work. Some jobs allow for flexible work-from-home arrangements, but most require bringing grandparents from the countryside to help with childcare or assigning someone to take time off work…

Understanding this difficulty faced by parents, many schools in Hanoi are still open to students, but will delay class start times by one hour compared to the usual schedule. Ms. Vu Ngoc Du, Principal of Anh Sao Kindergarten (Cau Giay District, Hanoi), said that although the school announced that children would have the day off, more than 190 out of 730 children still came to school on the morning of January 23rd. The school has adequate facilities, with classrooms equipped with air conditioners, water heaters, and hot water dispensers. The school's management also ensures that students' meals are served hot and nutritious. The school continues to operate normally during the cold weather to reassure parents.

Northern Vietnam is gripped by a severe cold spell; what are people absolutely not doing?

At Kindergarten A (Ba Dinh District, Hanoi), the school administration stated that they have implemented a series of solutions: the school has shifted the morning drop-off time from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM, and the drop-off time has been extended; the pick-up time remains unchanged, allowing parents to work with peace of mind. On days when the outdoor temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius, if parents have to go to work and cannot bring their children to school at the usual time, the school will still open according to the old school hours to welcome the children into the classroom.

For private schools, this flexibility is even more pronounced. Numerous schools such as Marie Curie, Olympia, Nguyen Sieu, Le Quy Don, Ly Thai To… have announced that they will continue to welcome students to school as usual and have plans in place to ensure the health and well-being of students in the cold weather if parents wish to send their children there. Students travel to school by shuttle bus, classrooms have heating systems, and the school lunch menu has been adjusted to ensure students' health. Therefore, these schools reported that the number of students and learning routines on January 23rd remained largely unchanged.

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training stated that it will continue to monitor the situation and direct district education departments to strengthen their review, inspection, and assessment of teaching and learning conditions, as well as student care, during the upcoming period of severe cold weather.

Allow students flexible time off from school.

According to information from the Department of Education and Training of Lao Cai province, as of the morning of January 23rd, Bac Ha district and Sa Pa town in the province have suspended classes to protect students from the cold. Specifically, in Sa Pa town, 17 out of 59 schools with 7,402 students are absent. In Bac Ha district, 12 schools with 3,624 students are absent. The Department of Education and Training requires educational institutions to regularly monitor and understand the weather situation and develop plans to protect students from the cold.

In Bac Giang, most kindergartens and primary schools closed on January 23rd. However, depending on local conditions, schools flexibly opened their doors to welcome and care for children if parents needed to send them to school. For example, in Viet Yen town (Bac Giang), because parents have to go to work, many families around the Quang Chau, Van Trung, and Dinh Tram industrial zones still need to send their children to school. Therefore, kindergartens proactively checked windows, laid carpets, and equipped sleeping rooms and classrooms with heaters to ensure a warm environment for students.

Many kindergartens in Bac Giang City (Bac Giang province) with adequate facilities have proactively turned on their two-way air conditioners to warm the students. Similarly, in Son Dong district (Bac Giang province), some kindergarten and primary school students are still brought to school by their parents. Before winter, the Son Dong District Department of Education and Training connected with philanthropists and businesses to solicit donations of 100 beds for boarding students in disadvantaged schools.

Sharing his thoughts on responding to the severe cold weather, Mr. Bui Van Thu, Head of the Education and Training Department of Meo Vac District (Ha Giang), said that on January 23, the temperature in the mountainous areas of the district dropped to around 2-3 degrees Celsius. Severe cold days are more frequent and longer in the highlands compared to the lowlands, so school closures are considered depending on the weather, but not strictly enforced. The schools here are mostly boarding, so the decision to close or allow students to attend classes is very flexible. If the classrooms are well-ventilated and students are adequately dressed, classes can continue. Conversely, schools can allow students to stay in their dormitories and ensure their meals and accommodation are suitable for the weather.

According to Mr. Thu, the reality is that most students in Meo Vac District are warmer and have better nutrition at school than at home. In recent years, many charitable organizations and individuals nationwide have donated blankets, jackets, and warm scarves to schools, so no school has students suffering from the cold anymore. Some schools have even received up to five different winter coats.

"On the morning of January 23rd, I inspected several schools and found that although the temperature outside was very low, the classrooms and student dormitories were still warm. The students were dressed warmly, wearing woolen hats and shoes and socks; there was no longer the sight of children in the highlands being thinly dressed or barefoot like before," Mr. Thu said.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/muon-kieu-chong-ret-cho-hoc-sinh-18524012320010282.htm