Efforts to get students back to school soon

When the last rains of the flood had just stopped, the school yard was still covered with a thick layer of mud that had not yet dried, teachers and authorities of Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Khanh Hoa provinces urgently started to overcome the consequences of the natural disaster, clean up and sanitize classrooms... with the hope of welcoming students back to school soon.

Students in Ninh Phuoc commune, Khanh Hoa province return to school after floods. (Photo: NGUYEN TRUNG)

Stand up after the flood

For several days, at Dien Khanh 2 Town Primary School, Dien Khanh Commune (Khanh Hoa), a thick layer of mud still covered the schoolyard and hallways. The school gate was jammed with dried mud, and a dump truck had to be hired to clear the way. Teacher Nguyen Thi Hoa, Principal of Dien Khanh 2 Town Primary School, sadly looked at the ruined library and hundreds of students who had lost all their books. The local government mobilized all its forces to clean up, rearrange tables and chairs, and restore the minimum conditions to welcome students back to school soon.

In southern Khanh Hoa, many schools in Ninh Phuoc and Phuoc Hau communes were also deeply flooded. Teacher Nguyen Thi Nu, Principal of Phuoc Khanh Primary School, said: Heavy rain and floods carried mud and rubbish into the school, causing deep flooding and damaging many furniture and teaching equipment. With the motto "Where the flood recedes, clean up", teachers, soldiers, youth volunteers, militia, etc. quickly cleaned the entire school, sprayed disinfectant to ensure epidemic prevention and safety, and were ready to welcome students back to school.

Vice Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Long Bien said that the total damage to the education sector is estimated at more than 80 billion VND. Currently, 70 flooded educational facilities have been repaired. The province supports each student in the flooded area with 500,000 VND to buy books and learning materials, determined that by December 1 at the latest, students in the whole province will return to school.

In Dak Lak province, 226 educational facilities were damaged, with total damage of about 178 billion VND. Le Trung Kien High School, located close to the Ban Thach River in Dong Hoa Ward, suffered the most damage. Master Le Tan Dung, Principal of the school, shared: “The fence surrounding the school collapsed; 3 school gates were swept away. All 12 classrooms with desks, chairs, computers, etc. on the first floor were submerged in floodwater and damaged. Students had to stay home from school for a whole week due to the flood, so when normalcy returns, the school will organize make-up classes to ensure that students do not have a gap in their knowledge, especially grade 12, helping them feel confident when taking the 2026 High School Graduation Exam.”

As of November 28, most students in Dak Lak province have returned to class, despite many difficulties. Director of the Department of Education and Training Le Thi Thanh Xuan said that she has proposed to the Provincial People's Committee to urgently allocate funds to restore infrastructure and repair roads, creating safe ways to school for more than 17,000 students.

Gia Lai province suffered a loss of more than 24 billion VND, many schools are in serious need. Nguyen Khuyen Primary School has 764/845 students who lost all their books, but they are very happy to be able to go back to school. Ms. Le Thi Bang Nguyen, the school's principal, said: "The school has received a number of notebooks in support. For now, each student in grades 3 and 5 will be given a few notebooks to maintain their classes; many students in grades 1, 2 and 4 still do not have any. The biggest wish right now is to have more uniforms and textbooks for the students."

Ho Thien Long, a 3C student at Phuoc Son Primary School No. 2, Tuy Phuoc Dong Commune, Gia Lai Province, carefully turns each page of his book, which is still dirty after being dried for many days. He confided: "I just hope there will be no more rain and floods, so that my friends and I can go to school with dry clothes and new books."

Director of the Department of Education and Training of Gia Lai province, Pham Van Nam, said: “Thanks to the cooperation of the army, police, organizations and the government, students have basically returned to school as usual. Some areas that were partially flooded are expected to return to school early next week.”

Helping students in flood-affected areas

In recent days, facing many difficulties caused by natural disasters, the spirit of "helping each other" of the whole society has spread more than ever. In addition to support sources from the Central Government, localities have been flexible in many forms of mobilizing the whole society to donate cash, thousands of books, notebooks, uniforms, etc. from organizations, businesses, and philanthropists from all over the country have been sent to the provinces to help students in flood-affected areas continue to go to school.

Gia Lai Province's Association for Promotion of Education and the Standing Committee of Gia Lai Provincial Youth Union mobilized, donated and presented 10,000 notebooks, 6,326 necessities, 160 scholarships and 200 gifts to students in heavily affected areas. Along with that, many models of "Exchanging milk tea for books" at Coho shop (15 Tran Cao Van, Quy Nhon ward) initiated by Ms. Phan Thi Linna created a spread when mobilizing more than 1,000 notebooks, 600 books and 1,000 pens to send to students in flood-affected areas. From the support of benefactors, Khanh Hoa Province Newspaper, Radio and Television presented 1,030 gifts, 2,400 notebooks, 950 sets of school uniforms, and 750 sets of school supplies to local schools.

In Dak Lak province, the Ministry of Education and Training has supported 300 million VND; Vietnam Education Publishing House has committed to supporting textbooks, expected to provide enough books for students by December 4, 2025; Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Joint Stock Company has supported 2 schools that suffered heavy damage, namely Le Duan Primary and Secondary School, Hoa Dong Primary School...

Up to now, most of the schools damaged by floods in Dak Lak, Khanh Hoa and Gia Lai provinces are gradually returning to normal operations. Storms and floods cannot stop the spirit of overcoming difficulties of teachers and students here.

NGUYEN TRUNG, CONG LY, PHUC THANG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/no-luc-de-hoc-sinh-som-tro-lai-truong-post926872.html