Local authorities are taking the stance that students should only return to school when safety is assured.
Teaching materials were swept away into the fields by the storm.
After Typhoon Bualoi, Ky Thinh Primary School (Vung Ang, Ha Tinh ) was almost completely devastated, with the entire row of classrooms at the main school site swept away by the storm. Desks, chairs, and blackboards were reduced to rubble, and many school supplies were carried away into the fields. At site 1, in Canh Truong residential area (Vung Ang ward), all 10 prefabricated classrooms were blown away. Now, teachers and students are left with only empty ground and piles of broken desks and chairs, tilted blackboards, and books scattered everywhere, some even carried into the fields.
Mr. Nguyen Van Lam, the school principal, sadly said: “During the previous storm, the school only suffered minor damage, but this time the entire infrastructure was severely damaged. Besides the classrooms, eight teacher's staff rooms were also swept away, desks, chairs, and blackboards were blown into the fields by the wind, and the student bicycle parking area was completely destroyed and deformed.”
About 3km away, school number 2 in Tay Yen residential area was also severely damaged by the storm: the ceilings of 7 classrooms were damaged, the roof tiles of 10 classrooms were blown away, the electrical system was completely destroyed, and desks and chairs were ruined by wind and rain. Only the television set was moved in time and avoided major damage.
Ky Thinh Primary School currently has 745 students in 27 classes, with 248 students at campus 1 alone. The school's management and teachers are assessing the damage to determine a course of action. “On September 30th, we still kept students home from school because we didn't know where to relocate the classrooms. Significantly, campus 1 is located in a planned relocation area, so we haven't been able to invest in upgrading it for many years. The main building was constructed decades ago, and the prefabricated classrooms added in 2020 are no longer intact,” the school principal said.
Not only Ky Thinh, but numerous other schools in Ha Tinh also suffered heavy damage after two consecutive storms. At Thanh Sen High School (Thanh Sen ward), the storm swept through, knocking down the entire fence, signboards, and bicycle shed. At Phan Huy Chu Secondary School (Thach Ha commune), the roof of the three-story building was blown off; previously, Typhoon Kajiki also caused fences and roofs to collapse, and many classrooms had their roofs blown off.
Thach Khe Primary School (Thach Khe commune) faced a chaotic scene as the roofs of all the functional rooms, including the library, traditional room, equipment room, team room, and office canopy, were blown away by the wind.
A series of schools suffered double damage.
According to Ms. Nguyen Binh Minh, an education officer at the People's Committee of Cua Lo Ward, Nghe An Province, preliminary statistics show that out of 23 educational institutions under the local government's management, only Minh Quoc Kindergarten was unaffected. The rest suffered severe damage, including roofs of classrooms, administrative buildings, and functional rooms being blown off, as well as flooding.
Nghi Thu Primary School, Nguyen Thi Bach Cat Secondary School, Hai Hoa Secondary School… suffered damage to the roofs of their classrooms, with many old trees uprooted and scattered everywhere. Ms. Tran Thi Thu Huong, Principal of Hai Hoa Secondary School (Cua Lo Ward), said: "The entire corrugated iron roof of the three-story classroom building was blown off. Fortunately, the electronic teaching equipment had been raised high and was not damaged, and the school is waiting for the water to recede to clean up and repair. However, students will still not be able to return to school for the next few days."
Meanwhile, near the Cua Lo seaport, Nghi Thuy and Nghi Tan kindergartens were flooded, with water reaching deep into the classrooms. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, the principal of Nghi Thuy Kindergarten (Cua Lo), lamented: “Our school was the most severely damaged in the ward by the previous Typhoon No. 5, with the roofs of the classrooms completely blown off. We had only just begun to recover when we suffered further damage from Typhoon Bualoi. This time, the high tide, combined with water from the river mouths and heavy rain, caused the school to be flooded to a depth of about 1 meter.”
According to the principal of Nghi Thuy Kindergarten, the teachers had raised the children's furniture and equipment in the classrooms and the administrative offices the day before, but they were still flooded. In addition, the dish dryer, water filter, and kitchen equipment were also submerged in water, posing a risk of irreparable damage.
In Do Luong commune (Nghe An province), Thinh Son Primary School had half of its classroom roof blown off; Da Son Primary School had its corrugated iron roof blown off, was flooded, and many trees were broken and fallen; Nguyen Quoc Tri Secondary School also had its administrative building's corrugated iron roof blown off by falling trees.
During the discussion, Mr. Phan Bá Đồng, Principal of Đà Sơn Primary School, said: "In just over a month, my school has been hit by two storms, and both times the damage was severe. Last time, over 400 square meters of the student bicycle parking area had its roof blown off and completely collapsed. This time, all the corrugated iron roofing of the administrative building was destroyed. This will certainly affect the school's teaching and learning activities and cannot be repaired quickly."
In Truong Vinh ward, Hung Hoa Primary School was completely flooded, with the corrugated iron roofs of the 4th and 5th grade classrooms blown off. In addition, 10 trees were broken, 40 fences collapsed, and the corrugated iron roof in front of the kitchen fell. At Hung Dung 2 Primary School, many trees were uprooted and the signboards were damaged.
In the mountainous region of Nghe An, prolonged heavy rain caused the collapse of the perimeter wall of Yen Hoa Ethnic Boarding School (Yen Hoa commune), flooded the Pa Ty branch of Yen Tinh Ethnic Boarding Primary School; and damaged the roofs of classrooms and flooded the office area of Hoan Long Primary School (Tan Phu commune)... The natural disaster occurred at night, during a weekend, so it did not affect the safety of the school's staff, teachers, and students.
Prioritizing the safety of students and teachers.
Thanks to proactive storm prevention and control measures, Typhoon Bualoi only caused minor damage to educational facilities in Quang Tri province. Mr. Tran Nhat Thu, Principal of Quang Phong Secondary School, said that apart from a section of the school's perimeter fence collapsing due to a fallen tree, the school's infrastructure and classrooms remained safe.
It is expected that students will return to school tomorrow for normal learning activities, without affecting teaching and learning. "Immediately after the storm subsided, the school mobilized its forces to repair the damage caused by the storm, clean up the campus thoroughly, and ensure safety before students return to school," said Mr. Tran Nhat Thu.
Typhoon Bualoi completely destroyed the roof of the courtyard at Dan Truong Primary School (Dan Hai, Ha Tinh), and severely damaged the water tank used for the boarding students. Prior to the typhoon, during the two days it hit, the school had to repurpose two school buildings as evacuation centers for residents. On the afternoon of September 29th, after the residents returned home, staff and teachers, along with necessary equipment, began cleaning up and repairing the damage caused by Typhoon Bualoi, preparing safe conditions for students to return to school.
Mr. Dinh Quang Dang, the school principal, said: "If the cleanup is safe and thorough, we will notify more than 670 students to return to school on September 30th. If the problem cannot be fixed in time, the students will have an extra day off. Regarding the boarding school program, it is expected to be postponed until next week because the water tank is broken and we cannot yet call for emergency repairs."
"To avoid disrupting the curriculum, we plan to hold make-up classes this week or on Saturday, after receiving guidance and approval from the relevant departments and local authorities," Mr. Dang added.
On the afternoon of September 29th, significant progress had been made in addressing the aftermath of the storm at schools in Nghe An province due to widespread and severe damage. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, Principal of Nghi Thuy Kindergarten, stated that the school was mobilizing teachers to quickly remove mud and debris from classrooms and the schoolyard, following a "clean up as the water recedes" approach.
“Once we have water and electricity, we will continue to inspect all the school's facilities and equipment and gradually rectify the problems. Only when safety and teaching conditions are guaranteed will the school welcome children back,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien.
Ms. Tran Thi Nhu Ngoc, Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Department of Do Luong commune, Nghe An province, said: "Immediately after the storm subsided, we requested schools to report detailed information about the damage. For now, the commune is directing schools to focus on repairing the damage, and students and teachers will return to school when safety is ensured."
Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoan, Chief of the Office of the Nghe An Department of Education and Training, said: "Based on initial assessments, the damage caused by Typhoon No. 10 to schools is very severe. In some mountainous communes, the water level has risen, causing flooding in classrooms and cutting off access to schools for students. Currently, the Department is directing schools to focus on cleaning up and repairing damaged classrooms. If necessary, students will be given time off from school to ensure absolute safety and prevent unfortunate accidents."
Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/sau-bao-bao-dam-an-toan-moi-cho-hoc-sinh-den-truong-post750460.html
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