Protests against school merger in Nghe An: Final date set for students to return to school.

On September 12th, Mr. Thai Van Thanh, Director of the Nghe An Department of Education and Training, along with a delegation, visited the two branches of Trung Phuc Cuong 2 Primary School to listen to the opinions of parents, the school administration, and the local community regarding the school merger.

Mr. Thai Van Thanh, Director of the Nghe An Department of Education and Training, inspected the facilities at Trung Phuc Cuong 2 Primary School.

After surveying both schools, Mr. Thanh assessed that the goal of the merger was to concentrate resources on investing in facilities and improving the quality of education . However, the merger must have the consent of the parents.

"For the upcoming school year, the school will continue to operate at the remote location to maintain stability in teaching and learning. For extracurricular activities, foreign language classes, and computer classes, the school needs to inform parents of the schedule to ensure harmony," Mr. Thanh said.

The Director of the Nghe An Department of Education and Training inspects the computer lab at Trung Phuc Cuong 2 Primary School.

The Director of the Nghe An Department of Education and Training requested the Principal of Trung Phuc Cuong 2 Primary School to quickly prepare the necessary facilities, assign teachers, and coordinate with the Parents' Representative Board to welcome the children back to school next Monday (September 15th), and to plan for making up missed lessons for the students.

"The management board of Trung Phuc Cuong 2 Primary School has arranged a reasonable timetable and agreed with parents on the time to pick up and drop off children at branch 2 and bring them to the main campus for foreign language and computer classes every week," Mr. Thanh emphasized.

Trung Phuc Cuong 2 Primary School (main campus) is a well-built facility, meeting the teaching and learning needs of students from both branches.

Trung Phuc Cuong 2 Primary School is a well-built, clean, and beautiful school with functional rooms, grounds, teaching equipment, and a team of teachers... ensuring teaching and learning according to the new general education program.

Merging the two branches is necessary and aligns with current trends and school network planning, meeting the demands of teaching and learning. However, the merger must gain the consensus and agreement of parents, without causing disruption or interruption to the children's education.

Mr. Thai Van Thanh listened to the concerns of the parents.

On the same day, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Thien Nhan commune signed a decision to temporarily suspend the merger of Branch 2 of Trung Phuc Cuong 2 Primary School into the main school campus. Local leaders also requested the school's management board to urgently prepare facilities and environmental sanitation at Branch 2 to ensure teaching and learning, starting from September 15th.

The merger of Branch 2 of Trung Phuc Cuong 2 Primary School into the main school campus has been temporarily suspended.

Ms. Le Thi Lan, Principal of Trung Phuc Cuong 2 Primary School, said that after the commune government decided to halt the merger, the school mobilized manpower and encouraged the participation of parents to clean the grounds and rearrange classrooms and functional rooms at branch 2.

Some desks, chairs, and teaching equipment from branch campus 2 have been moved to the main school. Teachers and staff are currently carrying out their professional duties, so preparations for the children's return to school will be done during the two weekend days.

Parents participate in cleaning the school premises so that students can return to school on Monday (September 15th).

As reported, following the opening ceremony of the 2025-2026 school year, many parents of students at Trung Phuc Cuong 2 Primary School in Thien Nhan commune requested that the local authorities and the school open a school branch at a remote location for their children to attend.

Residents disagree with the school merger, arguing that consolidating them at the main location would make transporting their children more difficult and pose potential dangers to the commuters.