The Tan Thanh Primary-Secondary School in Long An province is ready for the upcoming academic year. (Photo: VNA)HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - More than 50 provinces and cities nationwide haveannounced schedules for the new school year and prepared scenarios to adapt tothe COVID-19 pandemic.
The HCM City Department of Education and Training has submitted a planwith two scenarios to the People’sCommittee for the opening ceremony of the upcoming 2020-21academic year.
Each primary, secondary and high school in the city has 1,000-4,000students, so social distancing cannot be carried out, if required.A full opening ceremony in which everyone attends would beimpractical.
Instead, an alternative plan calls for 10 to 20 students to actas representatives for each classroom. But all first, sixth and10th graders would attend the ceremony under this scenario.
The ceremony would last nearly 60 minutes. As scheduled, it will beorganised on September 5. The new school year will start on September 7 and endin late May.
Ha Ngoc Tuan Huy, rector of Lac Long Quan Secondary School in Binh Tan district,said that the school would ensure facilities and safety for students.
Besides disinfecting facilities, the school has prepared devices to checkbody temperature of its students. All students must washtheir hands before entering classrooms. Table surfaces anddoor handles will be cleaned regularly.
If the city decides to impose social distancing, each classroom willhave only about 20 students.
The north central province of Nghe An’s Department of Education and Trainingsaid that because the province has not recorded any COVID-19 infection, theopening ceremony will still be organised on September 5, with 800,000 students.
The department will instruct educational divisions and schools to ensure safetyfor students. When they attend the ceremony, they will have to wear masks, washtheir hands, and fill out health declarations.
If any student has symptoms such as cough and fever, their health will bechecked.
In the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, students will also attend the openingceremony on September 5. Those at continuing education centres willorganise the ceremony on September 7.
The Department of Education and Training in the southern province of Dong Nai will carryout online teaching and extend the school year to complete thetraining programme if COVID-19 continues developing complicatedly.
Tran Hung Dao Secondary School in the province, for instance, plans to teachits students more skills online if social distancing is put in place.
In the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, the opening ceremony will beheld on September 5, but it is waiting for the last instruction from theMinistry of Education and Training.
The department will cooperate with the health sector to disinfect schoolsbefore the ceremony.
Other provinces such as Binh Thuan and Quang Tri plan to organise an onlineopening ceremony if there is another COVID-19 outbreak.
Da Nang and Quang Nam do not plan to organise an opening ceremony,and the new school year could begin later because these areasare the COVID-19 epicentre now.
The Ministry of Education and Training has instructed educational departmentsin provinces and cities to strictly comply with regulations while organizing theopening ceremony to ensure COVID-19 prevention and control.
For provinces and cities carrying out social distancing, schools will holdan online opening ceremony.
Schools should also organise activities related to teaching and learningin the beginning of the new school year to ensure COVID-19 preventionand control.
The ministry has required provinces and cities to review the number of schools,teaching equipment and teachers, especially those for the first grade, forthe new school year.
Textbooks should be provided for all students, the ministry said.
To prepare for the upcoming school year, HCM City will put 1,371 newclassrooms into use.
The Mekong Delta province of Long An has built more new schools andsupplemented teaching devices and equipment for the 2020-2021 schoolyear. The province has allocated total capital of 64.9 billion VND (2.8million USD) to build 13 schools.
In the province’s Ben Luc district, Luong Binh and Thuan Dao primary schoolswill be put into use in the upcoming school year. Ben Luc Town Primary Schooland Ben Luc Town Secondary School are under construction. Ben Luc Town PrimarySchool is expected to open next year and the others in thesecond semester of the 2020-2021 school year.
Schools in Dong Nai province are ready for the new academic year. TheDepartment of Education and Training has completed training courses forteachers at 300 primary schools.
The People’s Committee in the province’s Vinh Cuu district has allocated morethan 10 billion VND (431,230 USD) to buy equipment to teach firstgraders under the new training programme.
Binh Duong province’s Thu Dau Mot city has upgraded 11 schools. Thuan An cityhas allocated 10 billion VND to repair schools, which is expected tobe completed by August 30. It four new schools, including Hoa Cuc 10Kindergarten, An Thanh Primary School, Thuan Giao Secondary School and TrinhHoai Duc High School.
Since the end of last year, Bau Bang rural district has repaired 16schools, which are slated to open for the 2020-2021 academicyear./.
VNA
