Hanoi: Parents frustrated by slow and passive response of education sector

On the afternoon of September 30, when storm No. 10 moved to Upper Laos and became a tropical depression, the capital was submerged in water, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training issued a document directing schools to respond.

**Students of Nguyen Binh Khiem School have dinner at school. (Photo: Provided by the school)**

“Yesterday, despite the storm, the children still had to go to school, while today, due to the sunny weather, the whole city has no school,” said Nguyen Thu Huong (Hoang Liet ward, Hanoi ) indignantly.

This is also the frustration of many parents in the capital when on September 30, heavy rain submerged many areas of Hanoi in a sea of water. Many parents had to bring barrels and basins to school to make boats to pick up their children, or wade through the water to carry their children through flooded areas. Many parents could not go to school to pick up their children. Many students had to stay at school in the evening.

Storm No. 10 is forecast by the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting to be strong and have a wide circulation, which can cause heavy rain. Satellite images of the storm's area show that the center of the storm is in the provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh , but the storm's circulation covers the entire northern region.

The Ministry of Education and Training has issued two consecutive documents on September 25 and 29, directing the education sector in localities to proactively respond to this storm. On September 28, the Hanoi People's Committee also issued an official dispatch directing the focus on responding to storm No. 20 and floods, landslides, and flash floods.

However, on the electronic information portal of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, it was not until yesterday afternoon (September 30), when the entire city was submerged in water due to prolonged heavy rain, that the Hanoi Department of Education and Training had urgent information about the document requesting the People's Committees of communes, wards and affiliated educational institutions to proactively respond to storm No. 10. At this time, the center of storm No. 10 had moved to Upper Laos and become a tropical depression.

Hanoi's directive was issued on the afternoon of September 30, when the storm had already moved to Upper Laos, but it still updated the storm situation on September 28, when the storm had not yet made landfall in Vietnam. (Screenshot)

According to the principal of a high school in Hanoi, this document should have been issued before the storm made landfall in Vietnam because according to satellites, Hanoi was under the influence of the storm's circulation, and since September 28, Hanoi has had wind and rain.

The timely directive in this document is to require schools to prepare enough drinking water, food, and provisions to ensure the living needs of students staying at school during storms.

According to the principal, just a few hours after the document giving schools the initiative, Hanoi continued to direct students across the city to stay home on October 1. This is inappropriate when the level of flooding in different areas is different. In addition, the weather forecast on October 1 is less rainy due to the reduced influence of storm circulation.

"Therefore, it is appropriate to continue to give autonomy to school principals to decide whether or not to let students take time off, depending on the actual situation of the school. This is also a way for schools to increase their autonomy and initiative in similar situations instead of relying on the direction of industry leaders," the principal said.

The school is proactive.

While the capital's education sector leaders were slow in giving instructions, schools were proactive in responding to the situation.

Some schools announced that students would be off from school early in the morning of September 30, when they grasped the heavy rain and flooded roads, such as Nguyen Sieu Primary School, Co Nhue 2 Kindergarten, Dao Duy Tu High School. At noon on September 30, many more schools let students off or switched to online learning, such as Truong Dinh High School, Tran Phu High School, Thang Long High School, Linh Dam Middle School, etc. Many schools informed parents that they could pick up their children early.

Some schools in the flooded area have flexibly implemented solutions to support students. At Co Nhue 2 Secondary School, Ms. Phung Thi Thu Huyen, the school's principal, said that the school is located in a deeply flooded area. Therefore, at noon on September 30, the school had to report to the People's Committee of Dong Ngac Ward to request support. Dong Ngac Ward contacted the military to mobilize vehicles to transport students out of the flooded area for parents to pick up.

Students of Phan Huy Chu-Dong Da High School have dinner at school under the care of teachers. (Photo: NTCC)

At Nam Trung Yen Primary School and Nguyen Tat Thanh Middle School and High School, the entire school yard was flooded, so teachers placed tables and chairs in the yard to make a bridge for parents to pick up students.

In the context of many roads in the capital being submerged in water, making it difficult to travel, many schools have proactively planned to support students to eat and sleep at school on the evening of September 30 if parents cannot come to pick up their children, such as Nguyen Du Primary School, Thanh Xuan Secondary School, Phan Huy Chu-Dong Da High School, Marie Curie School, Nguyen Binh Khiem School... To reassure parents, the schools all affirmed that they will send teachers to stay to manage and take care of students, invite students to eat dinner and breakfast for free, ensuring nutrition.

“That makes parents feel warm during stormy days when just moving around is already too much trouble,” said Ms. Nguyen Minh Thuy, a parent at Phan Huy Chu High School - Dong Da./.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/ha-noi-phu-huynh-buc-xuc-vi-phan-ung-cham-va-thu-dong-cua-nganh-giao-duc-5060529.html