Hanoi Department of Education and Training closed schools after heavy rain, many parents complained 'too late'

The heavy rain on the afternoon of September 30th caused chaos in Hanoi as the streets turned into rivers, traffic was paralyzed, and people were stuck in traffic jams. In the midst of the “sea of water”, many school buses had to stand still for hours, and parents were anxious because they could not pick up their children.

Normally, Mr. Dang Minh Tuan (Dong Da) only takes 15 minutes to pick up his child to school, a distance of 3km, but yesterday, it took him 4 hours to pick up his child and bring him home safely. He started picking up his child at 3pm and it took him 2 hours to get to his child's school.

On the way home with his child, due to the high water level, he had to leave his motorbike and carry his child on his back for another 2 hours to safely return home. The deepest part of the water was about 10cm above his knees. Whenever he encountered a flooded road, he turned back and took another route. He started from Luong Dinh Cua to Pham Ngoc Thach, then left his motorbike behind and went back along the route from Dai Co Viet to Thanh Nhan.

Some parents were upset when they received news that the Hanoi Department of Education and Training had allowed students to stay home from school from tomorrow, even though the rain was forecast to stop.

"This morning I just wished my child could go to school because the weather was sunny. On days when it rains heavily and the roads are flooded, he goes to school, and on days when the weather is clear, he doesn't go to school," said Ms. Ha, 37 years old.

Parents were unhappy that the Hanoi education department reacted too slowly and did not promptly let students take time off from school. Instead of helping to reduce the burden on parents, the late decision left many families in a passive position.

Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hien (Vinh Tuy Ward) said that when students are absent from school, parents should be proactive and send a text message to ask for permission from the teacher when there is a storm. "It is difficult to blame the school or the Department of Education and Training for natural disasters," she said.

The heavy rain on September 30th caused water to flood all over Hanoi, paralyzing traffic and leaving many parents unable to pick up their children.

Dr. Vu Thu Huong - education expert expressed sympathy with parents. According to Ms. Huong, the situation on September 30 was unavoidable, because in the morning of the same day, there was heavy rain but no widespread flooding was recorded. By noon and afternoon, the heavy rain turned many streets into "rivers", making it difficult to manage in just a few hours.

However, Dr. Vu Thu Huong said that the issue worth discussing is the lack of flexibility in management. Instead of depending entirely on the general decision of the Department, each school, especially the principal, should be given the right to decide whether to let students take time off based on the actual situation. If there is such a mechanism, the school will handle the situation faster and more appropriately for each area.

" In reality, there are places that are heavily flooded, while other places like Ba Vi and Soc Son are still dry, so it is not necessary to have a mass school closure. Applying a decision to the entire city could confuse many parents. Schools should proactively inform parents, instead of waiting for general instructions ," said Dr. Vu Thu Huong.

Many parents have a hard time taking their children to school when there is heavy rain.

She also said that parents need to be more flexible in severe weather situations, proactively letting their children stay home and communicating directly with teachers. In cases where students have already arrived at school but encounter flooding, parents should coordinate with the school to ensure their children's safety.

“ The most important thing is the health and safety of the children. If the conditions are too harsh, parents can let their children stay home and ask the teacher for permission. If the children have already arrived at school and are caught in a flood, parents can contact their children to stay and wait for the weather to stabilize. In fact, many schools yesterday prepared meals and rooms for students to stay safely,” Dr. Huong added.

In response to the criticism that the Hanoi education sector reacted too slowly when it did not decide to let students across the city take a day off from school from the morning of September 30, a representative of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training said that the decision to suspend school for the entire city needs to be carefully considered.

Yesterday, it started raining heavily at around 8:20 am while most parents had already taken their children to school between 6 am and 8 am. According to the Department’s leaders, suddenly letting students off school when many families were taking their children to school or the children were already in class would cause parents to be confused about finding someone to look after their children.

" Hanoi has many schools with millions of families, so the decision to suspend school on a large scale will have to be carefully considered. Many parents still have to go to work, their children are absent from school, and they are facing difficulties without anyone to look after them. Moreover, not all areas are affected by natural disasters and floods, so schools should base their decisions on the actual situation, " Tien Phong newspaper quoted the opinion of a representative of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training.

Minh Quang - Huong Giang

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/so-gd-dt-ha-noi-cho-nghi-hoc-sau-mua-lon-nhieu-phu-parents-than-qua-muon-ar968607.html