Ensuring school safety after floods

Many schools and campuses have damaged facilities and need timely solutions to ensure the safety of students and teachers entering the new school year.

Reinforce classrooms and add equipment

Xa Luong Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities - one of the educational institutions most severely damaged by floods in Tuong Duong commune, Nghe An. Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Dung - Principal said that the school is located next to the Nam Non River, so when it rained heavily, the river water rose and flooded the entire row of level 4 houses.

Of which, 9 classrooms and 1 English room were damaged, including most of the desks, chairs, and teaching equipment. Not only the school, the boarding house was also flooded with mud. Many household items, beds, blankets, and books left by students in the boarding house were soaked in flood water, causing damage and making them unusable.

“The school’s desks and chairs are made of plywood, and after being soaked in floodwater, they are peeling and breaking. If these desks and chairs continue to be used, it will not ensure the safety of students. We are balancing support sources and proposing to the locality and the Education Department to supplement them so that students have new desks and chairs when they come to school. At the same time, we are purchasing new living supplies for boarding students,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Dung.

In the border commune of Bac Ly, Bac Ly 2 Primary School for Ethnic Minorities suffered heavy damage. The entire 2 boarding houses for students and the teachers' office were flooded, with more than 1 meter of soil, rocks, and mud pouring in.

Teaching and living equipment for students and teachers, including blankets, desks and chairs, dining tables and chairs, refrigerators, and computers, were damaged by water. Recently, soldiers from Regiment 335, Division 324, Military Region 4 have been assisting the school in scooping out mud and cleaning two rows of dormitories for students and teachers.

Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa - Principal of the school shared: “In the immediate future, we will clean up and repair usable items to serve the living needs of boarding students. However, the boarding rooms and teachers' residences were damaged and unsafe after being flooded. The school's wish is to rebuild in a new area so that teachers and students can feel secure and safe in their boarding activities and teaching.”

Similarly, although the classrooms in Buoc village and Bac Ly Kindergarten were not damaged, the kitchen and toilet areas were washed away and damaged by floodwaters. During a working trip to assess the situation, the leader of Nghe An Department of Education and Training said that the Vice Chairman of Phu Nhuan Ward People's Committee ( Ho Chi Minh City) and the schools in the ward had supported 500 million VND. The Department of Education transferred this to Bac Ly commune to build a boarding kitchen for the Buoc village kindergarten.

Focused investment in solidification

Muong Xen Commune (Nghe An) has 5 schools that were severely damaged by floods in late July 2025, damaging fences, classrooms and many teaching equipment. In addition, 4 other schools suffered minor damage due to landslides. The estimated damage to the schools is about 4 billion VND. Binh Son 1 School and Ta Ca Kindergarten (Muong Xen Commune) are located on the edge of the Nam Tip River. Floodwaters swept away the entire kitchen area, playground and rear wall of the school.

Inside the classrooms, furniture, toys, teaching equipment, and televisions were also completely damaged or lost, swept away by the floodwaters. Although it is a separate school, Binh Son 1 has 2 classes with more than 70 children studying and boarding with the teacher. With only 2 weeks left until the new school year, the urgent issue for the school is to review and repair the facilities, supplement teaching equipment, and ensure the safety of teachers and students.

According to Ms. Lo Thi Thuong - Principal of Ta Ca Kindergarten, the characteristic of preschool education is to maintain separate locations in the villages, because the children are too young to travel far or study in boarding schools. With Binh Son 1 school, the school has made a report on the need to repair and supplement teaching equipment, toys and supplies for children and sent it to the Nghe An Department of Education and Training.

Following the guidance of the relevant authorities and localities, we must first build a fence around the school grounds, especially near the riverbank. At the same time, we must reinforce classroom doors and repair the boarding kitchen. If it is not ready for the new school year, we will transfer the children to a neighboring school and wait for the repairs to be completed and ensure safety before returning to operations.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung - Secretary of the Party Committee of Muong Xen Commune, Nghe An Province said that the temporary plan is to reinforce Binh Son 1 School to ensure safety for teachers and students to enter the new school year. This school was built according to the school consolidation program, and has been in use for 20 years, and is due for liquidation. In the coming time, the locality will prepare a report and advise authorities at all levels to build new facilities for Binh Son 1 School.

My Ly commune was the most severely affected by the floods in Nghe An, in which My Ly 2 Primary School for Ethnic Minorities was completely damaged and could not be repaired. Mr. Tran Sy Ha - Principal of the school informed that the mud and soil had reached the 2nd floor of the school, along with the impact of flood water causing the ceiling and walls of the classrooms to crack and become crooked. After inspection and survey, the authorities determined that the school was damaged, unsafe, and could not ensure teaching and learning. The proposed plan is to build a new school to replace the current facilities that were devastated by floods.

Mr. Thai Van Thanh - Director of Nghe An Department of Education and Training said that the Government has supported Nghe An province with 300 billion VND to overcome the consequences of floods caused by storm Wipha. Of which, the Provincial People's Committee has planned to allocate 50 billion VND for the Education sector. The Department will allocate this amount to localities and schools that have suffered damage to promptly repair and purchase equipment, ensuring adequate basic facilities for teaching and learning when the new school year begins.

Schools have clearly listed the damage and proposed detailed needs for equipment, books, and school clothes so that the industry can provide timely support. No student will be left behind after the flood or have to stop going to school due to lack of resources. The Ministry of Public Security has taken charge of building new facilities for My Ly 2 Primary Ethnic Minority School, with an estimated budget of about 50 billion VND.

However, according to Mr. Thai Van Thanh, with only more than 2 weeks left to enter the new school year, the heavily damaged schools cannot wait for new facilities. Meanwhile, the conditions in the area are remote, border areas, leveling, clearing the ground, and transporting construction materials are difficult and arduous. The immediate plan is for schools damaged by floods to temporarily transfer students to safe schools in the commune, supplement facilities to start the new school year. When the new school is completed and put into use, students will be transferred back.

The Director of the Department of Education and Training of Nghe An also said that in the long term, mountainous and border communes need to plan a network of schools, gradually eliminate isolated locations, and bring students to inter-level boarding schools to enjoy the best learning environment and conditions.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/bao-dam-an-toan-truong-hoc-sau-lu-post744860.html