17.1 mln students back in schools after Tet

All secondary and high school students in Hanoi, except 6th graders, have returned to school on Tuesday after spending 10 months studying online at home. For most of them, it’s the first time they got to meet their friends and teachers since May last year, when the fourth Covid-19 wave hit.

To avoid outbreaks, schools have deployed various measures for coronavirus prevention, including body temperature checks at the school gates and practice responses in the event of infection.

Besides Hanoi, all 62 other Vietnam localities have allowed all high school students to return to classes after the Tet holiday. Also starting Tuesday, 57 out of 63 localities have allowed all secondary school students to attend classes.

After the Tet holiday, 1.4 million more students have returned to schools nationwide, totaling 17.1 million out of 22.6 million students across the country. More are expected to return to school this month.

In both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, 6th graders, primary school students and kindergartners have yet to return to school.

Those in Ho Chi Minh City are expected to return to classes next week, while those on the outskirts of Hanoi are expected to return starting February 10. Those in downtown Hanoi might return starting February 21.

Pham Quang Hung, head of the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Education and Training, said reopening schools is inevitable as there’s enough vaccine coverage now. By mid-January, around 65 percent countries in the Asia-Pacific region have completely reopened schools, while 35 percent have only partially reopened them.

“For students who are unvaccinated, several countries still encouraged them to return to school, but they would be managed by many methods. For example, Japan and Singapore increased surveillance for symptoms, while Canada and the U.S. require Covid-19 testing results,” Hung said.

In Vietnam, most children aged 12 and above have received two Covid-19 vaccine shots. The Ministry of Health is purchasing more doses to vaccinate those aged 5-12. While not all children in this age group is required to be vaccinated, the ministry recommends them to.