Water has gone down, students returning to school

VietNamNet Bridge – After the violent flood, a lot of schools in Quang Binh province have opened again. Students are returning to school, but with empty hands, because their schoolbags, textbooks have all gone with the flood.

When Tuoi tre’s reporters arrived in Quang Minh A Primary School in Quang Trach District, the water level has gone down. Students have come back to school after a week off due to the heavy flood. The school yard was white with teachers and students’ documents and textbooks dried under the sun. Many textbooks could not be used any more, because they were covered in mud.

Just listening and looking at blackboard

In class 4/4, Tran Thi Thao Phuong was seen sitting at the end of the table. The only notebook she brought with her from home was still wet. “All other textbooks have gone with the water, only this one has been left, because it luckily stayed on the wardrobe top.” Besides the notebook, Phuong only had a pencil and a ruler.

Hoang Thi Hoa Tham, the teacher of 4/4 class, said all students have returned to school, but many of them go to school with empty hands, because they have nothing left after the heavy flood. “They are just sitting, listening to teachers and looking at blackboards. They do not have notebooks any more to write down lesson texts,” she said.

Tham related that 90 percent of her students have lost their textbooks and notebooks, while many colleagues complain that their documents have been swept away by the flood.

Tran Huy Hoang, a fourth grader of Quang Thuy Primary School told Tuoi tre reporters that he has lost all textbooks, notebooks and pens that the school and classmates gave him earlier at the beginning of the school year. Hoang related that he asked for some money from his mother to purchase textbooks, but she does not have any money to give him.

Quang Thuy is one of the most severely flood-stricken commune in Quang Binh province. 80 percent of students of Quang Thuy School have reportedly lost their textbooks in the flood.

“Quang Thuy is a poor commune, and I am not sure that parents now have the money to purchase textbooks and other necessary things for their children,” said Deputy Headmaster of Quang Thuy School Pham Quang Long.

In Quang Ninh district, 35 schools were reportedly inundated by 1.5-3 metres under water. In Ham Ninh Commune, 2-3 students now have to share one textbook.

Teachers fear students will give up school

Teacher Tran Thi Vi of Quang Minh Secondary School, which has 564 students, said that students have returned to school since October 11. On that day, many students went to school with wet schoolbags. Vi’s class has 29 students, but only half of them have returned to school. Meanwhile, the other students do not want to go to school any more, because they have lost all textbooks.

Headmaster Pham Ngoc Khanh feels worried. “18 percent of households here are poor people. Therefore, I fear that a lot of students may give up school in the time to come,” he said.

Nguyen Ke Than, Director of Quang Binh Education and Training Department, admitted that the number of students to drop out may increase in the time to come.

Also according to the Department, by October 12, over 4000 students in the province still were unable to return to school

Source: Tuoi tre