The record flood in early August caused heavy damage to many localities in Dien Bien province. In particular, the education sector was significantly affected, a series of schools were deeply flooded, and facilities were severely damaged.
At Chieng So Boarding Ethnic Minority Secondary School, Muong Luan commune, the flood damaged almost all facilities and teaching and learning equipment.
According to Lao Dong (September 8), a crack about 20cm wide, 50m long, suddenly formed on a hill right behind the school's 2-storey school building, with the risk of landslides at any time. Therefore, when entering the new school year, this row of houses cannot be used.
On September 8, speaking with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Danh Hy - Principal of the school - could not hide his concern: "Because 6 2-storey classrooms located near the foot of the hill have a large crack, to ensure absolute safety for students, the school was forced to urgently relocate the entire classroom here".
Accordingly, the school has borrowed the headquarters of Muong Luan commune (the headquarters of the old Chieng So commune) to build temporary classrooms. The local government and the school have quickly renovated the cultural house, gymnasium, hall and offices of the Commune People's Committee into 6 classrooms before the opening ceremony, to welcome students in grades 8 and 9.
The travel distance of nearly 500m from the main school to the headquarters of Muong Luan commune (old Chieng So commune headquarters) also caused many difficulties for the school with about 530 students, of which over 300 were boarding students.
Although teaching and learning have temporarily stabilized, worries are still present. "The biggest wish of teachers and parents is to be cared for by leaders at all levels, and to soon take measures to completely handle the cracks to ensure safety. At that time, students can return to the main school to study, said Mr. Hy.
It is known that overcoming this crack is also a condition for the project to build new and repair other classrooms for the school to continue. In the immediate future, to prevent risks, the school has erected a corrugated iron fence around the dangerous area.
"We have surrounded the area with corrugated iron and strictly prohibited students from entering this area. This fence also has a warning purpose. If a landslide occurs, even at night, rocks and soil falling on the corrugated iron will create a loud sound to alarm, helping teachers and students to evacuate in time," Mr. Hy explained about the solution to the situation.
Amid the many difficulties, the bright spot is that the school has received a lot of attention and support for school supplies and learning equipment from the community and benefactors, helping teaching and learning activities quickly stabilize after the flood.
However, a fundamental solution to the dangerous crack behind the school is still what teachers and students of Chieng So Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities are day and night looking forward to.
