At My Phuoc A Primary School (My Phuoc Commune, Can Tho City), Mr. Nguyen Van Hao - Principal of the school - said that this area is flooded every year from July to December, but the water has never risen as high as this year. Since mid-September, the school yard has always been submerged in water. The cause was determined to be prolonged heavy rain combined with high tides. At the peak, some places had water rising to the knees, overflowing into the classroom, and unusable toilets were flooded. In that situation, the school was forced to give students a week off to ensure safety.
"The school has 2 schools with 478 students. However, outdoor activities such as physical exercise or activities under the flag must be interrupted. Students have no place to play. We have mobilized pumps continuously, but because the fence system has an open space, water from outside the river still overflows in," Mr. Hao shared.
Mr. Hao also said that frequent flooding not only hinders daily activities and learning but also poses a potential risk to the safety of students. The slippery yard caused many students to fall, their clothes were wet, they had to go home to replace them, and their studies were interrupted. Prolonged exposure to dirty water also carries a risk of skin diseases.
A parent shared that the road to school was flooded up to the knee, many sections could not see the road surface, and could easily fall. "There were days when the water was too high, I had to carry my child to class. I was worried that my child would have an skin disease because his feet were exposed to dirty water for many days," she said.
At the branch of My Phuoc A Primary School, about 1km from the main point, flooding occurred more seriously. The entire school yard is always full of water, the parking area cannot be used, teachers and students have to leave their vehicles on an empty lot in front of the school gate.
Understanding the difficulties, in mid-October, parents joined hands to contribute nearly 8 million VND, coordinating with teachers and local authorities to temporarily pour a concrete road about 15m long and more than 1m wide from the school gate to the classroom.
"The total yard area of the two schools is over 3,000 m2. The cost of upgrading the entire project is quite large, so we implemented a socialization solution to build a temporary road. At the main school, the school has also mobilized parents to make temporary walkways for students. In the long term, I hope the local government will support upgrading the remaining part," Mr. Hao suggested.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Giang Nam - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of My Phuoc Commune (Can Tho City) - said that the flooding has affected facilities and teaching activities at schools, especially My Phuoc A Primary School and some kindergartens.
"The commune has invited consulting units to survey, estimate funding and submit to the Department of Education and Training and the City's Department of Finance to take advantage of capital. When the water recedes, we will invest in upgrading flooded schools and repairing toilets, ensuring hygiene and safety for students," Mr. Nam informed.
Mr. Nam said that during the recent high tide peak, some classrooms were flooded. Teachers have flexibly arranged 2 days off for students to clean up and disinfect the classroom before returning to school and teach on Saturdays to ensure the program.
Currently, a temporary kindergarten organizes morning and afternoon classes for cleaning and disinfection. Teachers take turns cleaning the water and drying the classroom. To prevent the epidemic, the school also coordinated with the Commune Health Station to spray mosquito repellent and disinfect the school grounds, ensuring a safe and clean learning environment for the children.
