On December 16, social media spread a post from an account believed to be a parent of students at Bui Thi Xuan Primary School (Lien Chieu District, Da Nang City) about students taking off their warm coats and only wearing their uniforms during the flag-raising ceremony at the beginning of the week.
The article reads: "This morning, the My Homeland Sea and Islands Festival took place at Bui Thi Xuan Primary School. There would be nothing worth mentioning if all the students were not forced to take off their coats and not wear undershirts, almost only wearing a thin shirt in the 18 degree weather. Meanwhile, many teachers still wore coats and scarves. The teachers wanted to look good but ignored the health of the students. Parents were very upset, so they flooded the school's FB page to express their anger. However, the school has deleted these comments. I think the image of the school is more important than the health of our children."
On the afternoon of December 16, Bui Thi Xuan Primary School also sent an explanation about the incident to the Department of Education and Training of Lien Chieu district.
According to the explanation, on the morning of December 16, Bui Thi Xuan Primary School organized a seminar on "I love my homeland's sea and islands" in the school yard for all students of the school.
Because the program of the seminar included a school-wide performance of the song “I sing about the distant island”, students needed to wear uniforms to perform, creating uniformity and solemnity. At 7:30 a.m. on December 16, when the performance took place, the weather was cold, but the school yard was filled with more than 1,725 students, who were participating in activities, so their body temperatures rose. Many students took off their jackets and held them in their hands because they could not stand the heat.
However, the unfortunate and unexpected thing that happened was that some parents reported on social networks that students had to sit huddled in the cold to serve school activities.
Speaking with Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Lich, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Lien Chieu District confirmed the incident occurred at Bui Thi Xuan Primary School.
"On the morning of December 16, the school integrated an island education program for students in grades 4 and 5, with the participation of many parents and representatives of other authorities. In this program, the classes and teams had dance performances, so when exercising, their body temperature rose, so these students took off their warm clothes," said Mr. Lich.
After a comprehensive review of the incident and the report from Bui Thi Xuan School, the Department of Education and Training of Lien Chieu District requested the school's Board of Directors to meet, re-evaluate and learn from experience. At the same time, it requested that schools rectify and limit outdoor activities in cold and rainy weather, pay attention to the weather, and keep students warm.
