(Photo: Le Anh Dung)

Repairs, new infrastructure, and equipment purchases for the 2017-2018 school year are being completed across the country.

Nghe An province has 1,600 schools and other educational facilities and a total of 700,000 students at various levels.

Nguyen Trong Hoan, an official of the provincial Education and Training Department, said the agency has been constructing and repairing classrooms, especially in remote areas.

“As soon as local children began their summer vacation, repair and construction of new classrooms began. Now the work is mostly completed. We will do our best to finish in time to welcome the students back for a new academic year,” said Hoan.

Muong La district in Son La province was seriously affected by the historic rain and floods in Vietnam’s northern mountains last month. This year Nam Pam Primary School in Muong La is expecting 476 students, 100 of whom will board at the school. District authorities have mobilized crews to erect 10 classrooms and 2 prefabricated boarding houses.

Nguyen Thi Thuy, Vice Rector of Nam Pam Primary School, said everything is ready for the ceremony to begin the new school year, adding: “We have mobilized all our teachers to go to every commune and persuade the children to go to school. We are setting up prefabricated houses in Hua Nam and Pieng hamlet.”

To help teachers and pupils, the Vietnam Trade Union of the Education Sector has asked agencies and organizations to donate money, books, and learning kits for pupils in flood-hit areas.

Nguyen Ngoc An, Deputy President of the Union, said: “We have given nearly 6,000 USD from our support fund and donations from other sources to help the affected schools and has called on sponsors and benefactors to gear up assistance programs. We have also sent delegations to help schools prepare for the upcoming academic year.”

The Education Publishing House has printed 40 million textbooks. 98% of them have already been distributed to schools nationwide.