24 million pupils start new school year

The new school year ceremony was held nationwide on September 5 with nearly 24 million pupils attending, about two million higher than the previous year.

The new school year ceremony was held nationwide on September 5 with nearly 24 million pupils attending, about two million higher than the previous year.

24 million pupils start new school year

State President Tran Dai Quang sent a letter to all teachers, parents, and pupils. According to the state president, the education sector has seen positive results from new reforms. Many pupils had high results in international maths and science competitions. Vietnam National University in Hanoi and HCM City are both ranked among the top 1,000 best universities in the world.

In the new school year, the sector must continue to find out about shortcomings, develop and improve in order to provide the best workforce for the country’s development. Education in rural and remote areas must be prioritised.

He said both teachers and pupils must maintain their passion for knowledge.

Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha said in the new school year, they would start implementing a new curriculum for first graders. The result will affect the reform in the sixth and tenth grades. They must also strengthen discipline among both teachers and pupils to prevent school violence.

The new school year starts while some central and northern provinces including Thanh Hoa and Son La are still being ravaged by floods. Even though several roads are blocked by landslides, teachers in Muong Lat District walked through mud and streams to meet their pupils.

A teacher walks on a muddy road in Thanh Hoa Province

Trinh Kim Que, a teacher with 14 years of teaching at remote villages, said, "When I first came here, the forest didn't scare me but I have just walked the most terrifying road in the past 14 years. Four hours in the car, two hours on motorbike, three hours on foot and four hours travelling by boat then walking again. I can't believe I've gone through all that."

In order to organise the ceremony for the pupils, headmaster and teachers of Quang Chieu Primary School also travelled 300km to the mountainous village.

"Fallen trees and landslides blocked the roads. There are some sections so extremely dangerous that we had to stay close to each other," Headmaster Pham Dang Dung said.

Several border communes in Nghe An Province such as Ta Ca and Muong Tip are still isolated. 150 border guards were sent to provide food and school supplies to those communes. They also helped clean up the schools so that Muong Tip 1 Primary and Nam Tip Boarding School can start the ceremony on September 5.