25 northern provinces and cities are immersed in cold weather below 10 degrees Celsius, forcing hundreds of thousands of students to stay home from school.
On the morning of January 24, all northern provinces and cities had temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius. Temperatures decreased by about 0.5-2 degrees compared to yesterday morning, the lowest being Mau Son (Lang Son) at minus 2.9 degrees. The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting recorded 8 other places with temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius, including: Dong Van (Ha Giang), Tam Dao (Vinh Phuc) over 1 degree Celsius; Pha Din (Dien Bien), Sa Pa (Lao Cai) over 2 degrees Celsius; Moc Chau (Son La), Ngan Son (Bac Kan), Trung Khanh (Cao Bang) over 3 degrees Celsius; Sin Ho (Lai Chau) over 4 degrees Celsius.
Severe cold has forced tens of thousands of students in each province and city to stay home from school. In Son La , this morning, nearly 56,700 students were absent from school in the whole province, including more than 3,500 students at secondary and high school levels, the rest were at preschool and primary school levels.
Lao Cai recorded nearly 32,400 students in 96 schools temporarily staying home due to the cold, an increase of 21,000 compared to yesterday. Si Ma Cai district and Sa Pa town were the most affected, with more than 10,000 students being given time off.
In Lang Son , statistics from the Department of Education and Training show that more than 92,000 preschool and primary school children from 269 schools had to stay home.
In fact, the temperature in most localities in the northern mountainous provinces such as Son La, Lao Cai or Lang Son is below 10 degrees Celsius, colder than the plains and every year there are similar cold spells. Therefore, instead of simultaneously closing schools based on specific temperature levels, localities and schools are proactive in deciding this.
Mr. Be Doan Trong, Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training of Lang Son province, said that in addition to considering letting students stay home, many schools are flexibly organizing online learning.
"Schools also need to proactively respond to maintain knowledge for students, because if they have to take a break every time it gets cold, the break time for students in mountainous areas will be very long," said Mr. Trong.
A teacher in Quan Ba district, Ha Giang also commented that if the school is closed when the temperature drops, the program will not be guaranteed.
"Currently, the temperature is at 5 degrees Celsius, only preschool students are off, other grades go to school as usual. The classrooms are fully equipped with glass doors to keep the children warm," she said.
Hanoi students go to school on the morning of January 23. Photo: Ngoc Thanh
Some provinces and cities with less severe weather have specific regulations on considering students to take time off from school depending on the outside temperature. In particular, most preschool and primary school students are allowed to take time off when the temperature drops below 10 degrees Celsius; middle and high school students are allowed to take time off if it is below 7 degrees Celsius.
Phu Tho did not provide statistics on the number of students who had to stay home from school, but said that nearly 440 schools had closed today. Of these, 203 were preschool schools and 235 were elementary schools. Viet Tri city, Thanh Son district and Doan Hung district had the most schools that had closed.
In Hoa Binh , the whole province has 190 schools that have given students a day off since yesterday, including middle schools. Schools that have given students a day off are mainly in mountainous districts such as Mai Chau and Da Bac.
Other provinces and cities such as Quang Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Hanoi, and Bac Ninh also recorded many kindergartens and primary schools being closed for two days. However, to allow schools to take the initiative, the provinces did not provide specific statistics.
Even though students are out of school, most localities still require schools to pick up children if parents bring them.
Mr. Nguyen Van Manh, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Phu Tho province, said that for preschools, about 30% of parents still have the need to send their children to school. Some parents take their children to school in the morning and pick them up at noon.
"Whether students are on vacation or not, schools must ensure their health in cold weather conditions," said Mr. Manh.
In addition, the provincial education sector has directed schools to have plans for online teaching or make-up classes if students are absent. In the case of normal teaching and learning, schools need to check classrooms, postpone class times every morning, not organize outdoor activities, and not require students to wear uniforms.
Mr. Tran Van Trong, Chief of Office of the Son La Department of Education and Training, said that before the cold spell, schools were required to check the entire door system of classrooms, boarding and semi-boarding areas, ensuring that they were airtight.
"Schools also increase support for boarding and semi-boarding students with warm blankets, while strictly managing the use of electricity, coal, and firewood for heating and instructing students on skills to avoid poisoning," said Mr. Trong.
This is the second severe cold spell in the winter of 2023-2024. On January 23, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested the provinces and cities in the North, North Central and Central regions to guide people on cold prevention, especially the elderly, children and the vulnerable. The Ministry of Health also disseminated knowledge and advised people to take effective cold prevention measures, ensure health safety, and avoid the risk of gas poisoning when burning coal and firewood for heating in closed rooms.
In the first phase on December 17-27, 2023, almost no localities allowed students to take time off from school.
Duong Tam - Binh Minh - Thanh Hang
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