(Photo: Thanh Tungf/Vietnamnet)

At a recent meeting on the Plan for the 2021-2022 Academic Year during the COVID-19 pandemic, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam asked the education sector to work closely with relevant agencies to ensure the safety of children when they return to school. He said it’s important to accelerate the vaccination of children aged 12 to 18 and strengthen the school health system.

'We need to work out measures to protect schoolchildren, particularly those who are not just vaccinated when they return to school. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Training need to strengthen the school health system in order to closely monitor the children’s health and ensure their safety,' said Mr. Dam.

As Vietnam tries to safely and flexibly adapt to the pandemic, more effective measures are needed to enable schoolchildren to return to school. The safety level of each region has been assessed to make an appropriate plan for online or offline learning.

Deputy Head of the NA Committee for Culture and Education Ta Van Ha said it’s important to set up a system to monitor children’s health at school because the designation of “green zone” is just relative. 

'The pandemic has neither regional nor administrative boundaries. A region can be designed green today but a day later, it’s not green anymore. That’s why we need to work out standard protocols to allow children to get back to school. We also need a plan to deal with infections detected at school,' said Mr. Ha.

23 cities and provinces nationwide have allowed the reopening of schools, 15 are combining online and offline learning. Strengthening school medical systems and connecting them with the health sector will create a safer school environment.