"Running for school" in flood-prone areas

(Baonghean)Every year, Yen Tinh commune (Tuong Duong district) often has to endure 1-2 large and small flash floods, so "flood escape" for the people in general and teachers and students in the "flood center" in particular has become very familiar. Since the beginning of the new school year, teachers and students here have "flooded" 3 times. Returning to Yen Tinh after nearly 1 month of flash floods that submerged all schools, we realized that organizing teaching and learning here is still very chaotic...

This school year, Yen Tinh Secondary School has 8 classes with 229 students (including 82 boarding students). Due to many reasons, the quality of teaching and learning in Yen Tinh is still low, often at the bottom compared to the average of the whole district. In addition, due to the terrain factor, schools in Yen Tinh are often flooded every time there is a prolonged heavy rain, the water in Cha Ha stream rises. The walls of the classrooms are still full of traces of floods. "Right after the opening ceremony, it rained heavily, the flood water rose very quickly and flooded the school. Almost all teaching equipment, including the computer system, was damaged, and there is still no solution to fix it. After each flood, cleaning the school and overcoming the consequences often takes a long time, greatly affecting the progress and quality of teaching and learning" - Teacher Nguyen Ngoc Tuan shared. The school’s classrooms, public housing, and dormitories for teachers and students are being solidly built. However, the schoolyard and fence have yet to be constructed. The clean water system is still weak and cannot meet the needs of hundreds of students and teachers in the dormitory...



Despite many difficulties, students in the flood-prone Yen Tinh area still go to class.

The chaotic scene is not only happening at Yen Tinh Secondary School but is also a common situation in schools in Yen Tinh commune. Currently, Yen Tinh 1 Primary School located in Pa Ty village, where more than 3 years ago a flash flood occurred that killed 5 people (including 2 students) is starting to be newly built. Teachers and students are having to temporarily borrow the village's cultural house to organize teaching. Yen Tinh 2 Primary School (in Cap Chang village) is also in the process of being newly built. To ensure the program, the school has to borrow classrooms and dormitories from Yen Tinh Secondary School to organize classes and for teachers who live far away to have a place to live and rest. The main facility of the kindergarten is also under construction. Teachers and students are currently having to temporarily borrow some rooms and yards from the commune health station to use as classrooms and playgrounds for children.

Most of the schools in Yen Tinh commune are located along Cha Ha stream, so the risk of flooding is very high. According to teacher Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, to limit the risk and minimize the damage caused by flash floods and landslides, schools need to invest in building flood-proof embankments and fences, and concretize schoolyards. Along with that, there needs to be an early solution to straighten the flow of Cha Ha stream, because the exploitation of alluvial gold has changed the flow, causing landslides, leading to schools being frequently threatened by floods.

Cong Kien