School Safety: Don't wait until the horse is gone to build a barn
My Ha•January 2, 2024 17:07
(Baonghean.vn) - School safety is a task that is often mentioned in schools. However, for many different reasons, many accidents and unsafety in schools still occur, leaving many unfortunate consequences.
The classroom ceiling collapse incident at Hermann Gmeiner High School is a warning about school safety work at schools. This used to be one of the most solid, beautiful and modern schools in Nghe An province. Before the ceiling collapsed, the classroom where the incident occurred had been repaired this school year. In the photo: A working group of the Department of Health and related departments and agencies inspected the location of the incident. Photo: Health mediaThe accident injured many students, including one with a broken leg and another who had to be taken to Hanoi for emergency treatment in a serious condition. Photo: My HaNghe An is one of the provinces with the largest number of students in the country, with nearly 1,500 schools. Due to difficult conditions, investment in schools is still limited. In the photo: A satellite school of Nga My Primary School has been in use for many years, but has deteriorated. Photo: My HaDue to the increase in school sizes, there is a shortage of classrooms and functional rooms in many places. Many schools have to use temporary or prefabricated classrooms. Photo: My Ha HaChau Hoi Primary Boarding School (Quy Chau) is implementing the boarding school model this year. To have enough accommodation for students, the school prioritizes functional rooms and offices for boarding students. The remaining activities are used in temporary classrooms made of corrugated iron. Next to it is a place to park bicycles. Teaching conditions are not guaranteed, causing many difficulties for the school in its activities. Photo: My HaImmediately after the unfortunate incident at Hermann Gmeiner High School, Vinh City was one of the first localities to issue a document requesting all schools to report on the status of their facilities to ensure safety for teaching and learning. In particular, schools were required to review the entire system of classrooms, functional rooms, fences, railings, electrical systems and construction items serving the school's teaching and learning activities. Construction items that are degraded and show signs of being unsafe must be specifically reported to the Department of Education and Training and local authorities for timely handling. In the photo: Hung Loc Kindergarten, Vinh City is one of the schools with many damaged items. Photo: My HaAccording to a report from Hung Loc Kindergarten, for nearly a year, some classrooms on the second floor of the high-rise building have been temporarily out of use because part of the tiled roof suddenly collapsed. Recently, the school's board of directors also submitted a document to the People's Committee of Hung Loc commune requesting to renovate and repair the cracks at the junction between the two-story buildings of classes 4B, 4C, 5A and 5B. Photo: My HaAccording to naked eye observation, these are 2 rows of houses built at 2 different times. After being reconnected, the cracks not only cause water to flow down on rainy days, causing difficulties in organizing teaching and learning at the school, but also pose many potential safety risks. Teacher Nguyen Thi Thanh Le - Principal of the school said: We have petitioned and have just received support from the Commune People's Committee of 200 million VND to repair the classroom with the collapsed tiled roof. As for the rest, we also hope to receive early attention to ensure absolute safety for students when going to school and not interrupting teaching and learning. Photo: My HaAfter more than a week of implementation, the Department of Education and Training of Vinh City has compiled reports from all schools and sent the list to the City People's Committee to soon have a plan for inspection and evaluation. The City has also issued a document requesting wards and communes to coordinate with schools in managing facilities. If there are consequences due to lack of inspection, supervision and lack of responsibility in managing schools in the area, the Chairmen of the People's Committees of wards and communes must take full responsibility before the law and superiors. For projects under construction, contractors are required to strictly implement construction assurance measures, not allowing unsafe situations to occur in schools. In photo: A school building under construction at Le Loi Primary and Secondary School, Vinh city. Photo: My HaThis is a classroom built in the late 90s and is currently used for first graders at Le Loi Primary School - Hung Nguyen. The old classroom does not meet the minimum area requirements and does not meet safety requirements. Photo: My HaIn many classrooms, the walls are cracked. Although the classrooms are too small and there is not enough space to walk around, teachers still have to place desks and chairs far away from the walls to ensure the safety of students. Photo: My HaThe plastic ceiling has been used for many years. Danger is imminent when there are nearly a dozen lamps and ceiling fans right above the children's heads. A teacher who is teaching here shared that last school year, while she was sitting in class working, the fan on the wall suddenly collapsed, fortunately there were no casualties. Photo: My HaTeacher Nguyen Thi Tan - Vice Principal of Le Loi Primary School added: Since 2016, our school has been recognized as a standard school and according to regulations, it must be re-standardized after 5 years. Although the above time has passed, the school has not been recognized again because the facilities are not guaranteed. Photo: My HaTo limit this situation, the Department of Education and Training recently issued a document requesting schools to strengthen solutions to ensure safety for students. In particular, it requires schools to proactively coordinate with local professional agencies to conduct inspections and review all existing school facilities, reassess the quality of constructions, make plans to renovate and repair facilities, tree systems, fences, electrical systems, etc. to ensure safety for students and teachers. In particular, do not put into use facilities and constructions that have expired or are unsafe without being renovated, upgraded, repaired, or newly built. At the same time, strengthen inspection and supervision of high-risk areas such as fires, floods, landslides in educational facilities, especially dormitories, semi-boarding areas, laboratories, etc. Proactively develop plans to prevent and ensure fire safety in schools. Photo: My Ha
