Nghe An highland school allows students to eat and stay together to avoid the epidemic

Difficulties in fighting the epidemic in highland schools

Yen Tinh is a commune located in a difficult area of ​​the district.XiangyangAfter Tet, the epidemic became complicated and Yen Tinh was not out of that spiral when there was a time when every day in the area there were nearly ten positive cases of Covid-19. Currently, the entire commune has moved to the red zone at level 3.

After Tet, although the 8th is the official school day, due to fear of the epidemic, Yen Tinh Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities postponed the start of school by 1 week. During that time, instead of going to school, teachers went "over mountains and streams" to each student's house every day to deliver homework and do extra work to encourage students to go to school.

The newly built boarding students' dining and sleeping areas are spacious and beautiful. Photo: My Ha

The worry was real because exactly one week later, before allowing students to return to school, Yen Tinh Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities organized tests for all students and discovered 1 student with a positive result. Accordingly, nearly 20 other students in the F1 category had to be quarantined because of close contact. The risk of disease spreading in schools is inevitable.

Not to mention, the school is implementing a boarding model and thepupilStudying, eating, and living together in an environment with hundreds of students easily creates the seeds for the epidemic to develop.

Spacious dining room for boarding students. Photo: NTCC

As the school principal, teacher Nguyen Van Tho is very concerned about this issue. He also said that the characteristics of mountainous areas are that travel between regions is not strictly managed, and awareness of disease prevention is still limited. However, if students do not go to school because of the epidemic or switch to another form of teaching, it will not be effective for the conditions of students here.

The best solution is to build a "bubble school" model, at least through the peak of the epidemic. And for a highland district school, the only way to do that is to "gather" students to school and organize teaching and care for students according to the model of a... "no one can go in or out" military barracks.

Welcome students to school

To prepare for this long-term plan, after approving all teachers in the school, the Board of Directors of Yen Tinh Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities discussed with the commune government and the Parents' Association.

Before that, to ensure absolute safety for the school, the school organized screening tests for all teachers and students. Along with the students, the teachers will also volunteer to "go 3 together" with them. The school has changed from an "open" model to a closed model, with students eating and staying at school until the epidemic is under control.

School parents support food for students and teachers. Photo: NTCC

In fact, this is the second time this school year that Yen Tinh Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities has had to make this decision. However, if the previous gathering only had to be held for 1 week, now it is expected to be extended if the epidemic has not temporarily subsided.

During the preparation process, the favorable thing was that the dormitory with 24 rooms and more than 200 new accommodations was completed and put into use. But the “hardest” thing was having to organize meals and assign teachers to strengthen the boarding work. In addition, teachers also had to directly discuss with each parent to agree and agree with this policy because in reality there were students whose homes were only a few steps away from the school.

Our school has 250 students, 160 of whom are semi-boarders. The remaining 90 students are non-boarders, mainly concentrated in Cap Chang, Canh Coong, and Hat villages. To organize boarding for the students at the school, we expect each family to contribute 23,000 VND/day (in accordance with the boarding student regime). However, because this is a rather urgent time, the school has only mobilized parents but has not collected any funding. The school is provisionally advancing the money for the boarding school and mobilizing social resources and support from benefactors.

Teacher Nguyen Van Tho - School Principal

For nearly a week, students have been staying at boarding schools, while many other schools in the area have begun to see F0 cases in the school, Yen Tinh Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities is still a "green zone" and no new cases have appeared. To ensure food and accommodation for students, the school principal, through his personal page, called for support from parents and benefactors to join hands to take care of meals for boarding students of the school.

Previously, during the implementation process, for safety reasons, 10 teachers who were living outside the school also volunteered to stay in the school. Although this initially affected their families' lives, the policy was highly supported by the teachers.

Teacher Hoang Ngoc Dai - who lives less than 1km from the school shared: My wife is at home running a small business so her work is also very busy. However, I think that at this time, the health of students is extremely important and as teachers, I have to try even harder and overcome difficulties for the common benefit of students and the school.

Meal for boarding students. Photo: NTCC

To be effective must be safe

The model of Yen Tinh Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities is not the only model in Tuong Duong district, because previously some other boarding schools in the area had also implemented it.

At this time, when the epidemic is spreading more and more, this can also be considered an effective model, suitable for the characteristics of mountainous districts. However, in the process of implementation to be successful, there are also difficulties, especially when the epidemic is developing complicatedly as it is now.

Screening test for teachers and students before organizing boarding for students. Photo: NTCC

Since the end of the first semester, Nhon Mai Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities has successfully organized boarding for all students of the school, including 65 students who are not in the priority group, for a period of 21 days. At that time, Nhon Mai was a hot spot in Tuong Duong district and because there was an F0 case in the school, compared to other schools in the area, the school had to close for 3 weeks.

When the epidemic was under control, the school resumed teaching. To keep up with the program and minimize the risk of spreading the disease, the school decided to organize for all students to eat and stay in the whole school. Taking advantage of the "golden time", the school increased the teaching time to 2 sessions/day, and parents were also assured because their children stayed in the school without contact with the outside world, so they would not be infected.

Teachers at Nhon Mai Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities organize meals for boarding students. Photo: NTCC

Through the implementation, teacher Nguyen Thi Kim Dung - Principal of the school affirmed that organizing all students to stay in boarding school is effective and suitable for the actual conditions in highland schools. On the teachers' side, although they have to give up the entire teachers' headquarters building to make rooms for students, they are still willing because this facilitates the organization of teaching and learning, maintaining quality.

At this time, the school has also planned to continue implementing the model but has had to temporarily stop because the epidemic has spread to the school. The school principal also said: When organizing boarding, it is important that all teachers and students are safe and no one is infected. We are waiting for the test results and if they are stable, we will soon organize it again for the students.

Students staying at boarding schools will be able to study with peace of mind and limit the spread of disease. Photo: NTCC.

Teacher Tran Hung Thai - Principal of Luong Minh Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities also implemented this model from the beginning of the school year and kept the school safe throughout the first semester. Sharing about the effectiveness of this model, he also said that there are 3 "good" things, which are ensuring safety for students, limiting the risk of infection, avoiding damage to families and local authorities and most importantly creating stability for students to study effectively. But before that, to be successful, it is necessary to gain consensus and support and call for socialization because the actual conditions of parents in mountainous areas are very difficult.

Organizing a boarding school model in the current conditions is very difficult. Therefore, the efforts of the teachers of the schools are very commendable and without dedication, responsibility, and without the support of parents and students, it is difficult to implement well.

We also hope that in the coming time, the model will be replicated and become a useful solution for organizing safe teaching and learning in highland schools.

Mr. Kha Van Lap - Head of Education and Training Department of Tuong Duong district