About 17 million students back to school after Tet holiday

So far, 100% of universities and colleges decided to reopen school this February. Sixty-three provinces and cities also permitted physical school reopening between February 7 and 14. 

Before the Tet holiday, only seven provinces and cities permitted physical classes namely Bac Kan, Cao Bang, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Thai Binh, and Ha Nam.  

In Ha Noi, face-to-face learning will be resumed for pupils from the first to sixth grades in 18 suburban districts and towns of Ha Noi from February 10, according to an official dispatch signed by Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung on February 5.

Meanwhile, pupils of grades one to six in 12 urban districts and those in areas with COVID-19 high risk will continue online learning, while preschool children will stay home.

Schools are requested to meet safety requirements against COVID-19. Only fully vaccinated teachers can lead in-person classes.

Students will spend only half a day at school. The city requires schools not to conduct day-boarding services or open canteens.

Earlier, the Ha Noi People's Committee decided to allow students from grades 7 to 12 to return to school from February 8.

In Ho Chi Minh City, kindergarteners and first- to sixth- graders  came back to school on Monday. 

Students in grades seven to 12 began classes before the Tet or Vietnamese Lunar New Year holidays.

Primary schools in ‘green areas’ – or those without COVID-19 – have two sessions a day and offer semi-boarding for all grades.

Those in yellow (medium-risk) areas also have two sessions and semi-boarding for first and second grades, but only one session for grades three to five.

In orange (high-risk) areas, there is one session a day for first and second grades, and students in grades three to five will study online.

Schools in red (very high-risk) areas will continue online learning, focusing on maths, Vietnamese and English for grades one to three, and math, Vietnamese, English, science, history, and geography for grades four and five.

Secondary schools have been instructed to guide sixth graders in self-study methods, and to organize first semester exams for them in school.

Also on February 5, the Government decided to purchase 21.9 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-12./.