New school year opens in Da Nang with virtual ceremony

More than 260,000 students in the central city of Da Nang began a new school year on September 5 with a virtual ceremony broadcast on local television as social distancing measures remain in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Schoolchildren in Da Nang watch the new school year programme on TV.
Schoolchildren in Da Nang watch the new school year programme on TV.

The programme, set up by the city’s education department and television-radio station, featured preparations for the new school year as well as the wishes of teachers, schoolchildren and their parents in the new school year.

In the first week of the 2020-2021 academic year, students in Da Nang will attend online classes while those who are unable to attend via electronic means will receive physical learning materials from their teachers.

Schools in the city are also making plans to clean and disinfect classrooms when students go back to school.

Due to the coronavirus, the Da Nang government has decided to waive tuition fees for students from nursery to high school level in the first term of the 2020-2021 academic year.

In the meantime new school year opening ceremonies took place as usual at other localities across the country but on a slimmed-down scale.

In Hanoi, Party Secretary Vuong Dinh Hue attended the ceremony at Giang Vo Secondary School where he presented the school with a painting depicting Uncle Ho helping a pupil wrap a red scarf.

Hanoi Party Secretary Vuong Dinh Hue beat the drum at Giang Vo Secondary School.

Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh beat the drum to mark the new school year at Le Quy Don High School in Ho Chi Minh City while Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha visited local schools in Dan Phuong District on the outskirts of Hanoi.