Severe damage, around 2,000 schools affected by flooding
The Ministry of Education and Training on November 24 reported to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the damage caused by flooding in the South Central and Central Highlands provinces, as well as the support measures currently being implemented.
According to the ministry, recent flooding in these regions has resulted in serious losses for the education sector. Local reports show that the floods caused the deaths of four pupils—three in Dak Lak and one in Lam Dong.
As of midday on November 24, many schools had been submerged, affected by landslides, or suffered damage to walls, teaching equipment, retaining walls, parking areas and drainage systems; numerous trees were uprooted. Total estimated losses across the five provinces amount to 97.54 billion VND (3.7 million USD). Due to disrupted terrain and floodwaters that have yet to fully recede, localities are still assessing the full extent of damage.
Losses of textbooks and learning materials are substantial: Quang Ngai reported 38,810 damaged textbook sets; Dak Lak recorded 6,340 sets; Gia Lai reported 448,202 damaged textbooks and 6,425 sets of learning tools; Lam Dong reported 334 textbook sets, 405 sets of learning materials and 550 notebooks; Khanh Hoa is still compiling figures.
Regarding teaching activities, 1,942 schools or satellite campuses had to suspend classes due to flooding. As of midday November 24, 360 schools remained closed—290 in Dak Lak and 70 in Khanh Hoa—while Gia Lai, Lam Dong and Quang Ngai had resumed normal teaching.
Free distribution of all textbooks for pupils in flood-affected areas
On the afternoon of November 24, the Ministry of Education and Training stated that it had instructed provincial Departments of Education and Training to urgently review losses to school facilities and teaching equipment and propose that provincial People’s Committees allocate funding for repairs. Priority will be given to using central Government support to restore school infrastructure and procure equipment so pupils can return to class as soon as possible. The Ministry also called for the mobilisation of police, military forces, militia, social organisations and local residents to clean schools once the water recedes.
To ensure pupils have sufficient textbooks, and based on local reports, the Ministry will provide free textbooks to all pupils in flood-affected areas. It has instructed the Viet Nam Education Publishing House and school-equipment companies to coordinate with localities to assess losses and provide timely support.
The Viet Nam Education Publishing House has prepared 10 million textbooks for affected pupils; assistance to Dak Lak has been largely completed, and support for Gia Lai, Khanh Hoa, Quang Ngai and Lam Dong is underway.
In addition, the Ministry has launched a fundraising campaign among its civil servants, staff and affiliated public units, providing 300 million VND (11,400 USD) to each affected province, totalling 1.5 billion VND (57,000 USD). Families of pupils who died will receive 5 million VND (190 USD) each, totalling 20 million VND (758 USD).
The Ministry also cooperated with Tuoi Tre Newspaper in Ho Chi Minh City to provide 2 billion VND (75,800 USD) to teachers in the five provinces and is working with local authorities to allocate the support to provincial Departments of Education and Training.
Psychological counselling for pupils affected by natural disasters
The ministry stated that during and after the storm, it maintained regular communication with provincial Departments of Education and Training via Zalo groups to update information and promptly coordinate with international organisations, particularly UNICEF Viet Nam.
UNICEF and Save the Children have formed an emergency support group for the education sector, providing learning materials, school uniforms, drinking water and financial assistance to families with pupils; they are currently supplying drinking water to Gia Lai Province.
International donors will also implement free psychological-counselling programmes through group support sessions at schools for pupils affected by trauma after the disaster, especially in Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Lam Dong. Teachers are being guided in flexible teaching methods to help pupils overcome post-disaster stress.
