Around two million students in Hanoi will begin their 2021-2022 new academic year on September 5 with virtual opening ceremonies due to the ongoing serious evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Hanoi Education and Training Department.

The opening ceremonies of schools citywide will be broadcast live on the Hanoi Radio and Television and other online platforms, which is a special and unprecedented ceremony.

The department has been developing specific and detailed instructions to guide schools in carrying out academic opening ceremonies for students.

Pham Xuan Tien, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, said that even after the capital ends its social distancing order on September 6 and the coronavirus situation is brought under control, students would not be able to return to school immediately.

Students attend the opening ceremony for the 2020-2021 academic year at Kim Anh High School in Hanoi’s outskirt district of Soc Son. Photo: Trong Tung

The department will provide schools with further instructions on coordinating lessons, timelines and getting students more acquainted with online lessons, Tien added.

The department asked all schools to prepare effective plans of online teaching at all levels, especially for the first grade students.

In an interview with The Hanoi Times via phone, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training Pham Van Dai said that in accordance with the schedule for the 2021-2022 school year issued by the Hanoi People's Committee, students of all grades in the capital city will return to school as early as September 1.

“Despite the pandemic, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training effectively conducted the enrollment for the first and sixth grades. The online enrollment saw the highest rate ever with 87.4% for Grade 1 and 86% for Grade 6. The entrance exam for Grade 10 also took place safely and smoothly amid the outbreaks of the pandemic,” Dai said.

He added that the school year normally starts in mid-August after three months of summer vacations. But with the Delta variant continuing to rage, the municipal education department decided students would start their new academic year later than usual.

Hanoi has recorded 2,843 local Covid-19 cases since the fourth coronavirus wave hit Vietnam in late April.

The capital has undergone a series of social distancing orders, with the latest one extended until September 6. Hanoi is still under Directive 16, requiring people to stay home and only go out for necessities.

To keep their children safe from the virus, many parents know that online learning is the only choice regardless of its drawbacks in comparison with face-to-face instruction.