About one million students from first to sixth grades in all 30 districts of Hanoi will return to school from April 6, after nearly a year of online learning due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a decision made on April 4 by the Hanoi People's Committee following a proposal by the municipal Department of Education and Training, kindergarten students will remain at home.

In its proposal, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training said the Covid-19 situation in the city has improved in recent times, with a significant reduction in the number of patients who are teachers and students dropping significantly.

Schools must meet safety requirements for Covid-19 prevention in accordance with the guidance of the municipal Departments of Health and Education.

Besides, they should develop a plan for handling when a Covid-19 patient is detected at school.

A survey conducted by the department on April 2-3 showed that more than 75% of parents of first to sixth graders agree to send their children to school.

Primary students in Hanoi had their body temperature checked before entering class in 2021. Photo: Thong Nhat

“I've gotten used to the fact that Covid-19 is here to stay and that we must learn to live with it. Even adults find it difficult to stay at home for too long, let alone children who want to play and communicate with others. So, despite the winter’s cold and rain, seeing that my son is excited to go to school, I'm happy for him,” Truong Thi Huong Lan, mother of a third grader in Ba Dinh District, told The Hanoi Times.

“My son was visibly psyched up to learn that school will be about to reopen. He could not hide his joy because he will be able to meet his teachers and friends,” Huong added.

Nguyen Cao Duc Vinh, a first grader of the Hanoi-based Lomonosov Education System, said he is so happy to see his friends and teachers for the first time.

Nguyen Quang Tung, Vinh’s school principal, stressed that for the first graders, the excitement is even greater since the school year is coming to an end but they have never set foot in school and felt the atmosphere of the classroom.

“Our preparation to receive the students has been underway since early March. Teachers and staff have been carefully trained to ensure safety for students. The class medical equipment is guaranteed to comply with regulations. Going to school is a child's right and we must do everything we can to keep children in school, so that their right is not compromised,” Tung shared with The Hanoi Times via phone.

Since mid-2021, over 2.2 million kindergartners and students of Hanoi have had to stay home due to impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the first three weeks of February, students from first to sixth grades in Hanoi’s outskirts were allowed to attend school but they had to return to remote learning on February 18 as the Covid-19 situation worsened across the city.

Students in Hanoi have stayed at home longer than their peers nationwide due to the pandemic. As of April 4, Hanoi has recorded nearly 1.5 million confirmed Covid-19 cases since   April last year, when the fourth coronavirus wave surfaced. For the past 20 days, the number of daily confirmed cases in the city has dropped by 7% against the previous two weeks.

“Parents and children need to adapt to the new situation. Even at home children are at risk of catching coronavirus. If schools adopt strict prevention measures, I think the risk at schools would be lower than at home. When adapting and living with the pandemic, we should accept school infections,” Nguyen Trong Khoa, deputy director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment under the Ministry of Health told The Hanoi Times.