The Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) government has allowed over 680,000 more students in secondary and high schools to resume face-to-face classes from today [January 4], following the New Year celebration.

This morning, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th graders re-enter school, three weeks after the city began implementing its plan of class resumption for students, starting with ninth and 12th graders.

Students at Nguyen Du High School in HCMC's District 10 strictly implement pandemic prevention before entering class. Photo: Mau Dung

Schools were told to comply with Covid-19 safety protocols to ensure the safety of students, teachers, and education staff. Students will be reviewing lessons and completing mid-term exams from January 4 to January 22.

Schools are asked with buying more temperature monitors and increasing personnel to control student entry and exit.

The department encourages schools to use flexible timetables, combining face-to-face and online teaching. Schools with large campuses and many classrooms are advised to divide classes to ensure the best safety for students, and to give parents peace of mind.

Trinh Duy Trong, head of the ideological and political division under the HCMC Department of Education and Training, said that 60%-80% of students’ parents from secondary and high schools approved their children’s return to in-person classes.

A student has her body temperature scanned before entering class at Tan Tao A Secondary School in HCMC's Binh Tan District on January 4. Photo: Huy Chuong

"My school has provided pandemic prevention and control training for 10th and 11th-grade students on their first day back in class. We were divided into two face-to-face class shifts. Today, I am so happy for being able to meet my friends again after a long time of online schooling," Minh Khue, a 10th grader, Tran Quang Khai High School in District 11 told The Hanoi Times.

Besides, other educational institutions, such as foreign language, informatics, and life skills centers, will be allowed to resume in-person classes if they meet set criteria for pandemic prevention.

The municipal People's Committee has assigned the Department of Education and Training to coordinate with the Department of Health to review and adjust the safety criteria for educational facilities if needed.

Many parents of Pham Ngoc Thach High School in HCMC's Tan Binh District jokingly said: "January 4, 2022 is the day to liberate parents". Photo: Mau Dung

The Department of Health has been in charge of directing the district-level authorities to ensure the safety of teachers and students at schools.

It is expected that the resumption of in-person classes for primary and pre-school students will take place after the Lunar New Year holiday, depending on the Covid-19 situation.

Previously, on December 13, around 150,000 9th and 12th graders in the city have re-entered school in line with the city’s pilot school reopening after some four months of remote teaching. Three weeks after schools reopened, 60 Covid-19 cases were detected in schools in 15 districts, including 51 students.

However, according to the city’s Department of Education and Training, the situation was under control due to the preparation of response plans.

HCMC has vaccinated more than 709,000 children aged 12-17 with at least one dose and covered 85.5% of them with the second dose.