The new academic year has started today [September 5] in Hanoi with more than 2.2 million schoolchildren, from kindergarten to high school.

Activities to celebrate the new school year take place since the early morning in an enjoyable atmosphere. Flags and flowers are on stages, in schools, and on the streets to welcome schoolchildren.

In the 2022-2022 academic year, the capital city has over 2.2 million students, the largest number so far. To ensure safety, Hanoi's authorities ask schools to limit the opening ceremony time to no more than one hour.

In populous urban districts of Hoang Mai, Nam Tu Liem, and Dong Da, there are more than 50 students per classroom.

The following are some beautiful images on the school opening day in Hanoi:

Teachers of Doan Thi Diem Primary School stand at the gate to jubilantly welcome students to the opening ceremony of the 2022-2022 academic year. Photo: Quang Tan/ The Hanoi Times

Welcoming ceremony for 6th graders at Luong The Vinh Secondary School in Ha Dong District. Photo: Duy Khanh/ The Hanoi Times

Teachers and students of Dan Phuong High School in Hanoi’s outskirt district of Dan Phuong begin the ceremony to open the new school year 2022-2023. Photo: Pham Hung/ The Hanoi Times

Music performance at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. Photo: Thanh Hai/ The Hanoi Times

Nguyen Tat Thanh Middle School & High School in Cau Giay District. Photo: Anh Kiet/ The Hanoi Times

Students of Dan Phuong High School are exciting about welcoming the new school year. Photo: Pham Hung/ The Hanoi Times

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on September 5 attended the opening ceremony of the academic year 2022-2023 at Doan Thi Diem Elementary School in Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi.

Speaking at the ceremony, PM Chinh stressed that education and care of pupils are among the top priorities of the Party and the State.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh attend the opening ceremony at Doan Thi Diem Primary School. Photo: Lai Tan/ The Hanoi Times

“We teach the children  to form character, love, be honest, feel compassion, make effort, live with ideals, learn to rise from difficulties, be self-reliant, on the principle of respecting the differences of each child, encouraging creativity, understanding and absorbing national and mankind  knowledge, critical thinking and aspiration to contribute, he said.

Students should be surrounded with love and kindness at school. They should be at the center of all actions with teachers being good mentors and school being the foundation, the Prime Minister added.

He urged the school to pay more attention to environmental protection, especially the quality of the sanitation system, to develop a healthy environment with more trees.

Additionally, parents must co-operate with the school and teachers in their children's education, he said.

All ministries and sectors, especially the Ministry of Education, have to work together to solve the drawbacks and issues in the education and training system, as well as facilitate the development of private schools to improve the quality of education at the national level, he said.

PM Chinh meets teachers and students of Doan Thi Diem Elementary School during the ceremony. Photo: Lai Tan/ The Hanoi Times

Top priorities should be placed on solving shortages of teaching staff, classrooms and books as well as speeding up the vaccine rollout among students, he said.

In the long term, the Ministry of Education needs to continue reforming the teaching and learning standards, and seek private financing to improve income for teachers and invest in schools in industrial parks and remote and disadvantaged areas, PM Chinh said.

“You have to do your best, be determined to conquer all difficulties with love and sharing, gain as much knowledge as you can to live up to the expectations of your families and teachers. You are the key for the strong, prosperous development of Vietnam and its people in the future,” he told the students.

On the same day, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung attended the opening ceremony of the new school year at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted.

On behalf of the city leaders, the Hanoi Party chief handed out flowers to congratulate the outstanding achievements of the school's teachers and students, and then beat the drum to mark the opening moment of the new school year in a spirit of reaching higher goals.

“Hanoi will keep the quality of education. The coming school year will see unpredictable factors and challenges but we will do our best to complete the set tasks,” Dung said.

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung beats the drum to open the school year. Photo: Thanh Hai

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung and the city’s leaders award prizes to students who had gained excellent achievement in international exams in 2022. Photo: Thanh Hai

Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh presents flowers to congratulate teachers and students of Doan Thi Diem Primary School. Photo: Lai Tan