A ninth-grade class in session at Thái Hoà Secondary High School, Ba Vì District, on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng

HÀ NỘI — Around 4,000 ninth graders in 29 schools in the suburban district of Ba Vì returned to school on Monday, the first students in the capital city to have in-person learning after six months of school shutdowns.

According to regulations, students and teachers will have to wear masks the entire time, declare their health and movements prior to classes, and got temperatures screened right at the schools’ gates.

Each class will have their own section during break times to avoid mingling between students from different classes.

Vạn Thắng Secondary High School in Vạn Thắng Commune with 297 ninth-graders saw biggest return in Ba Vì District. The students were sorted into seven classes, four in the morning and three in the afternoon.

Phan Tuấn Thiệp, a teacher at Cổ Đô Secondary High School which has 98 ninth-grade students, said he was glad to see students back in class.

The first lesson delivered was about anti-pandemic measures, before moving on to lessons in line with the curriculum, he said.

Students were mostly happy to be back with friends, as virtual learning for such a long time is not without its problems, especially the lack of interactions and effectiveness concerns.

Local authorities chose the ninth grade to be the first to resume schools due to three reasons – students in each school are from one commune so epidemiological management would be easier, the number of students in secondary high schools here is lower than the number in high schools, and they are old enough to be mindful of basic COVID-19 prevention measures or taking care of themselves in quarantine facilities should outbreaks occur.

Up to 94 per cent of the teachers in Ba Vì District have got two doses of vaccines.

Parents or guardians could opt for their children to stay home and stick to virtual learning.

Students in masks during a geography class at Thái Hoà Secondary High School on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng

Hà Nội has eyed resumption of schools – first and foremost for students at the final grade in primary, secondary and upper secondary education (meaning fifth graders, ninth graders, and twelfth graders) to better prepare them for graduation exams – but the complicated developments in outbreak with rising community infections have decimated the plan.

Earlier last week, Hà Nội said nearly all 18 suburban districts (with COVID-19 situation at levels 1 and 2 in the health ministry’s four-level scheme) could resume in-person studying but over the weekend, only Ba Vì’s COVID-19 situation was considered safe enough for resumption.

Hà Nội has a total of about 2.1 million students that have had to learn online for half a year now. — VNS

Students have to sanitise their hands and receive temperatures scans before leaving schools. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng