Students from the first, ninth and 12th grade in HCM City will return to school on December 13 as part of a two-week pilot programme. VNA/VNS Photo by Thu Hoài

HCM CITY — The HCM City People’s Committee will begin a pilot school reopening period on December 13.

Under the plan, students from the first, ninth and 12th grade can return to school on December 13, while five-year-old children can go to kindergarten on December 20.

The city will allow Thạnh An Kindergarten, the Thạnh An Primary School, and the Thạnh An Secondary and High School to welcome back students at all levels on December 13.

Schools must discuss pandemic safety measures with parents and submit plans to city districts' and Thủ Đức City's pandemic prevention and control steering committees by December 5. They must also offer training on pandemic prevention and control to all teachers and staff.

The pandemic prevention and control steering committees are responsible for checking and supervising pandemic safety measures at schools.

The Department of Education and Training and  Department of Health have been asked to submit an evaluation of the school reopening to the city People’s Committee after the two-week pilot period. This is being done to prepare for all-level students to return to school on January 3.

The schools with good facilities and safety assurance will have priority to open in-class learning soon, while students and teachers from very high-risk areas must be tested for SARS-CoV-2 following the Ministry of Health’s guidelines.

According to the level of risk, the city will choose between online or direct learning for high school students on a weekly basis. Its announcement will be released on Monday mornings.

The People's Committees of Thủ Đức City and districts are responsible for the selection of online or direct learning for the other schools, based on each locality’s level of risk.

Phan Hoàng Thu Anh, a student at the city-based Vietnam Australia International School, said: “I am eager and excited at return to school soon. My class has only 16 students. All of us are fully vaccinated. So we believe we will maintain the 5K protocol at school."

Her teacher, Nguyễn Thành Luân, said: “The school and teachers are preparing pandemic prevention and control measures to ensure safety for students when they come back to school.” — VNS