Forces and residents of Sơn Đông Commune, Lập Thạch District, Vĩnh Phúc Province, clean mud and prepare schools for students' return after Typhoon Yagi. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Trọng Lịch

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has issued a directive to the People’s Committees of provinces and cities, calling for tuition fee support for students in areas devastated by storms and floods.

Typhoon Yagi and the ensuing heavy rain that followed caused severe damage across many provinces and cities. 

In response, the MoET has urged local authorities to assess the extent of the damage and offer tuition fee exemptions or reductions for preschool and general education students, in line with their powers and current legal provisions. This is aimed at easing the burden on parents and supporting students, particularly in disaster-stricken regions.

The ministry had previously directed universities and teacher training colleges to prioritise resources to waive or reduce tuition fees for students affected by the storms. 

It also recommended that these institutions provide appropriate financial assistance to help students quickly stabilise their studies.

Students have been advised to reach out to local authorities for verification of any sudden financial hardships their families may face, enabling them to apply for credit loans to support their education.

Beyond the government's existing policies on tuition fee waivers, reductions, and study cost support, several provinces and cities have also passed resolutions to extend tuition fee assistance to preschool and general education students.

To support students in flood-affected regions, the Việt Nam Education Publishing House will immediately print 10 million additional textbooks. 

Combined with the current stock, this will bring the total supply to around 18 million textbooks for the impacted areas, said Associate Professor, Dr Nguyễn Văn Tùng, deputy editor-in-chief of the Việt Nam Education Publishing House. 

Once accurate data on local needs is gathered over the next one to two weeks, additional books will be printed if necessary.

Tùng said that the estimated cost for printing these 10 million books is less than VNĐ30 billion (US$1.22 million). 

Publishing house will also allocate funds to donate a significant number of textbooks to students in severely affected areas. 

As of September 18, the publisher has donated 2,200 sets of textbooks worth VNĐ550 million ($22,380) to the hardest-hit provinces, including Yên Bái, Lào Cai, Lạng Sơn, Tuyên Quang, and Thái Nguyên. 

Additionally, through the education sector’s labour union, the publisher has raised VNĐ620 million ($25,130) to assist people affected by the floods.

According to the MoET, reports from 18 out of 26 provinces and centrally governed cities revealed that, as of September 16, the estimated damage to infrastructure and teaching equipment totals about VNĐ1.26 trillion ($51 million).

The damage included more than 41,500 sets of textbooks. Yên Bái suffered the greatest loss, with nearly 28,700 sets of textbooks destroyed, followed by Cao Bằng with over 7,400, and Quảng Ninh with nearly 3,400.

On September 9, the ministry issued a directive to the departments of Education and Training and publishing houses to supply textbooks to areas impacted by Typhoon Yagi. 

Following the Prime Minister’s orders for urgent storm recovery, departments were tasked with assessing and reporting damage to infrastructure and school supplies to develop recovery plans.

The ministry urged timely support for students from disadvantaged or policy families to stabilise their education, and called for safety measures in schools. Publishing houses were instructed to work with local authorities to assess textbook losses, prioritising replacements for first-year and final-year students, ensuring no shortages.

Publishers are working with departments to supply textbooks and school materials to affected students, enabling them to resume their education as soon as possible. — VNS