Teachers and residents in the central province of Hà Tĩnh clean up the school after Kajiki hit the province on August 25. VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Ngà

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has urged localities hit by recent storms and flooding to swiftly restore damaged schools to ensure conditions for the opening of the new school year.

In Official Dispatch No 156/CĐ-TTg, signed on September 3, the Prime Minister recalled that he had previously issued Dispatch No 151/CĐ-TTg on August 29, directing the People’s Committees of Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh provinces to repair damaged schools and healthcare facilities so that the new academic year could begin on schedule.

However, according to a September 1 report from the Ministry of Education and Training and a September 3 broadcast on Việt Nam Television, restoration work at many schools, particularly in Hà Tĩnh, Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An, remains incomplete.

Natural disasters have caused severe damage to hundreds of schools across the three provinces, with Hà Tĩnh suffering the worst losses. Following storms Kajiki and Nongfa, 286 schools in the province were heavily affected, resulting in damage worth nearly VNĐ136 billion.

PM Chính instructed the chairpersons of the three provincial People’s Committees to mobilise all available resources and manpower, especially military, police and youth union forces, to speed up repairs.

The goal is to complete restoration at all schools with collapsed roofs, unsafe structures or other serious damage; repair desks and chairs; and provide books, teaching equipment and school supplies so that students can attend a safe and timely opening ceremony and begin the year with basic learning conditions.

For schools that have collapsed or sustained irreparable damage, local authorities must arrange temporary venues for both the opening ceremony and classes. These tasks must be completed and reported to the Prime Minister by September 4.

The Prime Minister also directed the Minister of Education and Training to continue urging and guiding the education sector in the affected provinces, ensuring timely support with books, teaching materials and school supplies for disaster-hit institutions as requested by local authorities.

A consolidated report must be submitted to the PM on September 4.

Meanwhile, the Ministers of National Defence and Public Security were instructed to direct local army and police units to maximise their support in cleaning classrooms and repairing facilities in coordination with provincial authorities.

Deputy PM Lê Thành Long has been tasked with continuing to oversee and coordinate the implementation of this directive across ministries, sectors and localities. — VNS