HCMC – More than 70% of parents of first-graders in HCMC have declined to allow their children to return to school under the municipal government’s pilot scheme to reopen in-person classes, according to a recent survey conducted by the HCMC Department of Education and Training.
Among the 131,244 parents who responded, a mere 36,316 parents, or 29.8%, have agreed to allow their children to come back to in-person classes as fears of Covid-19 remain widespread, the local media reported.
At several primary schools in downtown HCMC, including Tran Quang Dieu and Tran Van Dang in District 3, Ben Cang in District 4 and Dien Bien in District 10, over 10 parents agreed to let their first-graders attend school in person.
Parents participating in the survey in the city’s outlying districts such as Cu Chi and Can Gio, which have put the pandemic under control, also disapproved of allowing their children to get back to school.
For example, at five primary schools in Cu Chi District – Trung Lap Thuong, Nhuan Duc, Nhuan Duc 2, An Nhon Tay and Cu Chi 2, the number of parents who agreed to take their children back to in-person classes is fewer than 20.
Children under 12 have yet to be vaccinated, so if they have Covid, they would become a source of infection for their family members, especially old people and those with underlying health conditions.
