Closed border prevents Cambodia children from attending schools in Vietnam

Vietnam closed its borders in late March.

The Department of Education and Training in An Giang Province said on Tuesday its An Phu District, which shares a border with Cambodia, has 1,347 students from the neighboring country studying in grades in primary and high schools.

Every day they would cross the border to attend class and return home afterward.

An Giang authorities recently agreed to allow in 18 12th grade students, quarantine them for 14 days and then permit them to attend school. The parents of seven of the students have agreed to this.

The remaining 1,329 students have to wait until the border is reopened.

The department said it would instruct schools to organize extra classes for the students to make up for the time they are in quarantine.

Nguyen Thi Diem Tuyet, principal of A Khanh An primary school in An Phu, said of her school’s 1,049 students, around 390 live in Cambodia.

"The school has told the students in Cambodia to follow classes on the An Giang television channel. Teachers will also send curriculum materials to students via the Internet."

With the government easing social distancing restrictions late last month many students returned to school on Monday for the first time since the Lunar New Year holiday in late January as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Many schools had resorted to online lessons during the break.