More than 23 million students across the country, or one-fourth of the total population, started a new academic year on September 5.

Many Party and State leaders attended ceremonies to begin the new school year.

The new school year ceremony was held nationwide on September 5 with nearly 24 million pupils attending, about two million higher than the previous year.

State President Tran Dai Quang sent a letter to all teachers, parents, and pupils. According to the state president, the education sector has seen positive results from new reforms. Many pupils had high results in international maths and science competitions. Vietnam National University in Hanoi and HCM City are both ranked among the top 1,000 best universities in the world.

In the new school year, the sector must continue to find out about shortcomings, develop and improve in order to provide the best workforce for the country’s development. Education in rural and remote areas must be prioritised.

He said both teachers and pupils must maintain their passion for knowledge.

Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha said in the new school year, they would start implementing a new curriculum for first graders. The result will affect the reform in the sixth and tenth grades. They must also strengthen discipline among both teachers and pupils to prevent school violence.

The new school year starts while some central and northern provinces including Thanh Hoa and Son La are still being ravaged by floods. Even though several roads are blocked by landslides, teachers in Muong Lat District walked through mud and streams to meet their pupils.

Trinh Kim Que, a teacher with 14 years of teaching at remote villages, said, "When I first came here, the forest didn't scare me but I have just walked the most terrifying road in the past 14 years. Four hours in the car, two hours on motorbike, three hours on foot and four hours travelling by boat then walking again. I can't believe I've gone through all that."

In order to organise the ceremony for the pupils, headmaster and teachers of Quang Chieu Primary School also travelled 300km to the mountainous village.

"Fallen trees and landslides blocked the roads. There are some sections so extremely dangerous that we had to stay close to each other," Headmaster Pham Dang Dung said.

Several border communes in Nghe An Province such as Ta Ca and Muong Tip are still isolated. 150 border guards were sent to provide food and school supplies to those communes. They also helped clean up the schools so that Muong Tip 1 Primary and Nam Tip Boarding School can start the ceremony on September 5.

Students nationwide start new school year More than 23 million students across the country, or one-fourth of the total population, started a new academic year on September 5. The new school year starts with a ceremony on early morning with good weather conditions  In the 2018-2019 academic year, the education sector will continue applying measures to strengthen State management and improve the quality of education, while building a safe, healthy and friendly education environment.  The back-to-school ceremony in Chu Van An High School in Hanoi is attended by President Tran Dai Quang (middle) Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc beats the drum to begin new academic year in Tu Mo Rong district's boarding school in Kon Tum    This year, the  education sector will focus on developing pre-schools at industrial parks and export-processing zones, while finalising preparations for the launching of new education programme and textbook, especially for first-grade students.  Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh attends new school-year ceremony in Da Nang

VNA/Dan Tri