VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has urged local authorities in northern Bac Giang Province to check on the safety of dozens of students who have to row across a huge reservoir to get to school.

Teachers and students of Chieng On Secondary School travel to school by boat on a local river in Luc Ngan District in northern Bac Giang Province. (Photo: VNS)

The move was made following media reports that students at Ho Dap primary and secondary schools in Luc Ngan District, Bac Giang Province, have to row across Cam Son Reservoir, one of the three largest in northern Viet Nam.

The local commune is divided in two by the 30-km long of its kind and 7-km-wide reservoir. Students use small boats to cross the water, which in some places is up to 60m deep. Before getting into boats, they have to bail water out of the boats, which are old.

Student Nung Van Ban said to the online newspaper Vnexpress.net that his bags and books sometimes got wet because of rain or because the very light boats turned over. Most students are reported to be able to swim.

Nguyen Thi Khanh, a resident in Ho Dap Commune, said that children had no choice but row to school as the lowest water level was between two and three metres.

"All households make small boats for the children. Each may carry five to 10. They all can row very well," Khanh said, admitting that she herself never dared to row on wet or foggy days.

Chairman of the commune's People's Committee, Luc Van Nam, said that all of the boats were equipped with lifebuoys and the committee carried out regular inspections.

Nam said the committee encouraged schools to provide accommodation for students to minimise travelling.

He added that no deaths had been reported in the past 50 years.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News