Many schools in the southern province of Tien Giang are in such a poor condition that they can collapse anytime in these rainy days.

Students at Binh Thanh Elementary School in Tien Giang Province shelter from rain under their desks.

Le Thi Ngot, the mother of a student at Binh Thanh Elementary School in Cai Lay District, said whenever it rains, she has to rush to the school to make sure her child is okay.

“I once had to hold my daughter under her desk during a heavy rain,” Ngot said.

Binh Thanh Elementary was built 30 years ago and most of its walls are now cracked and its roofs leaky. Principal Le Nhu Thuy said the school wants to build a new campus on a site donated by a local resident but is still waiting for funds from the local government.

According to Tran Van Tri, vice director of the Tien Giang Department of Education and Training, there are now around 800 classrooms in deteriorating conditions in Tien Giang.

But he said the construction of many new schools had been halted after the central government issued a resolution to cut down on public spending.

In Cai Be District, many classrooms at Hau My Trinh Elementary School are also fast deteriorating. Vo Cao Thi, a teacher there, said he often asks his students to take shelter under their desks when it rains.

According to Vice Principal Nguyen Thi Hong Thuy, some parents have even threatened to stop sending their children to school. At Vo Viet Tan Middle School in Cai Lay District, students aren’t faring any better.

Ngo Minh Chung, head of the Cai Lay Office of Education and Training, said a student was recently hurt by a concrete slab which fell down from his classroom’s deteriorating roof.