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| Students from Donmuang Taharnargardbumrung School inDon Muangdistrict wash desks and other classroom items damaged by the recent flood. The school reopened on Tuesday, but most of the compound and equipment has yet to be cleaned up. |
Students returning to flood-affected schools after enduring a delay of more than a month to the start of the new semester are joining in a new extra-curricular activity - cleaning up in the wake of the deluge.
Nuttaleeya Saengsung, a Matthayom 5 student from Donmuang Taharnargardbumrung School in Don Muang district, which reopened on Tuesday, said the beginning of this semester was different from previous ones.
Now, she said, students not only study in the classrooms but also spend some of their spare time helping to clean them up, as well as other parts of the school compound that have been left in a mess after the flood receded.
Even before the semester started, many students went to the school as soon as it was dry to begin the clean-up.
"Even now, we haven't finished," said Nuttaleeya, 17, as she took a break from scrubbing filthy desks.
Normally, students would sing the morning national anthem and then head straight to their classrooms, but for now students and teachers scatter around the school's compound and get to work on the clean-up, with lessons getting under way later.
Some removed damaged chairs, tables and cabinets from the classrooms, while others washed educational equipment and collected litter.
"The school smells like a wet market, but we are very happy it was finally reopened after several postponements," Nuttaleeya said. "I was dying to see my friends again."
The Education Ministry originally set the opening of the second semester for Oct 25, and then postponed it repeatedly, first to Nov 7, and then to Nov 21 and again to Dec 6 due to prolonged floods. Finally the institutions were free to open their doors again last Tuesday.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration also postponed the opening of flooded schools under its supervision from Nov 1 to Dec 6 and then Dec 13.
Warisara Rodchim, also a Matthayom 5 student at Donmuang Tahanargardbumrung School, said the traffic congestion had become worse in the post-flood period due to the huge amount of debris piling up on the roads and damage to their surfaces.
She has to spend more time travelling from her home in Khlong 3 of Pathum Thani to the school.
"Now, I feel a little bit worried that students at flood-hit schools will be unable to catch up with those unaffected by the floods," she said.
The school's director, Rujisak Nakphong, said the floods had caused an estimated 2.6 million baht in damage as the 45-rai compound was under about 1.5m of floodwater for 45 days.
He said about 80% of the 3,500 students were able to attend the school on the opening day.
Mr Rujisak believes the remaining 20% must still be affected by the floods, and says if they fail to show up by next week, the school will send teachers or classmates to visit them at their homes to see if they need any help, Mr Rujisak said.
He added the curriculum has been adjusted and all students must now attend a catch-up class on Saturdays throughout the second semester.
The school is expected to have completely returned to normal within two months, he said.
In Nonthaburi province, flood-devastated Bang Bua Thong School also opened on Dec 13, even though its large football field remained under a metre of floodwater.
Like their Bangkok peers, the Bang Bua Thong School pupils were also busy cleaning up their classrooms in addition to resuming their studies.
Some students wore casual clothes as their uniforms had been washed away in the deluge.
"I really missed my friends and felt bored as I was stuck in the upstairs of my house for more than a month," said Ratsamee Cheuraman, a 17-year-old student at Bang Bua Thong School whose house in Nonthaburi's Bang Yai district was inundated.
Now, her house is completely dry.
"I am very happy to go back to school, but I am afraid that the compound will be flooded again next year, as many people predict," she said.
The school's director, Narakorn Lailang, said the floodwater will be drained from the football field by early next week.
"The school was 100% flooded. Water levels were between 1.5m to 2m for nearly two months," he said.
However, he said that one good thing to emerge from this trying time was that the returning pupils showed a renewed appetite for learning and a stronger sense of community in their school than had been the case before.
Students in Bang Bua Thong School also have to study on Saturdays for the time being.Pitsanu Tulasuk, deputy secretary-general of the Office of Basic Education Commission, said 2,209 schools were affected by the floods across the country.
As of now, 24 ministry-run schools in Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Nakhon Pathom remain closed because of persistent high floodwater levels in their campuses.
The cabinet recently approved a budget of 456 million baht to purchase textbooks, learning tools and uniforms for affected schools. Another 422 million baht has been set aside for renovating damaged school buildings.
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