Building a boarding school in the border area: The dream of education comes true

GD&TĐ - With the policy of building more primary and secondary boarding schools for ethnic minorities in 248 land border communes, the dream of going to school for children is gradually becoming a reality.

The new schools not only improve the quality of learning and living, but also help narrow the educational gap between border areas and urban areas.

Ready to cooperate

Ms. Nguyen Thuy Quynh - Principal of Thanh Thuy Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities ( Tuyen Quang ), said that more than 90% of the school's students are ethnic minorities such as Mong, Tay, Dao... Last school year, out of a total of 270 students, 114 were boarders and enjoyed the State's policies.

Upon receiving information about the investment policy to build primary and secondary boarding schools for ethnic minorities in 248 border communes, officials, teachers, students and parents of the school were all extremely excited. With the scale of the new school and upgraded living and learning conditions, people feel more secure.

Due to its location in a mountainous area, the facilities, especially subject classrooms, are not yet uniform, but the school always focuses on the work of career guidance and orientation for students after graduating from junior high school. Every year, 80-90% of students continue to study in grade 10 of high school, the rest choose to study a trade or work as freelancers.

“When infrastructure conditions are invested synchronously, the organization of teaching and learning according to the 2018 General Education Program will be significantly improved. This will contribute to narrowing the educational gap between students in border areas and urban areas,” Ms. Nguyen Thuy Quynh shared.

In Pa Tan commune (Lai Chau), Mr. Nguyen Van Minh - Principal of Trung Chai Primary and Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, commented that the Politburo 's policy on building boarding schools in border communes demonstrates the deep concern of Party and State leaders for education in mountainous and disadvantaged areas.

In the 2024-2025 school year, the school has 523 students distributed across 3 campuses. Currently, the school has promoted this policy to all staff, teachers, employees, students, parents and local people, in order to facilitate teachers and students to have better boarding conditions.

“We are coordinating with the Department of Culture and Society under the People's Committee of Pa Tan commune, following the guidance of the Lai Chau Department of Education and Training, to survey and select a construction site with a total expected area of ​​about 5 hectares. In the near future, each border commune after the merger will have a boarding school, which is important for teachers and students. The school is ready to coordinate with all levels and sectors to effectively implement this policy,” Mr. Minh emphasized.

Mr. Lo Van Hoang, who has worked for many years at Trung Chai Primary and Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, commented that students having to move far from home is one of the main reasons leading to school dropouts. The boarding school model completely solves this problem, helping students attend school continuously and increasing the completion rate of all levels of education.

Photo illustration INT.

Promote educational development

In Quang Tri, after the merger, there are 16 border communes with 57 general schools, of which 17 are semi-boarding schools for ethnic minorities and 1 is a boarding school for ethnic minorities (junior high school). Most of the schools in the border areas are located in mountainous areas with many socio-economic difficulties, sparse population, and many ethnic minorities.

Most schools have many separate campuses, lacking subject classrooms, auxiliary rooms, study areas and sports grounds; some schools still use temporary, borrowed or degraded classrooms, which do not ensure educational activities. Quang Tri aims to build 10 new primary and secondary schools and upgrade, renovate and expand 6 secondary schools or boarding schools into inter-level schools in 15 border communes, ensuring that each commune has one school.

The Quang Tri Department of Education has coordinated with units to survey and propose the construction of Huong Phung Primary and Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities in Huong Phung Commune, with a scale of 60 classes for 2,100 students. After completion, the school will mobilize students from 4 schools in the area including: Huong Phung Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, Huong Phung Primary School, Huong Son Primary - Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities and Huong Linh Primary - Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ty - Principal of Huong Phung Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, shared: "When building an inter-level boarding school for ethnic minorities, students will be able to study in a concentrated environment, with guaranteed facilities, playgrounds and classrooms fully invested. The care and accommodation conditions for students are also given more attention."

According to Mr. Pham Huy Van - Chairman of Huong Phung Commune People's Committee, the policy of building an inter-level boarding school will create favorable conditions for the centralized education of students. In fact, in disadvantaged communes, boarding students not only ensures knowledge, but also helps them develop physically.

Chairman of Huong Phung Commune People's Committee said that the current poverty rate is over 19%. Therefore, bringing students to live in dormitories will create convenience for families, especially poor households. "After the policy was issued, the commune surveyed the location to build the school, selected a suitable location, ensuring maximum area for the items. At the same time, coordinated with the Department of Education to propagate and mobilize parents about the policy. Surely people will agree and respond," Mr. Van affirmed.

Thanks to the attention of the Party and the State, in recent years, children in remote communes have enjoyed many preferential policies, and the people are extremely excited. In the near future, when we build more boarding schools, we will fulfill our dream of a new school with better teaching and learning conditions, so that all children have the opportunity to access quality education. - Mr. Lo Van Hoang (Trung Chai Primary and Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities)

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/xay-truong-noi-tru-vung-bien-gioi-uoc-mo-hoc-tap-thanh-hien-thuc-post746484.html