Bao Thang: Bright spot of education in Ky Son

(Baonghean) - From the center of Ky Son district, we traveled about 50km to Bao Thang commune. These days, it rained heavily, the water over the spillways rose high, many sections of soil and rocks from the positive slopes slid down to the road surface. Cha Ca 1 village appeared in the heavy rain with simple houses. Stepping into the yard of Bao Thang Secondary School, witnessing the joy of the students, all the hardships and fatigue... suddenly disappeared.

From the attention of the Party Committee and government

Bao Thang Secondary School is still very simple, from classrooms, library, office building, school yard to dormitory for students are still quite makeshift. At the end of the campus, the 2-storey school building (8 classrooms) is under construction, due to unfavorable weather conditions, construction cannot continue. Teacher Nguyen Van Son - Principal of the school said: "Now, traveling is much more convenient, because the Xieng Thu - Bao Thang road has been completed for nearly 2 years. Previously, to get to Bao Thang, you had to go down to Cua Rao intersection (Tuong Duong), turn to Luong Minh commune, cross Xop Mat bridge, follow the rugged mountainside, dangerous streams. The hardship is indescribable. When the road was opened, it was the right time for the Government to issue Resolution 11, which included the content of cutting public investment to control inflation, so for now, teachers and students, we still have to use the old school facilities system".

Bao Thang has long been known as one of the most remote communes with the most difficult socio-economic conditions in Ky Son district. This place is also considered one of the "capitals" of the Khmu people, because this ethnic group accounts for 100% of the commune's population. Bao Thang has 5 villages with 385 households (nearly 2,050 people), the poverty rate is high (about 80%). The farthest village of Bao Thang is Xao Va, which takes 6 hours to walk. Next are Tha Lang and Ca Da villages, which take 4 hours to walk. Currently, Bao Thang still has no electricity grid, no phone signal, and people's lives are basically self-sufficient. Due to the conditions of the infrastructure system and the number of students, Bao Thang still maintains a primary school (including primary and secondary schools). This school year, the school has 31 classes (505 students) with 5 school locations. That is to say, the work of “sowing letters” and “cultivating people” in Bao Thang is still full of hardships and difficulties. The education career here is testing the love for the profession, the love for children and the courage of teachers as well as the determination of students to rise up on the journey to find letters.

The most noteworthy thing about Bao Thang is that, although the socio-economic conditions are still facing many difficulties and the people's intellectual level is limited, in recent years, the quality of education in this locality has been significantly improved. According to the assessment of the leaders of the Department of Education of Ky Son district, Bao Thang commune is ranked in the top group in terms of general quality, surpassing some communes near the center, with much more favorable conditions such as Huu Kiem, Ta Ca, Chieu Luu.

To make Bao Thang successful, according to Mr. Nguyen Hong Hoa - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Ky Son district, the basic reason is the special attention from the Party Committee and local authorities. In recent years, the local budget has always been prioritized for education. When the junior high school piloted the semi-boarding model, the commune allocated funds to support the construction of a clean water pipeline system and the purchase of generators. The staff of the commune-level departments always actively helped the school in mobilizing school-age children to go to school, ensuring the maintenance of the number of students... Through the discussion, Mr. Cut Thanh Hoai - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee affirmed: "We determined that the only way to escape poverty sustainably for Bao Thang is to improve the intellectual level and the ability to apply science and technology to production. Therefore, the work of caring for the education cause must be given top priority. People's lives are still difficult, the budget is limited, but every year we agree to give top priority to education".

To the efforts of teachers and students.

This school year, Bao Thang Secondary School was chosen to pilot the implementation of the boarding system for students according to Decision 85 of the Government. Accordingly, each student whose house is 6 km or more from the school, unable to travel back and forth during the day, is entitled to the boarding system, with a support level of 460,000 VND/month. The whole school has 125 students entitled to the boarding system. Despite the difficult and lacking facilities, the boarding students are still arranged the best accommodation by the school, with a caterer specializing in serving meals and a student management officer.

Lunch of boarding students at Bao Thang Secondary School (Ky Son).

We arrived at the dormitory when teacher Lo Thi Ha was preparing lunch. The big pot of rice for 125 students was cooked, Ms. Ha and her colleagues diligently scooped it into each bowl. Just as the bell rang to signal the end of school, the students rushed back and rolled up their sleeves to help the teachers prepare the meal, dividing the portions for each tray. The menu for the meal, in addition to rice and soup, also included meat, vegetables and wild bamboo shoots. After eating, some students took a nap, many did their homework or prepared for the afternoon class. Teacher Mua A Lenh - the student management officer - came to each room to remind the students to maintain order.

The implementation of the boarding model at Bao Thang Secondary School has not been a semester yet, but the results are already evident. According to teacher Nguyen Van Son, the first effect is maintaining the number of students in each class. Compared to previous school years, this year there are almost no students dropping out of school halfway. At the same time, due to ensuring nutrition, the rate of sick students has decreased significantly, the quality of mass education has been improved, and many students stay at school on holidays to study. Living in the boarding area helps students develop life skills in a collective environment, raise awareness of work and hygiene... Xeo Van Kiem (8A student) shared: “My house is in Xao Va village, so I have to walk a long way. In previous years, my friends and I had to set up tents to stay and provide our own meals. This year, being able to stay in a boarding house and not having to worry about cooking every day, my studies have been much easier. I am trying to study hard to compete in the district-level excellent student competition.”

This is thanks to the outstanding efforts of the teachers in the whole school, because there is currently no staffing for catering and student management. The school must proactively contract with teacher Lo Thi Ha to do the catering work. Teacher Mua A Lenh ensures daily teaching in class while also fulfilling the work of a student manager. Each teacher is assigned the responsibility of helping boarding students such as guiding self-study at night, organizing collective cultural activities, increasing labor... It can be said that for boarding students at Bao Thang, the teachers are teachers, parents, and friends.

Bao Thang people are entering the rice harvest season. In the fields, there are no longer any children, because they are going to school, no longer having to skip school to help their parents harvest crops like before. A major change in parents' awareness has contributed greatly to maintaining class sizes and improving the quality of mass education.

Some pictures of boarding classes at Bao Thang Secondary School:

The teacher guides students to do their homework.

Student labor increased.

Review before class.

Tuong Anh