Con cuong: Warning about school dropout situation

(Baonghean) - Con Cuong district currently has 50 schools of 4 levels, including: 14 kindergartens, 20 primary schools, 14 secondary schools (including 1 secondary boarding school for ethnic minorities), 2 high schools. The total number of students at the end of the 2013 - 2014 school year is 14,215. According to statistics of the Department of Education and Training of Con Cuong district, updated to April 15, 2014, there are 141 students in the area who dropped out of school for many reasons.

Dan Lai students at Co Phat village school (Mon Son 3 Primary School - Con Cuong)

Of the total 141 students who dropped out of school in the 2013-2014 school year, 72 were from the secondary school. Some schools had a high number of dropouts, such as Yen Khe Secondary School with 15 students, Thach Ngan Secondary School with 13 students, Chau Khe Secondary School and Luc Da Secondary School with 9 students each... Through research, teacher Dinh Thi Ha - Principal of Yen Khe Secondary School said that the school's students dropped out of school for many reasons, both objective and subjective. Of the 15 students who dropped out of Yen Khe Secondary School, 13 were from the inner area, 8-10 km from the school. These were villages and hamlets such as Trung Chinh and Trung Huong. Teacher Dinh Thi Ha shared: “It is not correct to say that children drop out of school because their families are too poor, but because of many other factors. Some children have poor academic performance, others have poor learning awareness, some have to stay home to look after younger siblings, or follow adults to work far away…” The principal of Yen Khe Secondary School said that since the children entered 6th grade, the school has encouraged families and parents to create conditions for their children to go to school. However, the situation of dropping out of school scattered in all classes still occurs.

In Con Cuong district, there are currently two high schools: Con Cuong High School and Muong Qua High School. By the end of the 2013-2014 school year, the total number of students at Con Cuong High School was 1,135 and Muong Qua High School was 319. At these two schools, 69 students dropped out, of which Con Cuong High School had 48 students. The reason for this situation, according to teacher Le Dang Vinh - Principal of the school, is that weak students account for a high percentage. For a long time, Con Cuong High School has had very low admission requirements, requiring only 0.25 points for each subject. In addition, many students live 30-40 km from the school, so they have to rent a house in town and have to worry about their own food, accommodation and living expenses, which greatly affects their studies. Notably, the majority of students who dropped out of school were in grade 10. “After studying for a while, seeing their older brothers and sisters go to the South to work, the students also dropped out of school. Meanwhile, families and parents have not paid the necessary attention to their children's education,” said teacher Le Dang Vinh. One of the important reasons leading to the situation of students dropping out of school is that the State's policies and regulations are too slow to reach schools and students. Like last school year, it was not until the end of the second semester, when grade 12 students had graduated, that the support money under Decision 85 arrived.

For many years now, students in mountainous and disadvantaged areas have been enjoying support policies from the State according to Decision 85/2010/QD-TTg dated December 21, 2010 of the Prime Minister on promulgating a number of policies to support boarding students and boarding schools for ethnic minorities. Accordingly, each boarding student is supported with food and accommodation costs equal to 50% of the minimum wage, of which 40% is for food and 10% for accommodation; boarding students receive 80% of the minimum wage. In addition, they also enjoy monthly rice subsidies according to Decision 36/2013/QD-TTg dated June 18, 2013 of the Prime Minister; notebook support for primary school students... However, according to the feedback of many parents, students and schools in Con Cuong, for a long time only rice subsidies have been guaranteed on time, while the study support money has been very slow. Therefore, not only does it not encourage and motivate students, it also causes frustration for them and their families. Through discussion, Mr. Phan Anh Tai - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Con Cuong district said that for a long time, the support money for students according to regulations is only transferred at the end of each semester. Meanwhile, the Department of Education and Training of the district as well as schools in the area have repeatedly proposed that the province should transfer money monthly so that schools can proactively allocate and assign to each student or family, but so far it has not been done promptly.

In fact, the situation of students dropping out of school and the slow payment of allowances is not only happening in Con Cuong district but is also happening in mountainous districts, where the majority of the population is ethnic minorities and their lives are difficult. Therefore, the education sector needs to recalculate. The implementation of timely and effective support policies will contribute to creating better conditions for students in mountainous areas to go to school. Because that shows the special attention of our Party and State for the cause of education and training, especially policies for disadvantaged ethnic minority areas.

Dao Tuan