Teaching and learning at schools without copies

(Baonghean.vn) - Khe Nong school in Chau Khe commune (Con Cuong) is located in a remote area in the core area of ​​Pu Mat National Park. This school year, the school has 3 teachers and 22 students, but it is an area without a village.

Khe Nong is a residential area in Chau Son village, Chau Khe commune, separated from the main village 20km away. According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Luyen - Chairman of Chau Khe commune People's Committee: Although there are 40 households, due to lack of capital to invest in building infrastructure and roads, the village has not been established. Although a few years ago, the Con Cuong district government had a project to establish Khe Nong village under the commune.

Khe Nong School, which is under Chau Khe 2 Primary School, has existed for more than 20 years. This is the place where 22 students and 3 teachers teach and learn. Photo: HV

Although not yet established, for more than 20 years, Khe Nong has had a separate location under Chau Khe 2 Primary School. Every year, a team of teachers is assigned to teach students here. In the 2017-2018 school year, Khe Nong had 22 students from grades 1 to 5, taught by 3 teachers.

To get to the school in this Dan Lai community, the teachers have to cross 6 deep streams. Vehicles breaking down is a common occurrence. Photo: HV

Getting to Khe Nong is very difficult. The settlement is located in the core area of ​​Pu Mat National Forest and is quite isolated. The nearest village is 6km away, of which 3km is forest and mountain road. You have to wade through 6 streams and winding steep passes to reach Khe Nong village.

Ms. Luong Thi Noi’s house is only 7km away, right in Chau Khe commune. However, she can only return to her family on weekends. Although she has been attached to the border commune of Chau Khe for more than 20 years, each time she is assigned to teach at Khe Nong is a nightmare. “I ride a motorbike which is quite good compared to other teachers in the school, but I still have difficulty crossing the streams to get to the school. Every time it rains heavily, I cannot cross.”

According to Ms. Noi, who has been to Khe Nong school twice, when there is heavy rain, this community is isolated for a whole week. "During the rainy and flood days, we cannot go out to buy food, so the only main dish for meals is wild vegetables," Ms. Noi shared.

Teacher Le Thanh Thuy is in charge of a combined class. Photo: HV

Ms. Le Thanh Thuy is in charge of a mixed class with 2 levels: grades 3 and 5. Meanwhile, grade 3 only has one student. The classroom is arranged with 2 blackboards and she has to rotate back and forth. At the school, there is also a mixed class with 2 levels: grades 1 and 2, taught by teacher Loc Thi Lien.

Teacher Loc Thi Lien teaches writing to the only first grader at the school. Photo: HV

According to local authorities, Khe Nong currently has 7 children studying at the secondary school level. This is unprecedented in this remote community. However, motivating children to go to class is still extremely difficult. Ms. Noi said that every day, teachers still have to bring candy to "coax" some of the problem children to return to class. "10 years ago, we had to come and hold each child before they would come to class," Ms. Noi recalled.

After class, teachers find wild vegetables to improve their meals. Photo: HV

Without a market, the teachers have to improve their meals by growing more vegetables. In the campus of the smallest, most isolated school in the mountainous district of Con Cuong, there is always a lush vegetable garden. Apart from wild vegetables and things grown in the garden, the teachers have to rely entirely on food purchased from the locals, with only a few street vendors bringing in goods from outside every once in a while.

Vegetable garden of teachers at Khe Nong school. Photo: HV

In an area where the national grid is still a dream for residents, the nights seem endless. Teacher Noi said that if the solar and wind power lighting system recently installed by a Korean organization for the school is put into stable operation, the teachers here will have a better time.

Despite the hardships and difficulties, the simple affection of the students and the local people here is like a warm fire for the teachers on every cold night. The only gift that the teachers in Khe Nong receive from their students is a bunch of wild vegetables. In a place where 100% of the people are poor, that is the only gift for teachers on "New Year's Day".

Wild vegetables were the only gift the students brought to their teacher on the occasion of Vietnamese Teachers' Day, November 20. Photo: HV

The majority of Khe Nong residents are Dan Lai. This small community resides in a number of villages in the core zone of Pu Mat National Park in Con Cuong district.

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