The arduous task of encouraging students in mountainous regions to return to school.

(Baonghean.vn) - While parents in the city are scrambling to get their children into public schools through a lottery, in mountainous areas like Bac Ly (Ky Son), teachers have to painstakingly persuade each child to attend school.

Bac Ly 2 Primary School is one of the schools facing difficulties, lacking many basic facilities and having poor transportation access. The school has 7 campuses, including 6 separate campuses located in 7 villages in the border commune of Bac Ly.

In the 2016-2017 school year, the school had 296 students, mainly children of the Thai, Khmu, and Mong ethnic groups, studying in 26 classes. To ensure a smooth start to the new school year, in early August, in addition to cleaning the school premises, preparing facilities, and providing professional training, the staff and teachers of Bac Ly 2 Primary School also organized teams to encourage students to attend school.

Bac Ly 2 Primary School has mostly students from the Thai, Khmu, and Mong ethnic minority groups. Photo: Lu Phu

We followed the teachers from the school to visit the family of Mr. Vi Kham Pan in Buoc village, Bac Ly commune - one of the poorest households in the village, with many children, and whose economy mainly depends on one farming season.

Due to poverty, the three eldest children of Mr. Pán's family dropped out of school to work in the fields with their parents. The fourth son, Vi Văn Hiếu, only completed the second grade. Last school year, Hiếu was one of the top students in his school, but he said that because he wanted to help his family, he planned to drop out of school in the 2017-2018 school year to stay home and help his father look after his younger siblings.

Teachers from Bac Ly 2 Primary School in Bac Ly commune, Ky Son district, visited the home of Mr. Vi Kham Pan in Buoc village, Bac Ly commune, to encourage his son, Vi Van Hieu, to continue attending 3rd grade. Photo: Lu Phu

Mr. Pán also said that because of their extremely difficult family circumstances, he wanted to leave his child at home to help his mother with chores and look after his younger sibling.

After being encouraged by the teachers, the father of five seemed to relent and promised to send his children back to school soon.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Hao, head of the student mobilization team at Bac Ly 2 Primary School, said that every year there are cases with similar reasons to that of Mr. Vi Kham Pan's family. Especially during the summer, students often sleep in the fields with their parents, so when summer ends, it's quite difficult to reach out and persuade them to return to school. Finding the family's field hut is difficult enough, but persuading the children and their parents to return is even more challenging.

Despite being of school age, many children in the border commune of Bac Ly have to drop out of school to help their parents look after their younger siblings. Some even have to accompany their parents to the fields every day. Photo: Lu Phu

Besides visiting each farm hut, the teachers also had to regularly inquire about the economic situation and learn about the family's circumstances in order to provide timely encouragement.

Thanks to the enthusiasm and responsibility of the educators, students in this disadvantaged commune have had more opportunities to attend school. Since the start of the orientation program (early August), most of the children have been attending school regularly. A few were missing because they were with their parents working in the fields; after meeting with and persuading them, the parents promised to let their children go to school.

Difficult family circumstances are a major obstacle to children in mountainous areas attending school. Photo: Lu Phu

Teacher Hao also provided the following information:Despite being a school in a disadvantaged area with over 100% of its students being from ethnic minority groups, Bac Ly 2 Primary School in Bac Ly commune, Ky Son district, has consistently maintained a near-perfect student attendance rate for many years.

Moreover, the quality of teaching and learning at the school is constantly improving. In addition to teaching, during the 2016-2017 school year, the school organized many activities, creating practical and beneficial playgrounds at the main school as well as the satellite campuses to create joy and attract students to school.

Most of the children have arrived at school, ready for the new academic year. Photo: Lu Phu

Principal Le Xuan Khai added: "This school year, starting from August 1st, the school mobilized staff and workers to return to school after their leave and assigned them to all the villages to supervise the construction of facilities in preparation for the beginning of the school year."

"If I had a request, it would only be for more assistance with the school's facilities, as currently the school has 26 classrooms, of which only 4 are structurally sound, while the rest are dilapidated single-story buildings."

Lu Phu