Wholeheartedly bring students back to school

(Baonghean) - After each trip to the villages of the Dan Lai ethnic group at the headwaters of the Giang River in Mon Son Commune (Con Cuong), the education of the children here haunts many people. The same goes for me, although I have been to the Dan Lai people many times, each time I come and go, I bring with me many worries...

Co Phat village is about 20 km from the center of Mon Son border commune. In the past, to get to the village, one had to go through the forest, wade through streams, taking a whole day to get there. Later, it was more convenient to go by motorboat. Once, Mr. La Van Yeu, the first person in Co Phat village who had joined the army, said: In the past, to go to the commune center to go to school, Dan Lai children had to spend a whole day preparing bamboo rafts. Before setting off, school bags, clothes, blankets and mats were all loaded onto the bamboo rafts. In the morning, they set out from the village, struggling with waterfalls all day to get to school. With such difficulties, studying was not the top concern of the people here. Children suddenly stopped going to school in the middle of the day and teachers at schools with Dan Lai students were always ready to go to the village to encourage them to return to class.

Dan Lai students in Co Phat village can now go to school by bicycle.

It is extremely difficult to persuade students to return to school. In a conversation, I heard a leader of the district education department say that once the district's working group came to persuade, a student agreed to follow the teacher back to school, before getting on the boat, he asked permission to greet his relatives to be polite. But after waiting for a long time, the student did not return to the boat. Someone said: "He ran away, he won't go to school anymore", the teacher had to go back by boat. As for the teacher of Mon Son Secondary School, he said: There was a student in Co Phat village, when the teacher came to persuade, his parents also "forced" him to return to school, he rolled on the ground crying, determined not to go to school, so the teacher was very confused.

This time, returning to Co Phat village when the new school year had just started for a month. Mr. La Van Linh, Party cell secretary, said: Not long ago, teachers had mobilized and brought back all the students who were planning to drop out of school. Only those who dropped out at the end of last year and previous years were very difficult to convince to return to class. Some students, due to difficult family circumstances, wanted to stay home to help their parents collect firewood and pick bamboo shoots. Others dropped out of school to get married. Child marriage is also a matter of concern for the community living in the core area of ​​Pu Mat National Park.

Before finishing 10th grade, La Thi Nga decided not to go to school anymore. When asked why, Nga confessed that "I don't want to go to school anymore". After dropping out of school for a while, she worked as a maid for a family in Do Luong district. Then she returned to her hometown to collect firewood and pick bamboo shoots. Nga shared: I don't know what career to choose because in this "remote place" there is nothing to do but pick bamboo shoots.

We arrived at La Van Chin's house at dusk, but the house was still closed and quiet. The children saw a stranger and came to look around. A while later, Ms. La Thi Phuong, Chin's mother, returned. She said that for more than a month now, Chin, his father, and other young people in the village have been going into the forest to pick bamboo shoots. This is the main source of income for the villagers. Every year, the bamboo shoot harvesting season only lasts from the 7th to the 10th lunar month, when this mountainous area has a lot of rain. This year, the weather is dry, it doesn't rain until August, there are few bamboo shoots, so people compete with time to go into the forest to earn extra income. Young people who dropped out of school like Chin are the most effective force in the village to go into the forest to pick bamboo shoots.

The next morning, I went back to the commune center and met teacher Nguyen Van Hao, Principal of Mon Son Secondary School. Teacher Hao was very concerned about the education in Co Phat and Bung villages. The majority of students here are Dan Lai people who often drop out of school, so it is extremely difficult to persuade them to return to class. Up to now, the school has organized 4 trips to the upper reaches of the Giang River to persuade students to return to school. Along with that, we have invested in upgrading facilities, accommodation, and supplies for students, repairing and purchasing new learning materials. However, there are still students who have not returned to class. The whole school currently has 14 Dan Lai students who have not returned to school, including 3 female students who are preparing to go to their husband's house. One student has had a "small wedding" according to the customs of the Dan Lai community.

It seems that differences in customs and practices and the prevalence of early marriage are among the reasons why Dan Lai children still drop out of school. This situation has improved, but ending it is still very difficult.

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