In Muong Xen town, Ky Son border district, thanks to the help of Trung Nam Group, from the 2022-2023 school year, the high school located along the Nam Mo river will officially be put into use with facilities that all schools of the same level across the country dream of. That is a system of 43 classrooms, 8 lab equipment rooms, 1 library, 12 functional rooms with full amenities. In addition, the school also has 2 dormitories for teachers and students. The dormitory area for students alone is 3 high-rise buildings with a total of 126 closed rooms, enough to ensure 8-10 students/room to rest and study after class hours. This dormitory area is also connected to a modern kitchen system, with a common dining room ensuring seating for 1,000 students...
With such facilities, permitted by the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Education and Training, from February 2023, Ky Son High School plans to pilot a new boarding model for 300 students with a regime according to Decree 116/ND-CP. The school's Student Management Board has been established with 16 members, all of whom are key officials and teachers who are in charge of the duties of Principal, Vice Principal, Chairman of the Trade Union, Head of the People's Inspectorate, Secretary of the Youth Union, medical staff, teachers, etc.
Managing such a large number of boarding students is not easy, while there are no staff or operating regulations, and the costs are high, so the school faces many difficulties. However, with the consensus of parents and the efforts of the school's staff and teachers, by March 2023, there were 345 students (197 boys, 148 girls) who are children of Thai, Mong, and Kho Mu ethnic groups living in the boarding school under the management of the school's Student Management Board.
In the dormitory, students are provided with blankets, sheets, pillows, etc. in their rooms; are guaranteed 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) at a rate of 22,000 VND; are examined by the medical department... More importantly, students are also provided with additional knowledge by teachers in free night classes, practice study habits, life skills, etc. and are allowed to participate in school clubs, participate in cultural and sports activities.
From the pilot of the new boarding model, Ky Son High School ended the 2022-2023 school year with superiority in all aspects compared to before. Entering the 2023-2024 school year, the only high school in Ky Son district has 1,713 students; of which 1,450 students from remote areas are entitled to the regime according to Decree 116/ND-CP. To help students have a safe and healthy learning environment, in August 2023, the school held a parent meeting, specifically informing the policy and purpose of sending students to boarding schools, so that parents and students can voluntarily register. As a result, by the opening day of the new school year 2023-2024, 728/1,450 students had moved into the school's boarding area.
Present at the Ky Son High School dormitory on the afternoon of September 14, in the kitchen area, there were 5 staff members focusing on preparing the students' dinner including rice, fried eggs, stir-fried bamboo shoots, and vegetable soup. Looking at this nutritious meal, I felt sad remembering the simple kitchen with only a few wilted vegetables, a few chili peppers, soup... of Hoa Thi Lan Anh in Huoi Phong village, Muong Ai commune (Ky Son), and thinking about the shabby boarding houses in Tuong Duong, Que Phong, Quy Chau, Con Cuong...
Visiting some rooms in the dormitory, both male and female rooms, are all closed with a fairly large area and equipped with a clean and neat bed system and furniture. Cut Thi Hoa is a 12th grade student currently living with 7 friends in such a room. Hoa said that she used to rent a room outside the school, but now the school has brought her to live in the dormitory. Coming here, Hoa feels very comfortable, and thanks to the care of the teachers and free extra classes at night, her studies are better. Hoa happily said: “Living in the dormitory, I find that both my knowledge and my scores are higher than when I was living outside. My father also came to visit me at school and he is very happy because living here is much better than living outside. Many of my friends who are renting rooms also want to live in the dormitory…”.
When we went on a field trip to the boarding areas outside Ky Son High School, we not only heard Hoa Thi Lan Anh from Huoi Phong village, Muong Ai commune talk about the reason why she has not yet moved to the dormitory. We also heard some students who are currently staying in boarding houses such as Lau Y Dia, an 11th grader, living in Muong Long 2 village, Muong Long commune; Xong Y Co, an 11th grader, living in Ai Khe village, Muong Ai commune... share their thoughts. The most common reason, as the students said, is that when they move to the dormitory, they will be managed by teachers, bound by regulations, and will no longer be comfortable...
According to the Board of Directors of Ky Son High School, the school's dormitory capacity is about 1,100 students. And the school wants to put the maximum number of students in the dormitory so that they can reduce their difficulties, not suffer from negative impacts of society, and receive the best support from teachers. However, despite active mobilization, this school year, there are still about 700 students renting outside. The school has grasped the students' thoughts, and found many reasons. Some students want to stay outside because if they go to the dormitory, their housing support budget (10% of the basic salary) will be cut according to regulations; some students are guaranteed food by their families, and want to save the support money according to Decree 116/ND-CP (50% of the basic salary for food and housing) to cover other activities; some students have parents working far away, do not understand the school's policy, so it depends on their children's choice...
Mr. Thai Tai Thuy - Vice Principal, Deputy Head of Boarding Department of Ky Son High School discussed that sending students to boarding school is based on the voluntary spirit of parents and students. With the school's efforts after the trial period, bringing 728 children to boarding school is a great effort, and the school will continue to implement this model as best as possible so that parents can gradually understand and voluntarily accompany. However, according to Mr. Thuy, through the trial, there are some issues worth paying attention to. That is, the need for food and living of high school students is much higher than that of middle school and primary school students, so the support policy for high school students according to Decree 116/ND-CP is not suitable and is still low. Meanwhile, the funding to take care of the children comes from this support fund, so the school has difficulty in solving the regime for the kitchen staff, paying for electricity, water, medicine, etc. At the same time, the school's staff and teachers are currently helping their students on a voluntary basis, without any support, even though it takes a lot of time and is very hard.
Mr. Thai Tai Thuy added: “After a trial period, we have evaluated that this model helps improve the quality of education, specifically through the 2022-2023 graduation exam, which has had outstanding results compared to previous years. High school students are the final step in general education, so with their results in the past school year, we, the educators, feel very happy. With the current facilities, we try to let our students all stay in the dormitory, so that they are not at a disadvantage compared to their friends. But we hope that superiors will pay attention and consider solving the problems that the school is facing. So that the new boarding model can be maintained effectively…”.
