Nghe An seeks solutions to improve the operational efficiency of boarding school model

Co-chairing the conference was comrade Thai Van Thanh - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Director of the Department of Education and Training. Also attending were representatives of relevant departments, agencies and leaders, Heads of the Department of Education and Training of the districts: Que Phong, Ky Son, Con Cuong, Quy Chau, Quy Hop, Tuong Duong. Photo: My Ha

Pioneer in implementing boarding school model

According to the Department of Education and Training's report, as of February 2023, the whole province has 8 general schools.ethnic boarding(PTDTNT) 62 ethnic minority boarding schools, 56 general schools with boarding students but not yet recognized as PTDTBT schools according to Circular 24/2010/TT-BGDDT with more than 20,000 students. Of which, there are 2,893 boarding students and more than 17,015 primary and secondary school students enjoying the regimes according to Decree 116/ND-CP of the Government; 10,417 students are boarding in PTDTBT schools, 6,598 students in general schools not yet recognized as PTDTBT schools.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Chau - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Quy Chau district spoke at the conference. Photo: My Ha

Thanks to the implementation of the ethnic minority boarding school model, localities have actively arranged mergers and consolidations.school point,contributing to the implementation of the target of streamlining the payroll. Since the 2010-2011 school year, 6 mountainous districts have reduced 11 schools, 283 school points, 523 classes, while the number of students increased by 14,320. The average student/class ratio is gradually increasing towards the maximum norm.

Boarding students of Muong Long Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities (Ky Son). Photo: My Ha

Organizing a boarding school model helps students have the best learning conditions, reduces inequality in access to educational opportunities, creates a highly interactive educational environment, takes care of health and psychology, and helps students develop comprehensively.

Educational activities in the boarding environment not only contribute to changing the lifestyle of students, but also help preserve and promote national cultural identity, create a useful playground for students, improve the quality of moral education, lifestyle, life skills, communication skills and independent living for students.

Delegates visited the implementation of the new boarding school model at Ky Son High School. However, there is currently no policy to implement this model. Photo: My Ha

Previously, compared to other localities, Nghe An was one of the pioneering provinces in implementing the boarding school model at the grassroots level.

However, after 10 years of implementation, difficulties and inadequacies have arisen. Currently, investment in facilities and equipment for boarding schools for ethnic minorities has not met the requirements; many students have to stay in temporary houses, which are not cool enough in the summer and warm enough in the winter, and there are many shortages of equipment for eating, living and activities. According to calculations, with over 18,000 students, the whole province needs 1,497 rooms, but the schools are still short of 961 rooms, not to mention many temporary rooms, some rooms are degraded, and there is a lack of supplies and living conditions for boarding students.

Delegates attending the conference. Photo: My Ha

Regarding the mechanism and policies for teachers and students, there are still shortcomings. The whole province has 1,553 teachers working in 62 boarding schools for ethnic minorities, but there are still 26 teachers who have not received the responsibility allowance for boarding schools for ethnic minorities and 900 teachers who have not been calculated the teaching hours for boarding schools for ethnic minorities. In addition, there are 1,507 teachers working in schools with ethnic minorities (not yet recognized as boarding schools for ethnic minorities) who have not received the above policies. The support policy for cooking staff is not suitable, not commensurate with the workload, labor intensity and effort.

Some policies to support boarding for ethnic minority students are not suitable for their age and grade, causing difficulties for schools in the implementation process.

Removing difficulties for boarding school model

Speaking at the conference, delegates all highly appreciated the effectiveness of the boarding school model. However, because each locality has its own characteristics, the implementation process inevitably encountered difficulties, obstacles, and inadequacies because some regulations did not take into account all the arising issues from practice.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Bui Dinh Long speaks at the preliminary conference. Photo: My Ha

Ms. Nguyen Thi Chau - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Quy Chau district pointed out the inadequacies between the semi-boarding and boarding school models. Accordingly, due to the lack of teachers, teachers at semi-boarding schools are teaching more than the prescribed hours and teaching on a voluntary basis. Meanwhile, teachers at boarding schools are paid for 2 sessions/day.

Mr. Pham Viet Phuc - Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Ky Son district proposed that it is necessary to soon have a decision to recognize boarding schools for ethnic minorities when all conditions are met to ensure the rights and policies for managers, teachers, staff and arrange staffing for schools to operate effectively. In particular, arrange more medical staff to take care of students' health.

Mr. Lo Thanh Nhat - Vice Chairman of Tuong Duong District People's Committee proposed issues surrounding the provision of rice for boarding students, the difficulty of implementing the boarding school model in remote schools far from the center...

Mr. Pham Viet Phuc - Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Ky Son district spoke at the conference. Photo: My Ha

Concluding the conference, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Bui Dinh Long said that after 12 years of operation, it can be affirmed that the boarding school model has been operating effectively, suitable for educational development in extremely disadvantaged areas, especially in Nghe An, a locality with a large area, large population, and many extremely disadvantaged communes, villages, and hamlets.

The Vice Chairman of the People's Committee also acknowledged the efforts of localities, the sacrifices and dedication of teachers, the dynamism and determination of school boards during the implementation process. At the same time, he shared the difficulties and obstacles of schools during the implementation process when benefits and policies were not guaranteed.

With its own advantages, comrade Bui Dinh Long affirmed that Nghe An needs to continue implementing and replicating this model. To effectively implement, in the coming time, the Education sector needs to review the Central documents to increase the enjoyment. In addition, it is necessary to review and synthesize the difficulties and inadequacies to advise the Provincial People's Council to issue a Resolution regulating the content and level of support for boarding schools for ethnic minorities; supplement the norms for cooking staff to suit the reality. The Department of Education and Training also needs to coordinate with localities to review, merge, consolidate schools, and build a mechanism for seconding teachers to solve the difficult problem of lacking IT and Foreign Language teachers.

Despite many efforts, the implementation of the boarding school model in many localities still faces many difficulties, especially in terms of facilities. Photo: My Ha

On the local side, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee suggested that it is necessary to minimize the number of schools, improve the quality of main schools, prioritize and integrate resources to build facilities and dormitories.

During the implementation process, relevant departments and branches need to coordinate with the Department of Education and Training to develop teacher quotas in accordance with legal regulations, and promptly complete the draft Resolution on the content and level of support for ethnic minority boarding schools and new-style ethnic minority boarding schools./.