Boarding house joy…

(Baonghean) - In the new school year 2014-2015, one of the top difficulties of the education sector in Ky Son district is still the system of facilities serving teaching and learning. And in reality, mobilizing organizations and unions to support investment in building facilities for schools is bringing a lot of joy to students in this remote area...

From Muong Xen Town, we traveled a bumpy road of more than 30 km along the Nam Mo River to Nam Tip Boarding Secondary School in Vang Phao Village (Muong Tip) on the first day of the new school year. The joy of the children here is that they can study in a spacious, solid high-rise school, but the boarding house for teachers and students still has rotten planks and a rusty, leaky corrugated iron roof. Precariously located on the mountainside, there are small, makeshift tents where students from remote villages stay. Vice Principal Hoa Pho Nganh said: "The school is responsible for teaching 447 students from Muong Tip and Muong Ai communes, which are the two most disadvantaged communes in the district, and travel is also the most difficult, so investment in building facilities is limited."

Construction of boarding houses for students at Nam Tip Boarding Secondary School.

In addition, the two farthest villages, Ta Do and Pha Noi (Muong Tip), are 20 km away from the school, so most of the students have to walk. Normally, the villages are about 10 km away from the school, so the need for boarding accommodation for secondary school students is very high. But up to now, the students are still living in old, degraded classrooms, many of which do not have enough beds, so they have to put boards between the floors to rest. The area of ​​the boarding rooms is limited, not meeting all the needs, so many students have to set up tents around the school to stay.

Recently, Vietnam Cement Corporation has decided to support Nam Tip Boarding Secondary School with more than 5 billion VND to build a boarding house for students. The project is designed to include 2 floors with 14 rooms, currently under urgent construction, expected to be put into use at the beginning of the second semester of this school year. According to Mr. Hoa Pho Nganh, the completed project will solve the housing problem for nearly 50% of students who are eligible for the school's boarding policy. The remaining students will continue to have to stay in the old classrooms. But even then, buying beds for students is a difficult problem, which may take a long time to solve.

Chieu Luu Commune is located on National Highway 7A, traffic is relatively convenient but the socio-economic life of the commune still faces many difficulties. Students of Chieu Luu Boarding Secondary School are having to stay in old classrooms, the walls and roofs are damaged. The school even had to use the practice room and professional meeting room as accommodation for boarding students, but there are not enough beds, many students have to spread mats on the floor to sleep. The school has just received 2 billion VND in support from the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group to build a 2-storey house with 8 boarding rooms for students. The project has now completed the first floor, expected to be completed and put into use in December this year. Mr. Ngo Anh Tuan - Principal of the school said that the completed project will solve about 80% of the needs of boarding students, the remaining boarding students will continue to live in the previous semi-permanent classrooms.

Entering the 2014 - 2015 school year, the Ky Son Education sector received more good news when the Provincial Youth Union coordinated with the Provincial Border Guard Command to hand over the "House of Dreams" to Na Ngoi Boarding Secondary School, a project with a total value of over 300 million VND, an area of ​​402m2, including 3 level 4 houses and 1 kitchen. This is the result of support from university students in the province and officers and soldiers of Na Ngoi Border Guard Station. Along with that, the "Support to School" program organized by the Provincial Radio and Television Station in coordination with the Department of Education and Training and the Provincial Youth Union donated 948 million VND to help Pha Danh Primary and Boarding Secondary School build a boarding house for students. The project was started on the occasion of the opening of the school year, with an area of ​​142m2 with 5 level 4 rooms, meeting the accommodation needs of about 80 students. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.

Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Hong Hoa - Head of the Department of Education of Ky Son district said: "In the condition that the source of funding for investment in building facilities, especially boarding houses for students is very difficult, the support and investment of organizations and unions in building boarding houses in the area is an extremely meaningful work, creating great motivation for each school and school to improve the quality of teaching and learning; at the same time, it has a great influence in the goal of socializing education. I hope there will be many such supports and help, with responsibility and enthusiasm for the future of children in this particularly difficult remote border area."

Article and photos:Tuong Anh