Highland students drop out of school: Part 2 - Finding the cause

But according to our research in some localities, in addition to the main reason above, there are many other reasons. According to Mr. Loc Phuong - Secretary of the Moi village Party cell, Luc Da commune, the root cause of students dropping out of school is due to 2 problems: Difficult conditions, lack of interest from parents and poor academic performance, unable to absorb lessons, leading to students being discouraged.

We visited the house of Ms. Le Thi Thanh, a Dan Lai ethnic in Moi village, the parent of student Vi Van Noi - one of the students at risk of dropping out of school. When we met her, Ms. Thanh confided: "The family has 4 children, but the first 2 also dropped out of school in the 8th grade to work for hire. Noi is the third child in the family, a few years ago he was very studious, but recently because of his friends' enticement and invitation to go out, he has been dropping out of school all the time." Next to Ms. Thanh's house is the family of Ms. La Thi Hoa, the mother of student La Van Hung, also a student at risk of dropping out of school.

Talking to her, Mrs. Hoa and her son said: "He understands the lessons, but because the distance is far, the school does not have a boarding house, so it is difficult to travel, so when it rains and is cold, he drops out of school." Even Hung's older brother, La Van Tuan, dropped out of school when he was in 6th grade to work for hire. In Moi village, there is Tran Thi Ha, who is in 7th grade. Ha said that the school does not have a boarding house, so every day she has to cycle to school and back, which is very difficult.

According to our records, 90% of the households in Moi village are poor, so not every family can afford to buy a bicycle for their children to go to school. Not to mention the cost of repairing the bicycle when it breaks down. Not only Moi village, but most of the villages far from the commune center in this mountainous region are in a particularly difficult situation. Therefore, creating accommodation for boarding students is very important.

Teacher Thanh - Vice Principal of Luc Da Secondary School said: "Currently, 113/420 students of the school are children from villages far from the school who need to stay in boarding houses: Moi, Yen Hoa, Luc Son... but because there is no boarding house, they have to go and come back during the day."

In Tuong Duong, when he learned that we were not teachers or officials from the Department of Education coming to "force" him to return to class, Lo Van Sao from Vang Mon village (Nga My) was somewhat more open. Sao said: "I also want to go to school, but because my family is poor, I have to stay home to help my parents with the farm work. If I had the conditions to go to school this year, I would have entered high school."

The reason for dropping out of school for student Ngan Thi Mo in Xoong Con village, Luu Kien commune (Tuong Duong) is simply because "learning is no longer interesting". She no longer feels excited about the lessons, so she dropped out. For Mo, dropping out of school does not affect her life much. According to Mo, when a daughter grows up, she should find a job or get married to stabilize her life. Mo's seemingly premature thinking is also the common view of many people in Xoong Con village. The head of Xoong Con village, Mr. La Van Thi, said: "People here go to school with the hope of becoming a cadre in the future. If you feel that their children cannot become cadres, then let them drop out immediately."

However, according to our research, the main reason why children in the highlands and their parents are not interested in studying is still the economic problem. Parents often have to work hard to earn a living for their families, so they easily give up when their children drop out of school and go to gold mines or even far away lands to earn money.

Mr. Ho Duy Thinh - Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Tuong Duong district, said: "The support for students in mountainous areas according to Decree 112 of the Government is paid for each semester, while students need this money for daily activities.

Furthermore, these expenses are disbursed according to the fiscal year, which does not coincide with the student's school year. That is why there is a phenomenon of final year students who have transferred to another level but still have not received the allowance. "This causes misunderstanding among parents. Some parents have gone to the district education officials to complain when their children have entered high school but have not yet received the full allowance."

Xuan Hoang - Huu Vi