Allocate funding for the ethnic minority boarding school system as soon as possible.

(Baonghean.vn) -As of May 2007, Nghe An province had 14 ethnic boarding schools (9 high schools and 5 junior high schools), but except for the Nghe An Ethnic Boarding High School, all other schools were organized improperly according to state regulations. To remedy this situation, on August 11, 2009, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Decision No. 71 on the Planning of the Network of Preschools and General Schools in Nghe An Province until 2015.

Mr. Nguyen Phung Dat, Deputy Head of the Education Department for Mountainous and Ethnic Minorities of the Nghe An Department of Education and Training, stated: Since the issuance of Decision No. 71/2009/QD-UBND, the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee has decided to establish seven more schools. Thus, from the 2013-2014 school year, Nghe An has two boarding high schools for ethnic minorities (with 851 students) and six boarding junior high schools for ethnic minorities (with 920 students), as stipulated in Decision No. 71/2009/QD-UBND.

Students of the No. 2 Ethnic Boarding High School in Nghe An Province performed songs and dances to welcome the new school year 2013-2014 (the school's second year of operation).

According to Mr. Nguyen Dau Truong, Principal of Nghe An No. 2 Ethnic Boarding High School: This school was established at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year and has already received budget investment for infrastructure construction. However, instead of waiting for the school to be completed, the school proposed and received approval from the Provincial People's Committee for a plan to borrow existing facilities to begin operations. With this plan, the school officially began operating at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year; in its second year, the school has a total of 302 students. Although having to borrow facilities, all educational activities are organized fully and in accordance with regulations. The most difficult challenge is organizing boarding life for the students, but in reality, the school has overcome all difficulties; all 302 students are well cared for, nurtured, and educated; they have adapted to the new environment very quickly. It is expected that, starting from the 2015-2016 school year, teachers and students of the school will be able to conduct activities within the school grounds with full facilities and amenities.

Further investigation revealed that Nghe An province has 7 boarding schools for ethnic minorities that are subject to Decision 1640/QD-TTg dated September 21, 2011, of the Prime Minister approving the Project on Consolidating and Developing the System of Boarding Schools for Ethnic Minorities in the period 2011-2015. However, only the Nghe An No. 2 Ethnic Minority Boarding High School has received 20 billion VND in state investment, while the other 6 schools have not received any investment. Given the state's financial difficulties, the People's Committee of Nghe An province has invested 23.7 billion VND from various sources to build new facilities for 2 schools and 3.146 billion VND for renovating existing facilities for the schools that have recently been received, so that all schools can soon become operational.

Besides the old school, starting from the 2013-2014 school year, all seven newly established ethnic minority boarding schools in Nghe An have become operational, but they still face many difficulties. Quy Hop Ethnic Minority Boarding Junior High School took over the second campus of Quy Hop Town Primary School with only one office building and 19 classrooms of level 4 construction. The school had to renovate 12 classrooms to serve as dormitories for 225 students. Similarly, Que Phong Ethnic Minority Boarding Junior High School is currently borrowing 3 classrooms, 2 offices, and 10 teacher dormitories from Que Phong High School to conduct its activities.

Nghe An is a poor province; establishing and operating seven new ethnic minority boarding schools within five years is a tremendous effort. The Prime Minister has also issued Decision 1640/QD-TTg approving the Project on Consolidating and Developing the System of Ethnic Minority Boarding Schools for the period 2011-2015, with central government funding of 2,912,711 million VND. It is suggested that, in order to facilitate the quality operation of these boarding schools, the Ministry of Finance and relevant central ministries and agencies should promptly allocate the funds as stipulated in Decision 1640/QD-TTg to implement the approved construction projects at these schools.

Minh Duc