Teachers and students in the highlands wade through mud to school on the last day of the school year.

(Baonghean.vn) - Muddy roads, so deep they reach the feet and slippery, cannot deter teachers and students in the highlands from trekking through forests and crossing streams to get to school during the final days of the year.

In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, the mountainous district of Ky Son continues to experience incessant rain. To maintain student enrollment, teachers stationed in remote villages still diligently travel to school along slippery roads.

In some particularly disadvantaged communes like Muong Long and Na Ngoi, where the climate is bitterly cold, travel is even more arduous than ever. Mud is up to the calves, making it impossible for motorbikes to reach the school, so most teachers and students in these villages have to walk, wearing muddy boots and clothes.

The road to school is full of mud in Tang Phan village (Na Ngoi commune).

The kindergarten and primary school in Na Ngoi commune, located in Tang Phan village, is a simple structure made of bamboo and thatch. Students and teachers here mostly go to school barefoot because the mud is up to their calves. They only quickly wash their feet upon arriving at class before teaching. Their mud-covered feet huddle together in the classroom during the final days of the school year. Their simple dream is just a paved road and a sturdy classroom to ease their hardship when it rains.

The teachers in the highlands arrive at school with their clothes stained with mud.

Ms. Tran Thi Van, who came from Con Cuong to teach here two years ago, confided: "I'm familiar with this road, but I still feel scared every time it rains. I don't mind, but the children often fall on their way to class, their clothes covered in mud. And yet, even at the end of the year, they haven't missed a single class."

The muddy feet of students from the highlands as they make their way to class.

Meanwhile, at the Huồi Khun village school (Mường Lống commune), three teachers are working tirelessly day and night in the remote village, and they are also worried as the Tet holiday approaches, but the 25-kilometer muddy road shows no sign of drying up. This is happening amidst the biting cold below 10°C.⁰C, the teacher and students continued reciting their lessons even though the outside was covered in frost.

Teacher Vo Manh Cuong on his way to Huoi Khun school (Muong Long commune).

Teacher Vo Manh Cuong shared: “The last days of the year are the most difficult for us. It takes us 4 hours to travel 25 km through the forest, pushing the cart to the village; we're exhausted. The villagers bring us peach blossom branches as gifts for Tet, but we can't even carry them. Just getting ourselves and our clothes to the commune center is a struggle.”

Motorbikes used to access school locations frequently encounter problems due to muddy roads.

The final days of the year are tough for teachers in the highlands, but above all, what matters most to them is their love for their students and their desire to bring warmth to this cold region through literacy.

Dao Tho