Following the teachers who went to the villages to find students in Nghe An
(Baonghean) - After each long school break, the biggest worry of those who work as "teachers" in the mountainous commune of Luong Minh (Tuong Duong) is that many students "give up the game" and forget the way to class. Teachers have to go through the trouble of crossing mountains and wading through streams to find their students.
“Mom and Dad have said it all!”
It's been 3 weeks since the break.Lunar New YearHowever, Luong Minh Boarding Secondary School (Tuong Duong) still has 11 students (7 boys, 4 girls) who have not come to class. Although, in the past 2 weeks, the Board of Directors has sent teachers to the village to mobilize, the Commune People's Committee has also established 2 working groups to the grassroots to grasp the situation and propagate, mobilize parents as well as students. But after many efforts, only 6/11 students have been mobilized to return to class.
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| A corner of Coi village, Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong). Photo: Cong Kien |
During the week, most of the teachers were busy in class, except for Mr. Nguyen Canh Hang Long who did not have any classes. Principal Tran Hung Thai sent Mr. Long to the villages to find out about the families’ circumstances and continue to encourage the students who were absent from school to return to school. We expressed our wish to go with Mr. Long and Mr. Thai agreed.
Ride a motorbike along the riverbankNam Non, we headed towards Coi village, where there were 2 students who had not yet come to class. It was the dry season so the road was quite convenient, in about half an hour we arrived at the suspension bridge across the river to Coi village. Asking for Lu Van Nhun's house (class 7A), the woman selling groceries at the beginning of the village pointed to the mountainside, where there were a few precarious stilt houses.
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Teacher Long asks for directions in La village. Photo: Cong Kien |
When they arrived, the door was locked, the surroundings were quiet as if there was no sign of the owner, and the animals in the house were nowhere to be seen. Going down the slope to the neighbor's house, a middle-aged man said: "Hung and Hue, Nhun's parents, went to the field early in the morning, not knowing when they would return. Nhun has not been seen at home for several weeks, not going to school, maybe he has gone to work far away."
Leaving the steep mountainside, Mr. Long asked for Lo Minh Tu's house (class 9B) and was directed by the locals back to the suspension bridge to the other side. The house was precariously perched on the edge of the river, called a house but actually little more than a hut to guard the fields. Because it was built with small pillars made of mixed wood, covered with corrugated iron, the walls were sparsely made of wood, and inside there was only one bed.
Knocking on the door, a woman came out, her face slightly worried, her eyes full of inquiry. Teacher Long explained the reason, the woman immediately said: "Tu is visiting his grandmother in Xieng Huong. He doesn't want to go to school anymore, his parents kept telling him to but finally gave up." At this time, we took the opportunity to ask about Lo Minh Tu's family situation, work and aspirations.
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| Teacher Long went to Lu Van Nhun's house (7A) but the whole family was away. Photo: Cong Kien |
Suddenly, behind the curtain separating the bed, a man stepped out and said: “Tu saw that his parents were too poor, that even if he studied, he wouldn’t be able to do anything, so he quit school. My wife and I also wanted him to finish school, so that he could have more knowledge and experience, which would make his life easier, but he refused.” When asked what Tu would do to help his parents after he dropped out of school, the man suddenly became thoughtful and replied: “I don’t know what I will do yet!”
Leaving Coi village, heading towards La village, we went to the house of Mr. Lo Kham Vong and Ms. Vong Thi Huong, the parents of Lo Hoang Vu (class 9B). It was almost noon so Vu and his parents were at home. Vu seemed shy when meeting the teacher.
Like the parent of Lo Minh Tu in Coi village, Mr. Vong confided: “Vu said his family was too poor and his father was sick so he didn’t go to school anymore. His parents told him everything but he still didn’t listen.”
Teacher Long called Vu out to talk, advised that in a few months he would receive his Junior High School Diploma, and later there would be an opportunity.apprentice, have a stable job… Sitting next to him, Vu just shook his head, not answering a word.
Easy to fall into traps
After quickly eating instant noodles at school, we followed Mr. Long to Minh Tien and Cham Puong villages, bordering Ky Son district. Minh Tien village has 3 female Khmu students who are not yet in class, including Luong Thi Khoa (8A), Oc Thi Khoa (8B) and Luong Kim Anh (9A). All 3 houses were deserted, the villagers said that their parents were working in the fields.
Only Oc Thi Khoa could follow her parents to the fields, but Luong Thi Khoa and Luong Kim Anh were no longer at home, possibly having left the area. In Cham Puong village, Lu Thi Pheng (6A) is also not in class yet. When we arrived at her house, the doors were locked, no one knew where the family had gone. The sun had set, so we had to go home, because it gets dark very quickly this season...
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Teacher Long talks with the parents of Lo Minh Tu (9B). Photo: Cong Kien |
“Students who have decided to drop out of school are often very difficult to persuade, because these are students who are not interested in studying, and their parents do not really care about their children's education and future, even though most of the students are on boarding school. In fact, at this age, if they drop out of school, they cannot do anything legitimate to earn an income, and it is easy to fall into a trap, so teachers are trying to persuade them to return to class.”
According to Mr. Thai, Luong Minh commune used to be a complicated area in terms of buying, selling and using.drugand human trafficking. Leaving school too early, without enough social awareness and immature survival skills, children will easily fall into the traps of bad people.
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Although his parents and teachers encouraged him with all their might, Lo Hoang Vu (9B) still decided to drop out of school. Photo: Cong Kien |
As soon as he finished speaking, there was information that classmates of Luong Kim Anh and Luong Thi Khoa in Minh Tien village had just posted photos on their personal Facebook and checked in at Nghi Loc district. Thus, the information that the two students had left the area was correct.
Mr. Vi Dinh Phuc - Chairman of the People's Committee of Luong Minh Commune said that every year, after the Tet holiday, many students in the area drop out of school and it is very difficult to persuade them to return to school. This year, the commune has also organized 2 mobilization sessions but there are still more than 10 students who have not come to class. This is due to many reasons, mainly because the students are poor students, do not like to go to school, want to work to earn money but are not old enough and healthy enough. In addition, poor family life and lack of attention from parents also make many children decide todrop out, very vulnerable to exploitation by bad guys.
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| Leaders of Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong) went to the village to encourage students to go to class. Photo: CSCC |
“Currently, the commune and the school are coordinating to implement a project to streamline students after graduating from junior high school. Those who do not have the conditions to study in high school will be registered to study at prestigious vocational training schools, receive financial support and job contacts after graduation. The project is in its initial stages, and hopefully in the coming years it will be effective, contributing to limiting student dropouts.”
