The boarding school was established 10 years ago, but teachers and students still live and study at other people's places?

These days, Con Cuong Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities is preparing for its 10th anniversary celebration, scheduled to take place in November. However, to date, the school has not been built. After 10 years, students here still have to study at a temporary borrowed facility, and after school hours, they return to another boarding facility, nearly 1 km away.

“Because the school and dormitory are borrowed, it greatly affects teaching and learning, it is really difficult. Every year, at the beginning of the school year, the school issues a document to borrow facilities. We have also proposed many times to the district to speed up the school construction progress,” said a representative of the Department of Education and Training of Con Cuong district.

Con Cuong Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities was established on August 26, 2013, for outstanding ethnic minority students in the district. Immediately after its establishment, because the school had not yet invested in building facilities, it had to borrow the old facility of Bong Khe Secondary School in Thanh Nam village, because this school merged into Con Cuong Town Secondary School.

Since there was no new school, in the early days of its establishment, the school mobilized parents to contribute labor and materials to build houses with thatch, bamboo, and leaves; dug wells, and borrowed the yard space of Thanh Nam Village Cultural House to organize study and physical training for students. Making the most of the spaces behind the existing school buildings of Bong Khe Secondary School, the spaces and open spaces in the school grounds to extend the roof, cover the surrounding area and cover the roof to create accommodation and a communal dining area for students. Overcoming, repairing, and building temporary functional rooms to create a place for staff, teachers, and students to work and study. Mobilizing educational sponsorship from parents to invest in and purchase equipment and necessary items to serve teaching, management, care, and nurturing activities for students.

However, in August 2018, due to the severe impact of storms and floods, the borrowed school was severely flooded, washed away, damaged property and unsafe for students. Con Cuong district had to urgently relocate the school to 2 locations: Teaching and learning were lent a 2-storey building with 12 classrooms by Nghe An Ethnic Boarding Vocational College; the dormitory for students was borrowed from the district's Continuing Education Center.

According to the reporter's investigation, since 2016, the Provincial People's Committee has approved the Investment Project for construction.Con Cuong Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities Boarding School. The project has a total investment of 45 billion VND, with full items such as school buildings, dormitories, dining halls, gymnasiums, administrative buildings, etc. The construction site is in Tra Bong village, Bong Khe commune. The project was assigned to the Con Cuong District Project Management Board for implementation, with a time limit of 3 years from the commencement date. However, up to now, this area is still just an empty lot. Up to now, teaching and learning are borrowed from Nghe An Ethnic Boarding Secondary School, under the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

However, because this secondary school also has a large number of students, and also has to lend out a 2-story building, it leads to overcrowding and overload. The classroom facilities are borrowed, so there are only enough for 12 classes. The entire Board of Directors and 4 accountants have to work in a room that is less than 15 square meters wide. There are also no laboratories or practice rooms. And every time it is time for an IT or Foreign Language class, teachers and students have to go to the Continuing Education Center. Not only the classrooms, the area for recess, outdoor activities, and flag salutes is also very cramped.

Each time, the students have to line up among the flower pots. As for the students' bicycles and teachers' motorbikes, because there is no garage, they have to park them in the rain and sun. After each class, the students go back to rest at the dormitory borrowed from the Continuing Education Center, nearly 1 km away. The living space for them can only be limited to a small area. Meanwhile, because it is a boarding school, except for 2 days off to go home each month, the students have to stay in this borrowed dormitory the rest of the time and are not allowed to go out.

Because the temporary dormitory building was built decades ago, it is now in a very bad state. Pieces of the wall are jagged and occasionally fall down. Inside, about 40 students are arranged in a cramped room. Most of the room is used for bunk beds, leaving only a small space for walking. The students here have very little space to store their personal belongings. Books and notebooks have to be placed on the ventilation holes.

“Because the row of houses is dilapidated and has a corrugated iron roof, it is very hot in the summer. Here, we are afraid that the children will get sick, so there is a rule that they are not allowed to bathe at noon. But because it is so hot, sometimes when we see the children drenched in sweat, they come to the teachers to bathe, and we feel sorry for them,” said a teacher working at the dormitory. The students’ dining room takes advantage of the space in front of the porch. This is also where the children study in the evening.

Mr. Lo Van Thiep - Principal of Con Cuong Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities said that the school currently has 380 students, all of whom have to cram into 10 dormitories. Due to lack of rooms, the school has not dared to recruit enough students for many years. Therefore, the wish of teachers and students here is to have a proper school.

“Although it has been established for 10 years, there is still no school, and the dormitory is borrowed but not yet guaranteed. The living, studying, and teaching conditions; the management, care, nurturing, and other educational activities of the school still face many difficulties and obstacles. The conditions of the facilities, campus, playground, and practice ground for students are not guaranteed.

Mr. Lo Van Thiep - Principal of Con Cuong Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities