Muong Qua High School: Proud of 20 years of construction and growth

Along with the strong economic and social development, the need for children of ethnic minorities in Muong Qua to learn to read and write is increasing. To meet the desire and need for children of ethnic minorities here to learn and access knowledge, on August 1, 2000, Muong Qua Ethnic Minority High School was established.

Muong Qua High School was built spaciously, meeting the learning needs of border students in Con Cuong district. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The school has now been built spacious, clean and beautiful. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The rainy nights at school were heartbreaking, there was no electricity, no TV, and no newspapers at that time. There were rainy days when we woke up to find the foot of our bed buried deep in the sinkhole, many teachers were bewildered. On the first Teachers' Day, November 20, 2000, the teachers hugged each other and cried.

Many students who grew up from this school have spread their wings and flown far away. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Students at Muong Qua High School in a Geography class. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Most of the students in Luc Da and Mon Son communes have a high rate of poor households, many villages are far from schools. Many children, due to difficult family circumstances, have to stay home to look after their younger siblings, go to the forest to pick bamboo shoots or work for money to earn money for their parents. Therefore, the dropout rate is still high. In the first course, many students went to school and then dropped out, because they missed the letters, they came back to the school to ask to continue studying. This is the course where students suffered the most disadvantages, lack of facilities, lack of teachers, the Department had to mobilize teachers from Con Cuong High School to support. But in return, the students received special attention from teachers, they made tireless efforts, achieved encouraging achievements such as the first provincial excellent student title, the first university admission letter. We can name some students, such as Vi Thi Nhi, Luong Thi Vinh, Vi Minh Ngoc...

The school's difficult journey is associated with the names of the first batch of teachers and staff, headed by the principal teacher Luong Van Quanh - who was once called by the teachers and staff with a respectful and intimate name "father"; who is over 50 years old, but still optimistically accepts the new task at the newly established school with countless difficulties. And the first batch of teachers such as Mr. Quang, Mr. Tai, Mr. Bang, Mr. Linh, Mr. Xuan - university graduates following the call of their hearts, said goodbye to the bustling city, leaving behind their old mothers and young children in their hometowns to go to the highland students who are thirsty for knowledge, thirsty for new knowledge of the times.

Looking back on the 20-year journey, although it is not long, the teachers and students of the school have made great efforts to compete in teaching well and studying well, overcoming all difficulties to be able to train generations of students with socialist ideal qualities, cultural knowledge, self-study and creative abilities that can contribute to building the homeland...

In 20 years, the school has had 17 graduating classes, of which more than 1,000 students graduated, accounting for over 85%. Hundreds of them were admitted to universities and colleges. Among those admitted to universities, up to now, dozens have become engineers, bachelors, teachers, doctors, pharmacists and hundreds are technical workers serving in all areas of the economy; many have become civil servants and public employees working in state agencies and enterprises. In particular, dozens of students have followed the call of the Fatherland and joined the army. We can name some students who have adorned the school's golden board of achievements, such as Truong Thi Huong, a comprehensive excellent student; Vi Van Hiep, who scored 27 points and passed the entrance exam to two prestigious schools, Hanoi Medical University and Hanoi University of Science and Technology, and is now a doctor; Vi Thi Thuong, a provincial excellent student, won third prize in Mathematics, and is now a pharmacist; Ho Thi Hoai Thanh, 3rd prize winner in Literature, graduated from university and is successful in Hanoi; Vi Thi Duoc, provincial excellent student in Mathematics, graduated from the Academy of Finance, is now a commune civil servant; Vi Van Bach is currently the Deputy Head of the Mass Mobilization Committee of Con Cuong District Party Committee and many others are successful in their careers...

Students are equipped with English classrooms, making learning this subject easier than before. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Most importantly, through their time at school, generations of students have been equipped with life skills, they can learn by themselves, know how to work, be creative and contribute to their homeland in all fields, from economics, politics, to culture, society, national security and defense. Many students have become village and commune cadres, or become honest workers.

To achieve these important initial achievements, over the past 20 years under the leadership of the Party cell, the collective leadership and the individual leader, the task of building a team of teachers has always been put first. Imbued with the truth that "without good teachers, there will be no good students", the school's teaching staff has worked hard, improved themselves, and improved their skills to meet the increasingly high learning needs of students.

Many students who live far from school have been provided with on-campus boarding facilities for their convenience in living and studying. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Over the past 20 years, time has passed without returning, but the memories of the pedagogical talent and the dedication of teachers to their students still live on in generations of students. Those are the passionate literature lessons of Mr. Tran Doan Xuan and Mr. Nguyen Manh Huan; those are the seemingly dry but fascinating Math, Physics, Chemistry lessons of Mr. Dang Trong Quang, Mr. Ho Sy Hao, Mr. Nguyen Trong Tho, Ms. Le Thi Hai, Mr. Nguyen Van Thin... those are the exciting History, Geography, Civic Education lessons of Mr. Dang Van Bang, Mr. Phan Van Dai, Mr. Nguyen Hong Linh, Mr. Pham Binh Minh... Foreign languages ​​and IT are still very unfamiliar, but thanks to the enthusiasm and love of learning of the teachers, the lessons have created a lot of excitement for the students.

On the difficult journey from the beginning until now, the School has had many generations of successful students, spreading their wings and flying far away. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Following the remarkable achievements, up to now, despite many shortcomings, Muong Qua High School has made great efforts to improve the quality of teaching; helping ethnic minority students to reach higher and further, giving wings to ethnic minority children to realize their dream of building a better village life.

Muong Qua is the birthplace of the first Party cell of the Western Nghe An region. Teachers and students of Muong Qua High School have been following the tradition of their heroic revolutionary homeland.