Regarding the article "Primary School 2, Thach Ngan (Con Cuong): Hoping for a water well soon"

(Baonghean)The Nghe An newspaper, in its issue dated February 5, 2013, published an article titled: "Primary School No. 2, Thach Ngan Commune (Con Cuong): Hoping for a water well soon" by author Phung Van Mui.

On April 9, 2013, the Con Cuong District Party Committee sent Official Letter No. 119-BC/HU to the Nghe An newspaper with the following content:

In accordance with Official Letter No. 1760-CV/TU dated February 18, 2013, from the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, regarding the inspection and handling of the article: “Thach Ngan Primary School No. 2, Con Cuong District: Hoping for a Water Well Soon”, the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee issued Decision No. 376-QD/HU to establish an inspection team to verify the contents of the article. The Standing Committee of the District Party Committee held a working session with the District People's Committee, relevant departments, the Standing Committee of the Thach Ngan Commune Party Committee, the School Board and the Chairman of the Trade Union of Thach Ngan Primary School No. 2, and the author of the article to hear the results of the inspection and verification; and also conducted a dialogue with the author of the article.

Following the meeting, the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee unanimously agreed as follows:

Drought and water shortages for production and daily life are common problems in the district, including schools (especially in the left bank area). However, the level of hardship described in the article is inaccurate and even exaggerated. Specifically, only the main school (Kẻ Gia) at Thạch Ngàn Primary School 2 is facing the most difficulties; other locations are not in such dire straits.

In light of the above situation, the district Party committee and government have made efforts to care for and provide water for production and daily life for the people. However, many communes and schools still face difficulties with water due to the lack of water sources. In addition, schools and parents have implemented various solutions to overcome these difficulties and improve the quality of teaching and learning. Therefore, overall, the quality of education in Con Cuong district has achieved relatively good results.

It is true that some teachers (whose families live in the town) bring "clean water" from home to school every day for cooking and drinking (using mineral water bottles as containers). On days when they cannot return home, they use stream water (currently, due to the drought, the stream water is dry and not hygienically safe; the two gravity-fed water systems in Ke Gia and Thach Son were damaged after the recent floods).

- Some of the information in the article is incorrect:

The article's statement that only one type of flower, the "cactus," can survive here is inaccurate. The teachers are still able to grow ornamental plants and flowers in the garden.

"Most teachers, when assigned to this location, try to refuse the assignment or request unpaid leave because the journey is difficult due to the roads and the lack of clean water." The article's statement is inaccurate. Although the journey is long, at the time the article was published, the road to Bá Hạ was paved, although travel was difficult during the rainy season and water was scarce during the dry season. The Department of Education and Training, the school's Board of Directors, and several teachers all affirmed that the morale of the staff and teachers is stable, and no teacher has refused the assignment or requested unpaid leave.

In 2007, the school submitted a proposal and received 10 million VND in funding from the Trade Union to dig wells. The wells were all effective, but by 2012 the water level had dropped. The school organized further digging but still found no water (at the Ke Gia location). Since 2007, the school has not submitted any proposals to the district or commune for funding to dig wells… Therefore, the article stating: “The school board and council have submitted a proposal to the commune and district for funding to drill industrial wells, but the cost is over 40-50 million VND, so the district and commune cannot provide support” is incorrect.

While there is a shortage of clean water at the main school campus, the information that "The school's budget is insufficient to cover stationery and travel expenses, forcing teachers and students to suffer from thirst" is incorrect. Teachers are provided with a clean water allowance according to Government Decree 61, which is included in their monthly salaries; therefore, teachers and students are not suffering from thirst.

The figure of "over 20 teachers and over 300 students" is inaccurate. In reality, the school has 30 teachers, 24 classes, and 171 students, including 16 teachers and staff, 5 classes, and 42 students at the main campus.

The school and community's perspective on the article's content: "The water shortage at the school is real, but some of the author's points are completely inaccurate."

- The Standing Committee of the District Party Committee requested the District Party Committee's Propaganda Department to conduct a serious review to learn from the experience. The author of the article must ensure accuracy in gathering information and writing articles, avoiding misleading readers about the facts.

The District People's Committee and the Education Department should pay more attention, within their capabilities, to finding solutions to overcome the current water shortage.

First, Nghe An Newspaper sincerely thanks the Con Cuong District Party Committee for verifying and sending a response letter regarding the content of the article: "Thach Ngan 2 Primary School (Con Cuong): Hoping for a water well soon" by author Phung Van Mui.

Nghe An Newspaper would like to add the following: The purpose of Nghe An Newspaper and the author in publishing the article was to reflect the reality of the lack of clean water for daily use at schools in Thach Ngan commune, and this is indeed true. We are very pleased that after the article was published, the People's Committee of Con Cuong district adopted a policy to address the issue and conducted a survey to develop a plan to find ways to exploit clean water sources for teachers, students, and people in the area. Currently, the water shortage is being resolved.

Nghe An Newspaper acknowledges the errors and has held discussions to learn from the experience with the author and the editorial and news review team. Nghe An Newspaper hopes to continue receiving timely feedback from readers and the Con Cuong District Party Committee.

Con Cuong District Party Committee - Nghe An Newspaper