To make each boarding school a 'fortress' to preserve knowledge and aspirations in the highlands

Positive changes from synchronous attention and investment

In recent years, the Party, the State, the Education sector and authorities at all levels have paid special attention to the system of boarding and semi-boarding schools for ethnic minorities. Particularly in the mountainous area of Ky Son - an area with many difficulties, that attention has been shown through very specific and practical policies and guidelines.

Emphasizing this, Mr. Dinh Tien Hoang - Principal of Nam Can Ethnic Boarding Secondary School (Nam Can Commune, Nghe An Province) said: The school has invested in and upgraded its facilities; and is supported with policies for boarding students, from food and accommodation to teaching equipment and boarding supplies.

In particular, the team of teachers and managers always receive encouragement and are given the opportunity to participate in training courses to improve their professional capacity and skills in managing ethnic boarding students.

Thanks to that, the quality of education at the school is increasingly stable and improved, students are more diligent, more progressive, many of them continue to study at high school, even university after graduation. This is a very encouraging sign, contributing to improving the knowledge of the people, training local human resources for the locality.

Currently, Khoen On Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities has invested in and built spacious facilities from classrooms to dormitories, functional rooms, playgrounds, practice grounds, etc., basically meeting the needs of students for studying, living and playing, contributing to improving the quality of educational activities.

According to Principal Ha Trung Thanh, every year, the school is provided with sufficient funds to serve its activities according to regulations. The policies for students (food allowance, rice support, medicine, sports equipment, etc.) are provided promptly. Local authorities at all levels and the education sector always pay attention and closely direct, from recruiting boarding students, mobilizing students to attend classes, nurturing students at school and other policies for boarding students.

Another positive change is that in recent years, parents have changed a lot in their awareness, paying attention to coordinating student education; at the same time, actively participating in social work, supporting the school with labor days, firewood for cooking for students (about 6-8 tons each year) and many other educational activities.

The school board, organizations, teachers and staff always pay attention to boarding work. Students at school are trained in many skills, manners and discipline, helping them to quickly integrate into the community, society and develop themselves after graduation.

Awarding funding to support students of Nam Can Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities.

More resources needed

Despite many positive changes, difficulties still exist in ethnic minority boarding schools and boarding schools.

According to Mr. Ha Trung Thanh, Khoen On Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities is still short of 3 teachers compared to the staffing quota; many necessary positions for boarding schools are still lacking. The school must arrange for concurrent positions such as student management, service, and education departments, etc.

Due to the large number of students regularly staying at the school (over 200 students live at the school every year), some of the outbuildings are overloaded. Living conditions for individual students such as blankets, mosquito nets, utensils, tools... are lacking because many students have very difficult circumstances.

Roads in many villages are extremely difficult to travel. Students and parents have to cross mountain passes, rivers, and areas with high risk of landslides. Many villages are 15-20 km from the school center. Therefore, some students drop out of school midway due to the long distance and parents not having transportation to pick them up every week.

To gradually improve and enhance the quality of teaching and education, Mr. Ha Trung Thanh expressed his hope that all levels and sectors would pay attention to increasing investment in facilities, especially facilities serving the living and playing of boarding students such as multi-function houses, bathrooms, toilets, kitchens, dining rooms, etc. At the same time, every year, review and supplement enough staff and enough job positions to maintain and develop educational activities well at schools.

Regarding Nam Can Ethnic Boarding Secondary School, Principal Dinh Tien Hoang said that the biggest difficulty at present is the physical facilities and equipment serving boarding students. Despite investment, many items have been degraded and cramped, failing to meet the increasing learning and living needs of students. Dormitories, dining halls, restrooms, playgrounds, etc. are still lacking or makeshift in many places, causing difficulties for nurturing, training and comprehensive education.

In addition, the teaching staff is still lacking and uneven, especially teachers of gifted subjects, information technology, and foreign languages. The lives of cadres and teachers working in remote areas are also difficult; some teachers are far from their families, living conditions are poor, which affects their psychology and long-term work.

In addition, ethnic minority students mostly come from poor or near-poor households and have limited Vietnamese language skills, so teaching and life skills education requires great perseverance, creativity and dedication from teachers.

Faced with this reality, Mr. Dinh Tien Hoang hopes that the State will continue to pay more attention to investing in facilities, teaching equipment, boarding areas and activities for students. There should be a special mechanism for schools in mountainous and particularly difficult areas, helping schools have resources to renovate and expand dormitories, communal kitchens, playgrounds and sports areas.

At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the policy of preferential treatment and attract good teachers and young teachers to work in remote areas; at the same time, there is a policy to support training and fostering staff to improve teaching capacity, management skills and care for ethnic boarding students.

“We also want to promote socialization, mobilize resources from organizations, businesses, and individuals to join hands to support schools; especially experiential activities, career guidance, and life skills education, helping students confidently integrate and develop comprehensively.

And above all, we determine that investing in education in ethnic minority and mountainous areas is investing in the future, in the sustainable development of the country. Each strong ethnic boarding and semi-boarding school will be a “fortress” to preserve the knowledge, culture, and aspirations of the people in the highlands,” Mr. Dinh Tien Hoang shared.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/de-moi-truong-noi-tru-la-mot-phao-dai-gin-giu-tri-thuc-khat-vong-noi-vung-cao-post752385.html