'Going to every alley, knocking on every door' to bring students back to class

GD&TĐ - In the mountainous areas with a large ethnic minority population of Lam Dong province, maintaining student numbers at the beginning of the new school year remains a big challenge as many students have not returned to class.

With perseverance, teachers are making efforts to mobilize and bring children to school regularly.

Difficulty in bringing students back to school

The new school year has been over a week but Mang Van Rum - a 9th grade student at Ham Can Secondary School (Ham Thanh Commune, Lam Dong ) has not yet come to class. Rum comes from a difficult background, his father passed away early, his mother works far away, he currently lives with his aunt and sister. Because it is the season to harvest wild bamboo shoots, he dropped out of school to work as a hired hand processing dried bamboo shoots. With a salary of 4 million VND/month, he can help his aunt and sister to have a less difficult time.

To persuade Rum to return to school, teachers from Ham Can Secondary School went to his house to persuade him. The parents' representative committee urged his family not to let him go to work early when he was not old enough to work.

At the same time, he was advised to return to school soon to study for a brighter future. The school promised to support him with learning materials, books, uniforms (if needed)... when he returned to class. After being explained, propagandized and persuaded by the teachers, Rum promised to return to class early next week.

Not far from Rum's house, the teachers went to Tran Van Bong's house - an 8th grade student - but did not meet him because he went to herd cows early in the morning. His parents went to work, only his grandparents were at home. This time, the teachers talked and explained Bong's going to school to his grandparents.

“After the teachers explained, I realized that sending my child to school is very important. The family will advise him to return to school soon to study,” Bong’s grandfather confided.

Mr. Luu Van Lam - Principal of Ham Can Secondary School said that the school has 138 students, of which 80% are ethnic minority children. More than a week after the opening ceremony, there are still 7 students in grades 6, 7, 8, and 9 who have not come to class.

“Due to difficult living conditions, many children have to drop out of school to follow their families to the fields or work for hire. Many cases lack parental attention or are lazy to study so they stay home and do not return to school. The school must implement many solutions to mobilize students to return to class soon. In particular, coordinate with local authorities to visit each household to propagate and mobilize parents to send their children to school,” Mr. Lam shared.

Teachers from Ham Can Secondary School came to Rum's house to grasp the situation.

Don't let students drop out of school

Not only in Ham Thanh commune, during this time, teachers of Son Lam Primary and Secondary School, Phan Son commune are also busy mobilizing students to return to school. The school has 1,110 students, most of whom are children of K'Ho, Raglai, Nung, and Cham ethnic groups. After more than a week of opening, about 40-50 students, mainly secondary school students, have not yet come to class.

Mr. Mai Oanh - Principal of Son Lam Primary and Secondary School shared: “The most difficult thing is to bring students back to school after the summer vacation. Some students follow their parents to the fields, others are busy working for hire. Teachers have to travel all the way to the fields, sometimes traveling all day to meet parents and students. Despite the hardship, we still persevere because only education can help students escape poverty.”

To support, the school has mobilized many sources of funding such as bicycles, books, uniforms, school supplies, etc. to reduce the financial burden on parents. However, according to Mr. Oanh, the biggest difficulty is still the indifference of some parents when they leave the responsibility of taking their children to class to the teachers.

Teachers of Ham Can Secondary School ride motorbikes to students' houses to encourage them to come to class.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet - a teacher at Son Lam Primary and Secondary School has 32 years of teaching experience at this school, so she understands the feelings and circumstances of students in the area. “Before the new school year, teachers carry out the work of mobilizing students to come to class. Many days we have to go deep into the forest and fields to meet parents and students to propagate and mobilize.

There are cases where students come to class after just one attempt, but many cases require a second or third attempt before they come to school. Although we know that the job of “sowing letters on the mountain” is hard and arduous, for the sake of our beloved students and our love for the job, we are determined to do everything we can to maintain the number of students,” Ms. Nguyet confided.

According to Mr. Phan Thanh Hai - Permanent Deputy Director of Lam Dong Department of Education and Training, in addition to teaching, teachers in the highlands are also active "propagandists". Wherever there are students in difficulty, the footprints of teachers are imprinted on the roads of the basalt plateau to accompany and support them.

That action has enhanced the beauty of the teacher in the minds of students and people. As for them, the joy is that the next day all the students come to school, determined not to let them drop out of school because of difficult circumstances.

In the 2025-2026 school year, Lam Dong province has nearly 809,000 students at all levels. Before the new school year, the Education sector has directed units and schools to actively coordinate with local Party committees and authorities to promote awareness among parents and create conditions for their children to attend school regularly. At the same time, efforts are being made to mobilize all resources to support students, so that no child cannot go to school due to difficult circumstances.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/di-tung-ngo-go-tung-nha-dua-hoc-sinh-tro-lai-lop-post749655.html