Deploying new school year tasks: New school year on the only island commune in the capital

GD&TĐ - Every day, teachers and students of Minh Chau commune (Hanoi) still persevere in teaching and learning in the very special conditions of an island commune.

Go to the island to teach

As soon as it was dawn, teacher Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang from Minh Chau Secondary School was busy getting ready to catch the early ferry to get to school. Her house is nearly 30 km from school, requiring a ferry ride, so Ms. Trang always had to wake up early to get ready.

Ms. Trang shared that many times, if they were just a few minutes late, the ferry would have reached the middle of the river. If they were fast, it would take 15 minutes, if they were slow, it would take almost half an hour for the next ferry to arrive. At those times, teachers like Ms. Trang who missed the ferry would feel anxious, unable to sit still because they were worried about being late for class.

Ms. Trang currently holds the “record” of having the furthest commute to work from her school, even the furthest compared to the island commune’s cadres, civil servants, and public employees. Not only does she have to endure the hardship of having to travel by ferry, but most of the teachers in this island commune have to take the same ferry every day.

Minh Chau is the only island commune in Hanoi, isolated in the middle of the Red River, the special terrain makes education here face many difficulties. According to the local government's report, the whole commune has nearly 1,200 students and 93 cadres, teachers and staff working at 3 levels of education.

Mr. Duong Anh Tien - Principal of Minh Chau Secondary School said that every day, there are many trips back and forth by ferry, so it is very inconvenient, especially when it rains heavily and the wind is strong. Every day, about 400 students and 58 teachers have to take the ferry across the river to go to school. The total cost of ferry travel is estimated at more than 1.7 billion VND/school year.

At Minh Chau Kindergarten, right after the opening ceremony, children begin their first lesson with the familiar content of gratitude to parents, thereby arousing the diligence and desire to learn in each student. After that, they will practice basic strokes, combined with singing and dancing performances to create excitement for the following lessons.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh - Principal of Minh Chau Kindergarten said that the school currently has more than 30 staff members and teachers, of which about 12 staff members, teachers and employees live on the other side of the river and have to take a boat or ferry across the river to school every day. There is a teacher whose house is 15 - 16 km away from the school but she is not afraid of difficulties and is determined to stay at school and in class.

Ms. Chu Thi Loan, in charge of the nursery class at Minh Chau Kindergarten, has been with the school for nearly 10 years. Although every day going to school for Ms. Loan is a long journey across the river and ferry, and despite being given the opportunity to move closer to home, with the affection for the school, students, and teachers like Ms. Loan, they all choose to stay on the island commune.

Currently, Minh Chau Primary School has more than 10 staff and teachers living on the other side of the river, some of whom live nearly 30 km away from the school, the daily round trip is nearly 60 km, not to mention having to change means of transport and take a boat across the river. Entering the new school year, teachers and students of the school are ready to overcome all difficulties and strive to improve the quality of education.

Leaders of Hanoi Department of Education and Training talked with students of Minh Chau Primary School.

Support education in difficult areas

The 2025-2026 school year has begun in Minh Chau island commune. Behind the innocent smiles of students are the hardships of teachers. To share the difficulties with teachers and students here, the Capital Education Department is aiming to build an inter-level school to meet the on-site learning needs of children in the commune.

Mr. Bui Thai Son - Chairman of Minh Chau Commune People's Committee shared that after the administrative arrangement, the commune has nearly 1,200 students at 3 levels from kindergarten to junior high school. It is worth mentioning that there is no high school here. Every day, more than 400 students of the commune have to cross the river by ferry to go to school and vice versa, dozens of teachers have to cross the river to go to the commune to teach.

“It cannot be said that there are no difficulties, especially the unsafe situation during the rainy and stormy season, not to mention the increased costs for each family due to the cost of moving across the river. However, both teachers and students of Minh Chau commune still persevere in teaching and learning every day in the very special conditions of an island commune,” said Mr. Bui Thai Son.

According to Mr. Bui Thai Son, Minh Chau Primary School has 432 students, 13 classrooms, a multi-purpose hall, a kitchen, 20 functional rooms and has been recognized as meeting National standards level 2 since 2023, however some construction items have been degraded.

Minh Chau Secondary School has not yet met national standards and is currently short of three teachers that have not been recruited. According to Mr. Son, the fact that teachers in Minh Chau commune have not enjoyed special treatment policies in difficult working conditions and remote areas makes it difficult to recruit and retain teachers, especially good teachers.

One of the biggest concerns of teachers, students and people is that the island commune currently does not have a high school. All people want their children to complete high school, but not all families can afford to send their children to school far away. This is also the reason why the rate of students attending high school in the commune is not high.

Given the unique conditions of the island commune, right after the opening ceremony of the new school year, Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training Tran The Cuong and heads of professional departments of the department visited and worked with commune leaders and principals of 3 schools.

In the immediate future, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training will review and compare regulations to propose supporting ferry costs of about 14,000 VND/person/day for nearly 500 teachers and students, with a total cost of more than 1.7 billion VND for 9 months of the school year to reduce the burden on students' families and provide more motivation for teachers to work with peace of mind.

Mr. Tran The Cuong affirmed that the Education sector will coordinate with the city's functional sectors, together with Minh Chau commune, to develop an investment project to build Minh Chau Secondary and High School, both to meet the needs of on-site learning and to optimize investment resources.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/trien-khai-nhiem-vu-nam-hoc-moi-nam-hoc-moi-tren-xa-dao-duy-nhat-o-thu-do-post749273.html