Light from the literacy class in Muong Khieng

Determined to find words

During the cold winter days, we attended the literacy class held at Muong Khieng 2 Primary School. When the sun had just set behind the mountains, the class began. During the day, they were busy with the fields, but at night, 55 students aged 40 to 50 from Kim, Sao Va, Na Hang, Nam Han, and Bo Phuc villages still enthusiastically came to class. Many of them were grandparents, but their learning spirit was very high.

The literacy class in Muong Khieng commune has 55 students who are Thai ethnic people.

Ms. Tong Thi Suc, 55 years old, Sao Va village, shared: Not knowing how to read is very difficult! Going to the hospital, doing all the paperwork, you need to read. Selling agricultural products, you have to ask others to calculate for you. Learning to read is really difficult, my hands are stiff, my eyes are dim, I have to wear glasses, but I am determined to learn. If I can't remember any letters, I go home and ask my children and grandchildren to teach me. Now, I can write my name, add and subtract, and calculate money when selling things. I am very happy. Thank you teachers for teaching me how to read.

Mr. Lo Van Son, in Kim village, said: I invited my fellow villagers to go to school, and only after they learned to read and write did I see the benefits. Now I can read newspapers, read text messages, understand what is happening in the province and the country… I suddenly feel like I have learned more. The more I learn, the more I like it! So not only me, but also 5 people in the village attend the literacy class.

Literacy classes have helped improve knowledge for ethnic minorities.

Hands that were used to hoes and plows were now carefully shaping each stroke of the letters. This image gave teachers more motivation to come to class every day, helping people learn to read and write early.

Study by flashlight

Muong Khieng Commune was established after merging three communes Muong Khieng, Bo Muoi and Liep Te. After the merger, the locality coordinated with schools to check and discovered that many people had not completed primary school or were illiterate again due to lack of use, many people still spoke Vietnamese with a lisp, had difficulty distinguishing the sounds "l", "đ" and the tones of falling, sharp, and falling. Muong Khieng 2 Primary School, in charge of 10 villages in the commune, organized this special class.

The classroom often has power outages, so students use flashlights to read.

After more than 11 years of teaching, this is the first time teacher Lo Van Hom has taught a class of “older students”. During the day, he teaches primary school students, and in the evening he prepares lesson plans to teach letters to the teachers and the students.

The day we visited the classroom was November 20th - Vietnamese Teachers' Day. Despite being a holiday, the class continued as usual. Nearly 40 students were present, the light shining through the windows, mixed with the sound of spelling, broke the silence of the mountainous countryside at night.

Most of the students are older than their age.

About 30 minutes later, the electricity suddenly went out, plunging the entire classroom into darkness. What surprised me the most was that no one stood up, no one showed any signs of discouragement. Just a few seconds later, the light from dozens of flashlights turned on. That small light illuminated each page of the notebook, shining on the faces shining with determination to learn.

Having been to many places and witnessed many beautiful stories in literacy classes in the highlands and border areas, this moment really moved me. When the power went out and a series of flashlights were automatically turned on, I seemed to see a special picture: The light of knowledge spread from the efforts of the simple farmers.

The classroom lit up under the flashlight.

Teacher Lo Van Hom shared: Older students cannot be taught like younger ones. Some students can only write one lesson after sitting for the whole class. My eyesight is poor and I cannot see the book clearly, so I have to write everything on the board. The hardest part is that the classroom often has power outages. When the power goes out, people still use flashlights and lean close to their notebooks to read. There were days when we waited forever for the power to come back on, and it was almost 9 p.m. when we finished class, but no one complained.

Persistent efforts to access knowledge

The literacy class started on September 22, 2025 and ended on December 31, 2025, lasting more than 1,000 periods, from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day of the week. Most of the students are farmers, and it is harvest season, so the number of students attending class is sometimes less, sometimes full. Teachers have to adjust the lessons flexibly so that everyone can keep up.

Mr. Do Dinh Hung, Principal of Muong Khieng 2 Primary School, said: The teaching method is designed to be "slow but sure", linked to daily life, such as writing names, reading medicine names, reading signs, calculating money when selling goods. Teachers also use pictures, videos, projectors, instructing people to use phones to type, read messages, and check weather forecasts. At the same time, teachers also incorporate propaganda about economic development models and instruct good practices to motivate people to escape poverty. During breaks, teachers organize cultural exchanges to keep the classroom warm and cheerful. Notably, all 11 teachers of the school volunteer to take turns teaching. Each student is supported with 10,000 VND/session according to the National Target Program on New Rural Development.

Every student wants to know how to read and write to change, access social knowledge to develop the economy and escape poverty.

We left Muong Khieng late at night, walking on the small road, still hearing the echoes of the people spelling, our hearts filled with admiration. Believing that, with such determination and perseverance, the special students here will quickly master the letters, access knowledge, have new ways of thinking, new ways of doing things, and build an increasingly prosperous life.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/phong-su/anh-sang-tu-lop-hoc-xoa-mu-chu-o-muong-khieng-IzJsWsZDg.html