The driving force for the transformation of education in ethnic minority areas.

According to statistics from the Department of Education and Training, the province currently has 15 district-level ethnic boarding secondary schools, 2 provincial-level ethnic boarding high schools, and 6 ethnic semi-boarding primary and secondary schools. This is a specialized education system specifically serving the children of ethnic minorities and families living in areas with particularly difficult socio -economic conditions.

With nearly 173 billion VND allocated from the National Target Program (NTP) 1719, many ethnic boarding and semi-boarding schools in the province have received investment for new construction or upgrades to their facilities and teaching equipment; they have also been supported in innovating teaching methods, linking them to the languages and cultures of ethnic groups, gradually improving the overall quality of education . As a result, this has contributed to raising the percentage of schools meeting national standards in the province to 62%.

A lesson at Ea Yông Secondary School (Krông Pắc district).

One of the highlights is N'Trang Lơng Ethnic Boarding High School (Buon Ma Thuot City). In the 2024-2025 school year, the school has 18 classes with 554 students from 21 different ethnic groups. Not only are students supported with accommodation, meals, and transportation, but they also have access to modern teaching methods designed to suit their traditional cultural characteristics. Mr. Bui Xuan Le, the school's principal, stated that the school's main task is to improve the quality of both general and specialized education. The school continuously improves its teaching methods, promotes effective specialized education for ethnic minority students, and strengthens the education of traditional ethnic culture. Thanks to this innovation and determination, in the 2023-2024 school year, the graduation rate for 12th-grade students reached 100%. Many students achieved high scores (ranking in the top 10 of the province in the graduation exams) and were admitted to universities and colleges nationwide.

A unique aspect of N'Trang Lơng Ethnic Boarding High School is the unwavering commitment to preserving and promoting ethnic cultural identity alongside intellectual education. The school proactively invites artisans and cultural researchers to teach teachers and students about gong playing, traditional dances, and other distinctive cultural forms. To date, the school has established two gong ensembles and received support in the form of two sets of bronze gongs, two sets of bamboo gongs, and nearly 100 sets of traditional costumes to support the members' practice. The school has also established a gong club, creating a "playground" and contributing to fostering a love for ethnic culture among the younger generation.

In Cư M'gar district, Cư M'gar Ethnic Boarding Secondary School is also a model for combining modern education with the preservation of ethnic culture. With over 150 students, about 70% of whom are Êđê people, the school places special emphasis on preserving the language and cultural identity of the ethnic group. Ms. Vương Thị Hương, the school's Deputy Principal, shared: “Besides imparting knowledge, we always teach the students to cherish their mother tongue, understand and preserve their ethnic identity. This is also part of comprehensive education.”

The school has established a traditional musical instrument club and teaches students how to play these instruments; it also organizes weekly flag-raising ceremonies with themes of ethnic culture to foster pride in their heritage. In addition, students are encouraged to participate in science and technology competitions and entrepreneurship initiatives linked to the preservation and promotion of traditional cultural values. In the 2023-2024 school year, the school had two projects that won awards at the district level. The project "Preserving and promoting the Ede ethnic identity through a bilingual Vietnamese-Ede comic book series" by the school's students won second prize at the provincial level (held in January 2024), becoming a vivid example of the combination of modern knowledge and traditional values.

Students from N'Trang Lơng Ethnic Boarding High School participate in the school's arts and culture competition. Photo provided by N'Trang Lơng Ethnic Boarding High School.

Project 5 of the National Target Program 1719 focuses not only on the school system but also on expanding access to education for the community. To date, Dak Lak province has organized 7 literacy classes for people in 6 remote communes; 16 classes to improve knowledge of ethnic minorities for over 1,700 officials and civil servants; and 4 classes to improve ethnic minority languages with more than 200 students.

In addition, the program has expanded its support to vocational training, career counseling, and job placement, with thousands of participants. Over 30 vocational training classes have been organized, and more than 2,400 students, vocational education teachers, and trainees have received entrepreneurship counseling, contributing to the formation of a skilled generation of ethnic minority workers ready to meet the requirements of local socio-economic development.

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