Constantly "living off others"
In 2013, the People's Committee of Nghe An province decided to establish Con Cuong District Ethnic Minority Secondary School, located in Bong Khe Commune (Con Cuong District). This is a school for children of ethnic minorities in remote, isolated, and extremely disadvantaged areas of this mountainous district.
Currently, the dormitories of students at Con Cuong District Ethnic Minority Secondary School are both cramped and rundown.
Accordingly, the school's students enjoy support policies from the State and are allowed to stay in the school's dormitory. Immediately after its establishment, due to the lack of infrastructure, the school's leaders had to borrow the old facility of Bong Khe Secondary School (Bong Khe Commune) after the school merged into Con Cuong Secondary School. It was thought that borrowing the school would only be temporary, but after 10 years, the situation of "living off others" still continues.
A school leader said that when the school was first established, it had to mobilize parents to contribute labor and materials, dig wells, and borrow the village cultural house yard to make a place for students to live and do physical education. Because there was no dormitory, the school had to take advantage of the space behind the buildings of Bong Khe Secondary School, the spaces and empty spaces in the school grounds to add roofs and corrugated iron around to make dormitories and cafeterias for students. Although most of the students' parents were in difficult circumstances, due to the limited investment, the school still had to mobilize parents to support the purchase of equipment and supplies for teaching, management and student care.
In August 2018, after a major flood, the borrowed school was deeply submerged in water, many properties were swept away and damaged, and no longer safe for students. The People's Committee of Con Cuong District then had to decide to move the school to another location. Because the school could not be built, teachers and students continued to borrow two other locations: Nghe An Ethnic Minority Vocational College located in Con Cuong Town with a 2-storey building, including 12 classrooms to serve as a place for students to study; the dormitory borrowed from the Con Cuong District ContinuingEducation Center, about 1 km from the school.
After moving to the new location, Nghe An Ethnic Minority Vocational College, due to overload and having to prioritize students, the Board of Directors of Con Cuong District Ethnic Minority Secondary School and the accountant, including 4 people, had to work together in a room of less than 15 square meters. In the cramped room at the foot of the stairs on the ground floor, all the empty spaces were used to make a medical room, library, equipment, Youth Union, and Team. This school year, the school cleaned up to add a medical bed. When there were no students needing first aid, this cramped room became the teachers' waiting room.
In addition, the area for recess, outdoor activities, and flag-raising ceremonies is also very cramped. Bicycles and motorbikes of students and teachers must be left in the rain and sun because there is no place to park them.
Ms. Pham Thi Huong Giang, a chemistry teacher at Con Cuong District Ethnic Minority Secondary School, said that the school did not dare to buy enough chemicals and experimental equipment because there was no safe place to store them. In the mixed room at the foot of the stairs, teachers only dared to leave some dry chemicals, but most of them were gone. Teachers mainly introduced practical and experimental activities to students through simulation clips.
Meanwhile, the row of houses used as temporary dormitories was built decades ago and is now in disrepair. Many walls no longer hold the bricks and have fallen off. This school year, the school has 385 students, arranged in 10 rooms, each with nearly 40 students. Because the rooms are cramped, the beds take up most of the space, so the aisles are very narrow, leaving no space to store personal belongings. Books and notebooks must be placed on the ventilation holes. The student cafeteria takes advantage of the space in front of the porch. This is also where students study in the evening because the rooms lack light and are too cramped.
School construction to begin in 2024
Mr. Lo Van Thiep, Principal of Con Cuong District Ethnic Minority Secondary School, said that in recent years, the school has not dared to recruit enough students because the facilities are too makeshift and the accommodation for students cannot meet the requirements. Meanwhile, a representative of the Con Cuong District Education Department also said that the school had to borrow both classrooms and dormitories, but they still did not meet the standards, greatly affecting teaching and learning. Every year, the school leaders have to write a document to extend the facility loan. The Con Cuong District Education Department has repeatedly proposed to the district to speed up the school construction progress, but so far there is still no school.
According to Thanh Nien 's research, in 2016, the People's Committee of Nghe An province approved the investment project to build the Con Cuong District Ethnic Minority Secondary School. The project has a total investment of 45 billion VND with the following items: classrooms, dormitories, dining halls, gymnasiums, administrative offices, etc. The construction site is in Tra Bong village (Bong Khe commune). This project was assigned to the Con Cuong District Project Management Board for implementation, within 3 years from the commencement date. However, up to now, the construction area is still just an empty lot.
An official from the Economic and Infrastructure Department of Con Cuong District said that the school was established in 2013, but it was not until 2016 that the People's Committee of Nghe An Province approved the school construction project. When the funding was arranged, the compensation price for the planned school construction area had increased, so there was not enough funding to implement the project. On the other hand, this location was not large enough, so the People's Committee of Con Cuong District later proposed choosing another location.
To date, the project has increased its capital to 85 billion VND and has been approved. Con Cuong District has chosen another location to build the school, and it is expected that in 2024, the school will start construction and be completed after 2 years of construction.
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