Raising standards of ethnic boarding schools

GD&TĐ - The system of boarding schools for ethnic minorities has received investment attention, but there are still many problems that need to be resolved to promote investment efficiency.

Affirming the quality of education

Mr. Dinh Thai Vinh Tra - Head of the Department of Ethnic Education and Students, Department of Education and Training of Vinh Long province said that the whole province has 9 ethnic boarding schools with 87 classes, 3,045 students; of which, 100% of students are ethnic minorities (Khmer, Chinese). In addition, the province also has a Pali-Khmer Intermediate School with 6 classes, 215 students.

Over the years, the local education development work has always been of interest to all levels and sectors and identified as an important task. Thanks to the close coordination between the authorities at all levels, the education sector and the community, the investment work for ethnic boarding schools under Sub-project 1 - Project 5 under the National Target Program for Socio -economic Development of Ethnic Minority Areas in Vinh Long has achieved many positive results.

It can be seen that with the attention to investment in infrastructure and equipment, the quality of education in ethnic minority and mountainous areas of the province has improved significantly, creating a solid foundation for ensuring fairness in access to education and improving the quality of mass education, contributing to narrowing the development gap between regions.

The rate of junior high school graduates entering grade 10 of high school is 98.9%, of which about 40% enter ethnic boarding schools. The rate of high school graduates is 100%; the number of high school graduates entering universities, colleges and intermediate schools is over 70%.

In An Giang, the network of ethnic boarding schools is quite complete, widely developed to communes, wards and special zones, basically meeting the learning needs of students. The planning of the network and scale of ethnic boarding schools is assessed as reasonable, suitable to local conditions.

Mr. Tran Quang Bao - Director of the Department of Education and Training of An Giang province said that the whole province has 9 ethnic boarding schools that have been recognized as meeting national standards. Of which, there are 2 ethnic boarding high schools with 27 classes, 917 students, 7 ethnic boarding middle schools with 68 classes, 2,264 students.

Boarding schools for ethnic minorities are arranged reasonably, in accordance with the natural, economic and political characteristics of the locality, concentrated in localities with a large number of ethnic minorities (Khmer, Cham, Chinese) or border areas.

Most of the managers and teachers have met the training standards and are fully trained to meet the 2018 General Education Program. The quality of education and the graduation rate of ethnic boarding schools are high, many schools are leading the province, affirming their position as leading schools in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

The Department of Education and Training has implemented correctly, sufficiently, and promptly the policies and regimes for teachers, students, and educational institutions in ethnic minority and particularly disadvantaged areas. These policies have motivated children of ethnic minorities to excel in their studies and training.

Students of Vinh Long Ethnic Boarding School. Photo: An Giang Newspaper

There are still shortcomings

Besides the achieved results, in the process of implementing the contents and activities of Sub-project 1, Project 5, National target program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, Vinh Long province still encountered some difficulties and shortcomings.

Firstly, the ethnic boarding school system in the Tra Vinh area (old) includes 8 schools, of which one school is located in a commune or ward that is not on the list of communes approved under Decision No. 861/QD-TTg dated June 4, 2021 of the Prime Minister.

Second, regarding technical design: The existing items of the school were previously approved for fire prevention and fighting, but when constructing additional items, they were required to add an automatic fire alarm system, an indoor and outdoor fire fighting system, an auxiliary staircase, etc. These requirements resulted in a large additional volume and cost, but were not included in the list of construction items specified in the investment content of the program.

Third, regarding the organization of equipment procurement: Currently, the Ministry of Education and Training has not yet agreed on specific instructions on the list of equipment serving digital transformation and teaching for localities to use as a basis for procurement.

With the above situation, the implementation of the target tasks of Sub-project 1 - Project 5 is currently delayed, affecting the disbursement of career capital, under the National Target Program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2021 - 2030, phase 1 (from 2021 to 2025).

Sharing the difficulties and shortcomings, Mr. Tran Quang Bao said that implementing the admission plan based on the ratio in especially difficult communes resulted in students with low test scores still being admitted, affecting the quality of education. There were also students who were admitted but did not enroll due to many reasons.

The enrollment area of ​​ethnic boarding schools is increasingly narrowed due to regulations on permanent residence and settlement of 3 years or more in especially difficult areas, causing students in some island communes to no longer be eligible for enrollment.

Ethnic minority students have difficulty adapting to the tightly managed boarding environment and living away from their families, leading to stress and affecting their academic performance.

Some remote areas lack stable network infrastructure and many parents have limited technology skills, making it difficult to deploy online enrollment software.

According to Mr. Tran Quang Bao, in these schools, the addition of facilities corresponding to the increase in student numbers is still slow. Local budgets are facing difficulties, so they cannot invest 100% of the minimum teaching equipment as prescribed. Schools still lack dormitories (area), toilets, restrooms, clean water facilities and standard communal kitchens.

Most ethnic boarding schools do not have permanent Khmer language teachers due to difficulties in opening training classes. There is also a shortage of staff, making it difficult to care for and nurture students.

Perfecting policies, improving quality

From practical difficulties, the Department of Education and Training of Vinh Long proposed that the Ministry of Education and Training study and adjust the regulations on admission subjects stipulated in Clause 3, Article 9 of Circular No. 04/2023/TT-BGDDT dated February 23, 2023 on promulgating the Regulations on organization and operation of ethnic boarding schools to suit the current situation of communes in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions recognized as meeting new rural standards; at the same time, study and have a policy for inter-school training from ethnic boarding schools to university level.

To improve the quality of ethnic boarding schools, the Director of the Department of Education and Training of An Giang proposed that the Government continue to pay attention and increase funding to implement the National Target Program for ethnic boarding schools and semi-boarding schools compared to the period 2021 - 2025.

At the same time, diversify training forms, ensuring they are suitable to the conditions and needs of learners and ethnic minority cadres, such as on-site training, online training, semi-boarding, boarding training, etc. Link recruitment and planning work with training and fostering human resources for ethnic minorities.

Students are provided with travel expenses at the regular fare of public transport, twice a year (both round trip) to visit their families during Tet and summer holidays. In the recruitment work, Mr. Tran Quang Bao proposed to increase the scale and expand the recruitment area for ethnic boarding schools to meet the demand for student numbers while still maintaining the quality of input.

Regarding facilities and equipment, Mr. Tran Quang Bao wishes to continue to prioritize funding from the National Target Program and medium-term public investment in the period of 2026 - 2030 to build more classrooms, department rooms, dormitories and other auxiliary works. The competent authority shall allocate funding from the National Target Program in the period of 2026 - 2030 to the An Giang Education sector higher than in the period of 2021 - 2025 to purchase and provide additional minimum teaching equipment.

Regarding the team of managers, teachers and staff, Mr. Tran Quang Bao recommended that the Ministry of Education and Training soon issue economic and technical standards so that localities have a legal basis to order universities to open Khmer language teacher training classes according to regulations. Strengthen training and professional development, organize more in-depth and practical training courses for teachers, focus on integrated subjects, new teaching methods and use of technology in teaching...

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Encourage extracurricular activities, learning clubs, and soft skills education programs to help students develop self-study, problem-solving, and communication skills. Expand scholarship programs and provide financial support for students in difficult circumstances. The Department of Education and Training will strengthen supervision and support in implementing the 2018 General Education Program and specific educational content...

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