The children 'climbing to the summit of Ma Pi Leng'

The online English teaching project for nearly 2,600 primary school students in Meo Vac (Ha Giang), supported by teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang, has just concluded with a meaningful competition: "The Road to the Summit of Ma Pi Leng".

The teacher organizes games for students during a trip to Meo Vac in May 2025 - Photo: VINH HA

The competition involved 18 teams, representing 18 primary schools in Meo Vac that benefited from the online English teaching project that teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang, chairman of the board of Marie Curie Inter-level School ( Hanoi ), decided to support three years ago.

The competition, held at the end of the 2024-2025 school year, involved 72 fifth-grade students (4 students per team) and many other students who came to cheer them on.

The teachers of Marie Curie School in Hanoi followed their hearts, with all the enthusiasm of youth. We are proud and reassured by what we have accomplished over the past three years.

Teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang

Positive results

The competition's format is based on shows like "Rung Chuong Vang" (Golden Bell Ringing) and "Duong Len Dinh Olympia" (Road to Olympia) on Vietnamese television, but what makes it special is that the children listen to the questions and answer them in English.

One of the two hosts of the program is teacher Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung - a teacher who has been with the students in Meo Vac since the beginning of the project.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Tam, principal of Xin Cai Ethnic Boarding Primary School in Meo Vac district, Ha Giang province, shared that seeing her students so confident, cheerful, and enthusiastic in the competition, and recalling the early days, truly marked a long journey.

"Three years ago, in the 2022-2023 school year, when I launched the English teaching project for third-grade students, I didn't think the students could absorb and change like this. All communication and teaching at that time was done through a screen."

"Some students didn't interact because they thought the teacher on TV wasn't real. But before they knew it, the teacher and students had developed a bond. Many students met the program's requirements and not only had relatively good listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, but they also became more confident and assertive," Ms. Tam said.

"The Road to the Summit of Ma Pi Leng" is a truly meaningful name because Ma Pi Leng is a "monument" of nature, yet also very familiar to the children of Meo Vac. It carries a message of encouragement for the children of Meo Vac to overcome their limitations, strive, and progress beyond their own current level.

According to the results provided by the Meo Vac Department of Education and Training, in the 2022-2023 school year, 24.4% of students participating in the English learning project successfully completed the program, 73.7% completed it, and 1.9% did not complete it.

Among them, 20 students won prizes in the district-level English exchange competition, and 4 students won prizes at the provincial level. In the 2023-2024 school year, the percentage of students achieving good results was 34.2%, those achieving good results was 64.8%, and those not achieving good results was 1%. During this school year, 18 students won prizes at the district level, and 3 students won prizes at the provincial level. Eight students also won prizes in the district-level IOE competition.

In the 2024-2025 school year, 31.1% of students achieved good results, 69.9% achieved satisfactory results, and no students failed to complete the program. During this school year, 9 students won prizes in the district-level English exchange competition, and 1 student won a prize at the provincial level. In the district-level IOE competition, 14 students won prizes, and in the provincial-level competition, 8 students won prizes.

In essence, dedication

This is a brief summary of the project that teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang and Marie Curie School in Hanoi are supporting in Meo Vac.

Three years ago, a major challenge for Meo Vac was implementing compulsory English instruction from grade 3, but the entire district only had one primary school English teacher. Over 2,600 grade 3 students that year studied in 39 classes at the main school and 110 classes at the satellite school locations.

Meo Vac district has implemented the consolidation of students from remote areas into main schools, reducing the number of combined classes from 158 to 76, and has implemented a hybrid approach of online and in-person teaching.

There were 23 teachers recruited by Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khang specifically for this project. Over the three school years, when some teachers left, Mr. Khang recruited new teachers to ensure there were enough teachers for nearly 2,500 students.

Every school year, Mr. Khang regularly organizes two trips for teachers from Hanoi to Meo Vac, where they visit 18 schools to meet with each other. This bond between teachers and students nourishes the motivation for the teachers to continue their challenging work and also inspires the students of Meo Vac to study hard.

The final trip before the young teachers' project concluded took place in mid-May. As always, they split up and went to the schools very early in the morning. The teachers organized games for the children, the teachers and students chatted, hugged, and said goodbye with a sense of longing. Some students cried continuously when they parted ways.

Ms. Hoang Thi Cuc joined the project late, so her first trip to Meo Vac was also her last. She shared that she never imagined the children would be so affectionate, nor did she imagine teaching in the highlands would be so arduous. But everything she participated in and experienced gave her many valuable insights to cherish.

A homeroom teacher at a primary school in Meo Vac town shared: "Thanks to the project, and thanks to the teachers from Hanoi who persistently pursued it for three years, the children not only learned English and honed their English skills, but also learned many other things, including self-confidence, love, and sharing."

However, the teacher shortage in this mountainous region has not ended. According to Mr. Ngo Manh Cuong, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Meo Vac district, in the 2025-2026 school year, the locality will have 250 classes in grades 3, 4, and 5, with over 8,400 students who must study English according to the current curriculum. But after three school years, Meo Vac only has five primary school English teachers (an increase of four compared to the previous three school years), leaving a shortage of 30 teachers.

Training 33 English teachers

Right after the first school year, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khang launched a project to support English teachers in Meo Vac, and other organizations and volunteer teacher groups joined in to help teach English to students in Meo Vac.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khang continues to invest in training 33 English teachers for Meo Vac, and in the 2025-2026 school year, the first three teachers from this project will return to Meo Vac to teach. In the 2026-2027 school year, it is expected that another 30 teachers will return after receiving training support from Mr. Khang.

VINH HA

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhung-dua-tre-len-dinh-ma-pi-leng-20250518224510797.htm