New schools on the Gia Lai border

GD&TĐ - It is expected that on December 19, Gia Lai will simultaneously start construction on 7 inter-level boarding schools in 7 border communes, opening up opportunities for students to study and have stable accommodation.

Breakthrough in educational development in border areas

Early in the morning, Mr. Ro Lan Let in Klah village (Ia Mo commune, Gia Lai province) prepares the car to take his two children to Nguyen Van Troi Primary and Secondary School. Every day he has to pick them up and drop them off four times, and on days when he is busy with field work, his children cycle home for lunch.

"It's very hard, but if I don't take my child to school, it's a pity that the long and dangerous journey is too far," said Mr. Let.

When hearing that Ia Mo commune has been invested nearly 200 billion VND to build an inter-level boarding school on a 6-hectare land plot along Provincial Road 664, Mr. Let could not hide his joy. Because the new school will have full classrooms, boarding area, dining hall, playground, electricity, water and school health systems.

“The new school is spacious, the children have a place to live and study, everyone in the village is happy. For generations, we have wished to have a school like this,” Mr. Let shared.

That joy also spread to teachers. Mr. Ngo Van Vung, Vice Principal in charge of professional affairs at Nguyen Van Troi Primary and Secondary School (Ia Mo Commune) said that currently there are many schools that are 18 km away from the commune center, students in remote areas have to travel long distances, some have to go to other provinces to study.

If there were a boarding school, students would be able to stay, maintain attendance, and improve the quality of education. Teachers would also have better teaching conditions, with adequate classrooms, equipment, and functional rooms, which the school currently lacks,” said Mr. Vung.

Expectations for lasting change

According to the Department of Education and Training of Gia Lai, implementing Conclusion No. 81-KL/TW dated July 18, 2025 of the Politburo, the Provincial People's Committee assigned the Department to coordinate with departments, branches and People's Committees of 7 border communes, including: Ia Dom, Ia Nan, Ia Pnôn, Ia O, Ia Chia, Ia Mo and Ia Púch to advise on plans to build 7 inter-level boarding schools.

According to the survey, the above communes have 9,419 students, of which ethnic minority students account for 54.65%. Some localities have quite large school sizes such as Ia O commune (62 classes, 2,223 students), Ia Chia (53 classes, 1,552 students) and Ia Dom (47 classes, 1,721 students). However, the physical facilities at many schools are still limited, not meeting the learning, accommodation and living needs of semi-boarding and boarding students.

Up to now, the province has urgently completed procedures to start construction simultaneously on December 19, 2025, to welcome the 14th National Congress of the Party. The project includes 7 primary and secondary schools, with 212 classrooms, serving 7,420 students.

Mr. Pham Van Nam, Director of the Gia Lai Department of Education and Training, said that the projects are designed according to national standards, modernizing facilities and teaching equipment. This is an important step to help ethnic minority students, children of poor and near-poor households and students living far from school have stable living and studying conditions. At the same time, it helps reduce the situation of dropping out of school due to economic difficulties or difficult travel. Not only students, but also teachers benefit from this policy when they have a place to live, living conditions and a clear support regime, ensuring peace of mind when working long-term in the border area.

All levels and sectors survey the area to build an inter-level boarding school.

Gia Lai province's proposal to build 7/100 inter-level boarding schools in 2025 has been approved by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Government. On October 9, 2025, the Prime Minister signed Decision No. 2231/QD-TTg, supplementing the development investment expenditure estimate and the central budget public investment plan in 2025, allocating 497,149 billion VND to Gia Lai province to implement the project.

The Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee has agreed in principle; the Provincial People's Committee has directed the Departments, branches and the People's Committees of 7 border communes to coordinate implementation and ensure the progress of the groundbreaking. In addition, the project has received support from Army Corps 15, Army Corps 17, Irrigation Board 7 and local people in land allocation, compensation and site clearance.

According to plan, 7 schools will be inaugurated on August 30, 2026 and put into operation in the 2026-2027 school year.

Although the implementation process is still difficult due to the lack of specific regulations on boarding and semi-boarding policies for students and the regime for teachers in the inter-level boarding school model, localities have shown high determination to soon remove obstacles.

With the consensus of the government, forces and people, the project of 7 inter-level boarding schools in 7 border communes of Gia Lai promises to open a new phase for education in the border area where letters will be cultivated in spacious schools, where teachers have more confidence to stay in the classroom, stay in the village, and continue writing their dreams with students.

Gia Lai has more than 90km of border with Cambodia, home to dozens of ethnic minority villages, where people's lives are still difficult. In many communes, students have to walk dozens of kilometers to school, many of them drop out because of the long distance or poor families.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/nhung-ngoi-truong-moi-o-bien-gioi-gia-lai-post753584.html