Teachers in green uniforms sow knowledge in highland villages

The images of teachers in green uniforms - those who both hold their guns firmly during patrol shifts to maintain peace on the front lines of the Fatherland, and return to the classroom to teach literacy, humanity, and love for the homeland to the people and children - left an emotional impression at the "Sharing with Teachers" program commendation ceremony in 2025 held on the evening of November 14 by the Vietnam Youth Union.

Those are classrooms located halfway up the mountain, where footprints from going to school are still imprinted on the rocky slopes. But in those simple conditions, knowledge is still preserved, faith is still kindled and the love for the profession of the teachers in green uniforms becomes the warmest fire in the border.

Major Lo Van Phich interacted at the Commendation Ceremony of the Sharing with Teachers program in 2025

More than 10 years teaching literacy to highland people

Being a Thai ethnic, born in Sop Cop ( Son La ), Major Lo Van Phich, Mass Mobilization Team, Nam Lanh Border Guard Station, Son La Provincial Border Guard was luckier than many of his peers to be able to go to school and later become a Border Guard soldier. In 1992, Mr. Phich was a border guard who had just enlisted at Muong Lanh Border Guard Station (Son La) but boldly proposed to the unit commander to teach literacy to the people in the border area where he was stationed. “The reason that motivated me to do this was that at that time, the Mong people in Song Ma district (old) brought agricultural products to the unit to exchange for salt but did not know Kinh language so they could not communicate. At that time, I thought that people who were illiterate were a big disadvantage, difficulty and backwardness, so I wanted to teach them to read and write,” Mr. Phich recalled.

Mr. Phich's proposal and advice were approved by the unit's Party Committee. Starting in 1992, the Son La Provincial Border Guard coordinated with the Provincial Department of Education and Training to organize literacy classes for ethnic minorities in the border highlands. Since then, young soldier Lo Van Phich was entrusted by the unit to directly teach the class. "At first, it was very difficult to persuade the children to go to school. When I got home, as soon as I heard the mobilization, the elders said: "Learning letters won't fill your stomach, just go to the fields." I persuaded them: "It's not like that, Mom, Dad, first you will make boxes, work on the fields, later your stomach will be full, knowing how to read and write will help you learn how to develop the economy , life will be easier." When the class was formed, it started to be passed from one village to another, and the villagers signed up to study. This made me feel very proud," Major Phich emotionally recalled.

The youngest student in the class was 12, the oldest was 45, and both husband and wife went to school together. Each literacy class had 24 students, with only kerosene lamps but a very enthusiastic spirit of learning. After that, the class gradually increased, with up to 60 students in some classes. For families in difficult circumstances, with no one to work in the fields, the teacher would go to work with them. “The three of us were with the people, and gradually, the teacher became like a family member. When the program ended and we returned to the unit, the villagers cried and said they missed the teacher,” Major Phich recalled.

After teaching illiteracy eradication classes for 9 consecutive years, Mr. Phich was then sent to further education and transferred to Nam Lanh Border Guard Station. After that, he continued to teach illiteracy eradication classes until 2023. Mr. Phich shared that currently, the villages in the highlands of Sop Cop have basically eliminated illiteracy, especially children all go to school, however, teachers wearing green uniforms will continue to participate in the second phase when the "re-illiteracy" classes are formed. The border guard was proud to share with us about his "fortune" of knowledge: more than 500 students, many of whom have grown up, some are now Deputy Party Secretaries of the commune, many have finished high school and gone to university. “I have more than 10 students working for the company in Hanoi and Hung Yen. They still call me from time to time to ask about me and thank me. Today, being recognized in the program “Sharing with teachers”, I am even more proud of what I have done and contributed to the ethnic minorities in the highlands,” Mr. Phich shared.

Teaching Vietnamese to "Lao brides"

As one of the 80 teachers honored, Captain Ho Van Huu, Head of the Mass Mobilization Team, Ba Tang Border Guard Station, Quang Tri Provincial Border Guard, said that starting from October 2021, Ba Tang Border Guard Station organized classes to eliminate illiteracy and re-illiteracy for ethnic minorities in the A Doi border area (formerly part of the old Huong Hoa district).

Due to the fact that many Van Kieu ethnic women are illiterate and some Lao women married to Vietnamese men do not know Vietnamese, Ba Tang Border Guard Station cooperated with the Women's Union of Huong Hoa district (old) to open classes to eradicate illiteracy and re-illiteracy. As a teacher with a green uniform, Captain Ho Van Huu has been involved in the illiteracy eradication classes since the very first days.

Captain Ho Van Huu teaches reading and writing to women in border areas.

From 2021 to now, there have been 7 classes with 190 female students participating. There are cases where both mother and child attend the same class; or there is a 30-year-old Lao woman who finished 6th grade in Laos, but when she came to Vietnam to get married, she did not know Vietnamese, but attended the class and now knows how to read and write fluently. "Many women are illiterate, when they go to get their children's birth certificates, they have to ask others to write for them. Now, when they hold the birth certificates, they know how to read their children's names and write their own applications. Many women who used to only know how to sign papers and were very shy because they were illiterate, now they know how to sign and are very proud," Captain Huu happily shared.

Talking about the difficulties in implementing the class, Captain Huu said that because it is a border area, the illiteracy eradication classes are held in cultural houses and community centers. A Doi is a border commune, the economic conditions of the people are still very difficult. The women are all busy with farming and taking care of their families, only having time to go to class at night. Most of the students are old, so they have difficulty holding a pen and learning slowly. "The goal of the classes is to teach students to read and write, so each class only lasts 6 months, with 3-4 sessions a week. This November, the unit will continue to open 2 classes to eliminate illiteracy and re-illiteracy, so we really hope to receive attention from the local government and the community," Captain Huu shared.

According to Secretary of the Central Youth Union, Chairman of the Vietnam Youth Union Nguyen Tuong Lam, in 10 years of organization, the program "Sharing with teachers" has honored 576 outstanding teachers across the country. In 2025, the program took on a special meaning when it honored 80 teachers and officers and soldiers of the Border Guard who are directly teaching in 248 communes, wards and special zones of 22 provinces and cities. Among the honored faces, there are 36 teachers who are ethnic minorities; 13 teachers wearing green uniforms. There are teachers who have devoted their entire working lives to their profession, quietly staying with schools and villages, becoming a support for knowledge in lands with many difficulties. With all their dedication and enthusiasm, teachers not only impart knowledge but also sow the seeds of morality, foster good personalities, and become shining examples for students to follow; so that kindness and good values ​​can spread and multiply every day.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/giao-duc/nhung-thay-giao-mang-quan-ham-xanh-gioo-chu-tren-ban-lang-vung-cao-i788251/