Quang Nam invests in developing education in mountainous areas

The boarding and dining hall of Dong Giang Ethnic Boarding Secondary School in Quang Nam province are located behind a newly built and renovated row of classrooms, which are quite spacious and well-equipped. In the morning, the school's cooks are preparing lunch for the students. The school educates 277 students from grades 6 to 9, all children of ethnic minorities in the district. All students stay in the boarding school throughout the school year, only returning home a few times a year during holidays or when there are unexpected family matters.

Freezers are used to preserve fresh food.

Every day, members of the school's management board inspect the kitchen, dining hall, and student dormitories. Mr. Bui Thanh Chung, Principal of Dong Giang Ethnic Boarding Secondary School in Quang Nam province, proudly shared that recently, thanks to funding from Sub-Project 1 of Project 5 of the National Target Program for Socio -Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas, the school received funds to purchase a freezer for preserving fresh food, a main food storage cabinet, clothes racks, shelves for students' dishes, and student desks and chairs. Previously, the kitchen didn't have a freezer, so food had to be prepared immediately in the morning to be consumed throughout the day. Now, food is conveniently stored in the freezer, ensuring food safety and hygiene.

Teacher Bui Thanh Chung said that the school is in the process of receiving additional equipment such as televisions for teaching, student beds, wardrobes, and hot and cold water dispensers for students to shower in the winter, ensuring that students have adequate living, accommodation, and learning facilities.

“All boarding students are 100% enrolled at the school. This project is highly effective, improving the living conditions and accommodation for students. The school also hopes that higher authorities will pay attention to the issue of accommodation for boarding students. The school consistently ensures that there are no cases of students dropping out mid-way through the year, and the quality of education has remained high over the years.”

Dong Giang Ethnic Boarding Secondary School has received investment to purchase student desks and chairs.

Dong Giang is one of the poor mountainous districts in Quang Nam province. From various sources, the district prioritizes investment in repairing and building new school facilities, purchasing teaching equipment, and essentially eliminating schools made of thatch, bamboo, leaves, or wood. However, many schools and student dormitories, built a long time ago, have deteriorated. Using funds from Sub-Project 1 of Project 5 on the Development of Education and Training and Improvement of Human Resource Quality under the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas giai đoạn 2021-2025, the district has invested in upgrading, repairing, and purchasing teaching equipment and providing accommodation for four boarding and semi-boarding schools.

Mr. Nguyen Van Le, Head of the Education and Training Department of Dong Giang District, Quang Nam Province, said that the District People's Committee has continued to allocate an additional 2 billion VND to the Education and Training Department to purchase equipment for the remaining schools.

“Most of the purchased equipment is very practical and much needed by the students. The biggest need right now is accommodation; some schools were built a long time ago and need to be renovated to be more solid and spacious. Recently, the District People's Committee also adjusted and supplemented the Education Department with over 2 billion VND, along with funding from the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.”

Students at Dong Giang Ethnic Boarding Junior High School, Quang Nam Province, are having class.

In 2024, the mountainous district of Dong Giang received over 15 billion VND from Quang Nam province, sourced from the National Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas (2021-2025), to continue investing in education. Mr. Do Huu Tung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Giang district, Quang Nam province, stated that the district People's Committee has issued a "Project to improve the quality of school facilities to meet national standards," requiring approximately 86 billion VND in funding.

“The need to build schools that meet national standards for ethnic minorities and mountainous areas requires significant capital, as it involves many factors, including the historical lack of uniformity in school construction. Currently, the district is implementing Circular 13 of the Ministry of Education and Training, which contains many new provisions. However, through implementation, the capital required to meet criterion number 3 of this Circular regarding physical infrastructure is enormous. To complete and maintain the infrastructure, more than 86 billion VND is needed. Dong Giang is a poor district, so it urgently needs investment from the state,” said Mr. Do Huu Tung.

The ethnic minority and mountainous areas of Quang Nam province currently have 199 schools. The model of boarding and semi-boarding schools for ethnic minorities has made a significant contribution to training cadres and developing high-quality human resources for these areas. However, subject classrooms and equipment in some schools do not meet the requirements of the 2018 General Education Program. The project "Supporting the Development of Education in the Mountainous Areas of Quang Nam Province giai đoạn 2021 - 2025" aims to accelerate the process of gradually reducing the gap in educational quality between mountainous districts and the lowland areas. Accordingly, the province will invest in reorganizing and improving the school network, building infrastructure to meet prescribed standards, ensuring safety and disaster prevention; and enhancing the capacity of teachers and education management staff to ensure sufficient numbers, professional qualifications, and a reasonable structure.

Preparing lunch for boarding students.

To date, from the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas giai đoạn 2021-2025, Quang Nam province has built 53 school projects. The program's funds were allocated to the Department of Education and Training and the People's Committees of the districts; of which the Department of Education and Training received over 12 billion VND to invest in infrastructure and equipment for 4 ethnic boarding schools under its management.

According to Mr. Thai Viet Tuong, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Nam province, the funding from the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2021-2025 has contributed to further consolidating and rationally developing the system of ethnic boarding schools and semi-boarding schools, as well as schools with semi-boarding students; and to supplement and upgrade facilities for schools that have not yet met national standards.

"The Education sector implements several state policies, drawing on funding from the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, border region policies, and other policies to support schools in these areas. The sector has coordinated with local authorities to rearrange and relocate schools and school locations to suit the socio-economic conditions of these areas, especially those in mountainous regions."

Source: https://vov.vn/xa-hoi/quang-nam-dau-tu-phat-trien-giao-duc-mien-nui-post1132366.vov