Training life skills for boarding students - The journey of maturity from simple things

In the morning in the highlands, when the fog still covers the school roof, the clock just strikes 5:30, the students of Ta Mung Primary School (Muong Kim commune) wake up, fold their blankets, clean their rooms, do their personal hygiene and prepare breakfast. There is a lot of laughter, many older siblings also enthusiastically guide and help the first graders tie their hair and arrange their personal belongings.

Seeing the children help each other grow up every day, teacher Phan Trac Huong - Principal of Ta Mung Primary School for Ethnic Minorities smiled and shared: This school year, the school has 280 boarding students, most of whom are children of the Mong ethnic group. Being used to living together with their families, when they first came to boarding school, they were shy and did not know how to take care of themselves. At first, some cried because they missed home; some did not know how to fold blankets, wash dishes... teachers had to guide them in every little thing from brushing teeth, washing hair to folding clothes. Every evening, before bedtime, the homeroom teacher organizes "boarding time" - chatting with students, sharing about life, thereby forming in them a self-discipline and collective consciousness.

In the middle of the yard of Lan Nhi Thang Primary School (Doan Ket Ward), the sound of laughter and voices filled the air as the boarding students of grades 1, 2, and 3 were guided by the teachers to wash clothes and wash food trays. Teachers demonstrated each cleaning and rinsing action, and then the groups of students took turns practicing. With the motto "a boarding school is a second home", the school has established a Boarding Student Management Team, with teachers on duty every day to closely monitor and promptly support each student's activities. Each room is arranged with students of all ages, with the aim of allowing older students to support younger students. The school has developed educational models associated with life skills such as the "Self-sufficiency" model to help students grow vegetables and raise poultry to supplement food for boarding meals, practice labor skills, thrift and independence. Thanks to the close attention and dedication of the teachers, boarding students quickly get used to and adapt to the new environment and are proactive in everything from studying to living. Parents are also confident when sending their children to the school.

Teacher Lo Thi Tuyet (Lan Nhi Thang Primary School for Ethnic Minorities) said: We consider life skills education an important part of the boarding environment. Students not only learn knowledge but also learn how to be human, how to protect themselves and help others. When students do things by themselves, they understand the value of labor and appreciate the simple things in life. Working hours, cleaning the classroom or growing vegetables are all opportunities to practice responsibility.

In the 2025-2026 school year, the province will have 85 ethnic minority primary schools and 62 secondary schools with boarding students with a total of 41,384 students, most of whom are children of ethnic minorities in remote and border areas. Life skills training models are widely deployed such as: "Farm school" at Nam Nga Ethnic Minority Primary and Secondary School; "Preserving local culture" at Muong Mo Primary Ethnic Minority Primary School; "green classroom" at Giang Ma Primary Ethnic Minority Primary School...

In addition, cultural, sports , life skills clubs, national cultural preservation, and STEM activities are maintained regularly, contributing to the formation of a humane, comprehensive, and unique learning environment, helping students develop comprehensively in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, and aesthetics, confidently integrating and aiming to build Lai Chau for sustainable development. Thanks to that, the quality of learning and activities of many schools in the province have clearly changed, students are bolder in communication, more proactive in learning and living. At primary ethnic minority schools, the completion rate of primary school is 100%. At secondary ethnic minority schools, the rate of students with academic achievement of satisfactory or higher is 99.1%. DTBT high schools achieved over 99.9% of junior high school graduation rates, and the rate of high school graduates admitted to universities and colleges also increased sharply: from 30.1% in 2021 to 44% in 2025, the highest level since the separation and establishment of the province.

Educating students about life skills, in the end, is equipping the young generation with the “soft key” to enter life - that is, the ability to adapt, cooperate, be creative and self-reliant. A student with good life skills will know how to protect himself, care for others, and live with goals and aspirations. Therefore, each passing day, at the boarding school - considered the second home of students in the highlands, the first lessons about living habits and life skills gradually take shape. Day by day, shy, timid children gradually become bold, confident boys and girls who know how to care and help each other. And it is from these lessons that boarding students grow up every day, confidently continuing their dream of reaching knowledge.

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