Education in the highlands of Chieng An

Despite the long distances and limited facilities, the teachers of Chiềng Ân Primary and Secondary School in Chiềng Hoa commune silently and diligently dedicate themselves to the cause of "sowing green seeds" in this challenging mountainous region. Their tireless efforts serve as a bridge of hope, helping the children here reach a brighter future.

Located just 12 km from the center of Chiềng Hoa commune, it took us nearly an hour to reach Chiềng Ân Primary and Secondary School, despite the steep slopes and bumpy, rocky roads. The Chiềng Ân area in Chiềng Hoa commune is a particularly disadvantaged region, primarily inhabited by the Mong, Thai, and La Ha ethnic groups. The terrain is mostly steep, mountainous, and fragmented, with a scattered population.

Chiềng Ân Primary and Secondary School.

Welcoming us, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dam, Principal of Chieng An Primary and Secondary School, shared: "I have been working at the school for 5 years now. Although the road from the commune center to the school has been paved, it is frequently affected by floods and many sections are degraded, making travel difficult, especially on sunny days when the road is dusty and on rainy days when it is slippery and muddy. The central school is somewhat better, but at the outlying school locations, the nearest one is 7km away, the furthest is over 20km, mostly dirt roads, and you have to travel through sections of forest to reach the school."

Chiềng Ân Primary and Secondary School held a meeting to discuss the tasks for the school year.

In the 2025-2026 school year, the school will have one central campus and four satellite campuses, with 27 classes and 872 students. Basic facilities will meet the needs of teaching and learning, including 20 solid classrooms, 7 semi-solid classrooms, 5 boarding rooms, and a cafeteria. The school proactively implements a flexible teacher rotation system based on actual needs, creating conditions for teachers to stay in their classes and campuses, promptly understanding the concerns and closely monitoring the learning progress of each student.

The majority of students at the school come from poor or near-poor households, or families facing difficult circumstances, resulting in a continued dropout rate each year. In the first semester of this school year alone, the school had four students drop out due to child marriage. Teacher Mua A Vang reported: "The teachers actively cooperate with the Party branch secretary, village head, and head of the village's Fatherland Front committee to visit the homes of students at risk of dropping out to get married. We explain the consequences of early marriage and the government's policies supporting ethnic minority children's education. We encourage families to motivate and encourage students to attend school. In addition, the school organizes extracurricular activities on the negative impacts of child marriage and consanguineous marriage, thereby raising awareness and reducing the dropout rate."

A lesson between teachers and students at Chiềng Ân Primary and Secondary School.

Every year, the school's Board of Directors develops a plan to direct subject departments to innovate teaching methods and assessment in a way that develops students' competencies; selects and nurtures gifted students from the beginning of the school year and organizes remedial classes for weak and underperforming students. Currently, the school has 37 staff members, including teachers and employees, of which 100% of teachers meet or exceed professional standards. Ms. Trinh Thu Huyen, a primary school teacher, said: "To meet the demands of teaching and learning, I have improved my professional skills through summer training and cluster professional development activities where teachers can share, exchange, and discuss the difficulties we encounter; I proactively pay close attention to the students' boarding and lodging arrangements, and support them in self-study to improve the quality of teaching and learning."

Teachers educate and encourage families to prevent their children from dropping out of school.

Currently, the school has 268 students who are enrolled in the boarding program. The school prepares three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) for the students, prioritizing food safety and hygiene to prevent food poisoning incidents. In addition, the school organizes activities and guides students on boarding regulations; assigns teachers to daily monitor and care for the students' health, check on their regular routines and schedules, and support their self-study each evening. As a result, the school has significantly improved student retention rates.

Lò Thị Bảo Trâm, a second-grade student, said: "My house is in Pá Xa Hồng village, 12 km from the school. Because my house is far away, I get to eat and stay at the school's boarding facility. I also receive guidance from the teachers on self-study, personal hygiene, and participate in extracurricular activities."

School lunch for students.

Thanks to the implementation of various solutions to improve the quality of teaching and learning, in the first semester of the 2025-2026 school year, the percentage of good students in junior high school reached 8.04%, with 86.9% of students achieving average grades; and 80% of elementary school students completed their learning and training tasks or better. Despite this, the school still faces some difficulties in improving the quality of education . Currently, the school is short 10 teachers; and teaching equipment is lacking. The school hopes to soon receive additional teachers and continued investment in teaching equipment such as televisions, projectors, desks and chairs; and the construction of staff housing and functional rooms, creating favorable conditions for teachers and students to focus on teaching and learning.

Bidding farewell to the teachers and students of Chiềng Ân Primary and Secondary School, we gained a deeper understanding of the dedication of the teachers here in bringing education to the mountains. With passion and commitment to their profession, the teachers continue to strive every day to ignite hope, inspire a spirit of learning, and change the lives of the children of ethnic minorities in this highland region.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/xa-hoi/su-hoc-o-vung-cao-chieng-an-z23ln3pDR.html