From Ten Nua village to the new boarding dream

GD&TĐ - From the borderland of Nua Ngam, an inter-level boarding school is being built, a new symbol of knowledge and faith in Dien Bien.

Originating from a remote border area

Nua Ngam, a border commune, is more than 20 km from the center of Dien Bien province. The commune has 33 villages, more than 11,800 people, a long terrain with 14.6 km of border and 7 border markers, bordering Laos. The people's lives are still difficult, but their desire to study and rise up is always burning.

For many years, the commune’s school system has been scattered: 4 primary schools, 1 secondary school with 230 staff, teachers, employees and more than 1,600 students. The facilities are patchwork, the classrooms are temporary, the dormitories are lacking, forcing many children to travel dozens of kilometers to school.

“It’s dusty on sunny days, slippery on rainy days. Many days my child comes home late from school, his clothes covered in red dirt. When we heard that there was going to be a boarding school, the whole village was happy. With a decent place to study and live, our children will have less trouble,” said Lo Thi Xuyen, a parent.

From that reality, the project to build Nua Ngam Primary and Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities was born, a strategic decision, opening up new learning opportunities for children in the border area.

Many school buildings were invested in a long time ago and are now degraded, affecting the teaching and learning process.

A project cherished for the future

According to the Investment Proposal Report of the Project Management Board and Land Fund Development of Area 2, Nua Ngam Ethnic Minority Boarding School is a Group B project, decided on policy and investment by the People's Committee of Dien Bien province, to be implemented in the period 2025 - 2026.

The project is planned in Ten Nua village, on an area of ​​6 hectares, flat location, convenient transportation. This is an area that has been surveyed and agreed upon by the province's interdisciplinary working group since August 2025, ensuring both compliance with planning and convenience for students to travel and live.

The total investment of the project is 215 billion VND, from the central budget; in 2025, 50 billion VND will be allocated for preparation and site clearance, and in 2026, 165 billion VND will be allocated for construction and completion.

The school is designed according to a modern inter-level boarding model, including 31 cultural classrooms, 14 subject classrooms, a library, equipment rooms, school counseling, a traditional room, an administrative area and 21 public rooms for teachers. The boarding system has 120 student rooms, a dining room, a kitchen, a kitchen storage, a common living area, a multi-purpose hall, a sports field, and synchronous technical infrastructure of electricity, water, trees, and fire protection.

Construction is expected to start in the third quarter of 2025, be completed in the third quarter of 2026, and be put into use in the new school year.

The infrastructure of some schools has degraded and needs synchronous investment.

Student dreams are gradually taking shape

Upon completion, the school will welcome approximately 1,474 students, including 509 primary school students and 965 secondary school students, from schools in Nua Ngam commune and neighboring areas such as Na Tong, He Muong, and Muong Nha. A team of 77 cadres, teachers, and staff from existing schools will be mobilized, and additional staff will be added to meet professional standards.

After the new school is in operation, Nua Ngam Secondary School will be converted into the headquarters of the Party Committee - People's Council - People's Committee of the commune, and Nua Ngam Primary School will be expanded into a kindergarten. This is a scientific arrangement step, both streamlining the system and promoting the effectiveness of public investment.

“We look forward to the school being completed every day. In this area, the road to knowledge is difficult, so when there is a boarding school, the children will be able to study in better and safer conditions. The whole commune considers this a big event, a common joy,” said Mr. Vu A Song, a local resident, emotionally.

The boarding school is not only a place for teaching but also a cultural and educational center in the border area, a place to nurture knowledge, preserve national identity and arouse the spirit of attachment to the homeland and country.

Social impact exceeds investment

The 215 billion VND investment is not just a budget but a deposit for the future. The project is expected to contribute to maintaining student numbers, reducing dropouts, improving the overall quality of education, and at the same time creating jobs for hundreds of workers during the construction process.

The project also helps reduce regular expenditures, avoid scattered investment, and move towards sustainable development. This is part of the Politburo's major policy according to Notice 81-TB/TW dated July 18, 2025, on building schools in border communes, contributing to strengthening national defense, security, stabilizing the population and developing the economy and society in border areas.

In addition to its educational value, the project also carries a humane message: creating conditions for ethnic minority students to study in a modern, safe, green - clean - beautiful environment, towards a future of knowledge for the border region of the Fatherland.

Dien Bien realizes the policy of building schools in border areas

Plan No. 5623/KH-UBND dated October 17, 2025 of the People's Committee of Dien Bien province to deploy the "Campaign to build schools for border communes" and the movement "The whole country for beloved border students", implemented according to Notice 81-TB/TW of the Politburo and Resolution 298/NQ-CP of the Government.

• Objective: Complete 15 inter-level primary and secondary boarding schools in 15 border communes in the period of 2025-2028. Of which, 10 schools will start construction in 2025 and be completed before August 30, 2026 (Thanh Nua, Sin Thau, Quang Lam, Na Bung, Nam Ke, Thanh Yen, Muong Nha, Nua Ngam, Sam Mun, Si Pa Phin); the remaining 5 schools (Na Sang, Muong Cha, Muong Pon, Muong Nhe, Na Hy) will be completed in 2028.
• Implementation mechanism: Apply special public investment, assign the Department of Education and Training as the standing agency of the Steering Committee; 5 Project Management and Regional Land Fund Development Boards as investors; mobilize central and local budgets and socialize.
• Progress: Complete planning, clean land and investment documents before November 20, 2025, put the first 10 schools into use in August 2026, complete the network of 15 border schools before 2028, create a sustainable educational foundation at the border of the Fatherland.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/tu-ban-ten-nua-den-giac-mo-noi-tru-moi-post753885.html