Alongside completing the construction, the education sector and local authorities are urgently preparing a range of other components to ensure that the new schools are not only spacious and modern, but also operate effectively.
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| Students arrive for the new school year at A Luoi 3 Primary and Secondary Boarding School |
Joy in the border region
These days, construction at the two projects of A Luoi 3 and A Luoi 4 Multi-level Primary and Secondary Boarding Schools is proceeding at a rapid pace. Construction crews are making the most of every day and every hour, working day and night to ensure that the facilities are ready to begin operation in time for the start of the new school year.
The construction sites are changing day by day, and the schools are gradually taking shape. On August 8, the entrance gate to A Luoi 3 Primary and Secondary Boarding School was erected, featuring a design rich in local cultural identity and creating a distinctive impression from the moment visitors enter. Many components have been basically completed; the sports grounds and football field have been laid with turf, while the classroom blocks, administrative offices, library and other facilities are being urgently finished.
In the new school year, Le Tran Ngoc Vy, a student from A Luoi 3 Commune, will enter ninth grade and move to the new school. Her home is about 2 kilometers from the school, and she has cycled there almost every day to watch the construction progress, eagerly looking forward to becoming a student at the school she has followed taking shape day by day.
Ngoc Vy said: “I’m very happy and excited because I’m about to study at a new, spacious and modern school, with better conditions for learning and personal development. The school is very large, with many classrooms, a library, sports grounds and areas where we can study and play. I can’t wait for the opening day so I can start school.”
In the mountainous border region, as the new school gradually becomes a reality, the school has become a topic of keen interest among local residents at community meetings and in everyday conversations. From construction progress and the teaching staff to how students will eat, live and study once the school begins operating, people are eagerly awaiting all of it.
Mr. Le Thanh Quang, Ngoc Vy’s father, said that parents are excited and supportive of the policy to build multi-level boarding schools, as it will give children a better learning environment while providing more structured care and supervision. “Our home is about 2 kilometers from the school, so our daughter is expected to attend as a day-boarder. For students who live farther away, I think the boarding-school model will be even more meaningful, helping reduce the need for daily travel, especially for families facing financial difficulties. When students stay at school, they will have more time to study and rest, while receiving better supervision and care from their teachers,” Quang said enthusiastically.
Pham Thi Lieu, Vice Chairwoman of the A Luoi 3 Commune People’s Committee, said the multi-level school model would also help students in remote and isolated areas reduce travel and lower the risk of dropping out during difficult periods such as the rainy and flood season. This, in turn, will give the locality better conditions to maintain universal education, improve educational attainment and gradually develop its human resources.
Preparing for effective operation
Investing in multi-level boarding schools in border areas is a major policy of the Party and State, aimed at providing better educational opportunities for students from ethnic minority communities. The schools are being developed with comprehensive facilities, including classrooms, specialized rooms, living quarters, sports grounds and facilities serving boarding and day-boarding students. The scale of the investment also brings a corresponding requirement: the facilities must be operated effectively so that the investment is genuinely transformed into higher educational quality and tangible benefits for students.
Mr. Nguyen Tan, Director of the Department of Education and Training (DOET), emphasized that if a school receives major investment but is not operated effectively, the policy behind the investment will not achieve its intended impact. Therefore, preparations must be carried out in parallel with the completion of the facilities, covering everything from teaching arrangements and students’ meals and accommodation to student management, staffing and the operation of school facilities. The school model can combine boarding and day-boarding arrangements depending on students’ actual needs. Its organization must be flexible, ensuring students’ rights and interests while making effective use of the infrastructure that has been invested in.
“We are developing detailed operating procedures covering teaching arrangements, accommodation and meals, healthcare and student management, while ensuring that students receive all benefits and policy support to which they are entitled. Once the school is operating stably, the DOET will hand it over to the local authorities for management in accordance with the decentralization framework, while continuing to provide guidance, inspections and professional support,” Mr. Nguyen Tan said.
Alongside infrastructure, staffing has been identified as a decisive factor in effective operation. The DOET and local authorities will review and arrange personnel according to the relevant school levels, subjects and job positions. Priority will be given to capable and responsible staff who wish to remain in the area for the long term. Plans will also be made to transfer, reinforce or provide professional support in subjects where staff shortages remain.
Training organized by the DOET will focus on the specific requirements of the boarding-school model, including student management, accommodation and meals, healthcare, security, fire prevention and firefighting, and emergency response. The DOET will also mobilize experienced administrators and teachers from existing day-boarding schools to help develop operating procedures, share experience and support the new schools during their initial period of operation.
Pham Thi Lieu said that, with more than 90% of the students belonging to ethnic minority groups, the schools will place particular emphasis on strengthening Vietnamese-language proficiency, reading comprehension and communication skills, as well as students’ ability to study independently. These skills will provide a foundation for students to gain better access to foreign languages, information technology, science and technology.
From these new schools, generations of A Luoi students will have a stronger foundation to grow, advance and contribute to the development of their homeland.