At the inauguration ceremony of the Thống Nhất secondary school in Laos's Khammouane province on August 31. — VNA/VNS Photo

VIENTIANE — The Vietnamese-funded Thống Nhất secondary school was inaugurated on August 31 in Khammouane and handed over to the association of Vietnamese in the Lao central province.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Vũ Đại Thắng, member of the Vietnamese Party Central Committee and secretary of the Quảng Bình Province Party’s Committee, said the school is a gift from the Vietnamese Government with the central province of Quảng Bình working as the project's investor. The project aims to preserve and promote Vietnamese cultural identity within the Vietnamese community in Khammouane, while providing better educational opportunities for local students.

Thắng expressed his hope that, alongside the Laos-Việt Nam Friendship School, Khammouane-Quảng Bình, the Thống Nhất secondary school would become a symbol of the two provinces’ special solidarity and comprehensive and enduring cooperation.

Nguyễn Văn Hùng, president of the Vietnamese Association in Khammouane, extended heartfelt gratitude to leaders and people of Quảng Bình for their generous support in building the fully equipped and modern secondary school.

He said that the school would serve as a hub for preserving and promoting Vietnamese cultural identity in Khammouane. Addressing the legitimate needs of the Vietnamese expatriate community, it will focus on teaching, learning, and the preservation of Vietnamese language for their children and local Lao students.

The construction of the school, with a total investment of VNĐ25 billion (US$1 million), began in April last year on an area of nearly 3,500 square metres provided by the Lao province to the association. The school has a three-story classroom building with a total floor area of over 1,400 square metres, including 19 rooms, fully equipped with resources for 11 theory classrooms, one practical classroom, a library, and additional facilities.

On the occasion, Quảng Bình donated VNĐ150 million to the school for purchasing teaching and learning materials. Following the handover ceremony, its students and teachers began their first classes of the 2024-25 academic year. — VNS