The delay potentially affects the meals of thousands of students in the northern Yên Bái Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Anh

YÊN BÁI — A delay in rice support delivery for students in Yên Bái Province has left many schools scrambling to ensure meals for their students as their rice reserves run low.

According to the Government's Decree 116/2016/NĐ-CP dated July 18, 2016, each student attending day school in extremely difficult areas is provided with 15kg of rice per month.

Starting January 1 this year, Lý Tự Trọng Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Students in Mù Cang Chải counted 697 students eligible for the meal support policy.

The school’s principal Lê Hải Đăng said that due to the late delivery, the school is running out of rice reserves and has to borrow from local businesses for students’ meals.

“Each day, our school cooks more than three quintals of rice for students and only has about four quintals left in our storage.

“We tried to borrow [from local businesses] but that only amounts to two tonnes, which could last for a little more than one week.

“If the delivery delay is prolonged, we will have to call for support from parents to ensure the children’s meals,” said Đăng.

In the same situation, La Pán Tẩn Primary-Secondary School for Ethnic Students only has roughly four tonnes of rice left in its storage, which will be used up in about 12 days.

The school has 959 students eligible for meal support out of a total of nearly 1,200.

According to vice principal Nguyễn Thị Thu Thủy, the school plans to temporarily collect 5kg of rice per student after discussing the matter with their parents. This amount will be ‘reimbursed’ when the rice delivery reaches the school.

Similar shortages were recorded in many other schools in Mù Cang Chải such as Nậm Khắt, Lao Chải and Khao Mang primary-secondary schools for ethnic students, according to the head of the district’s Division of Education and Training Nguyễn Anh Thủy.

Meanwhile, Trạm Tấu District estimated that 11 schools in the area with nearly 7,000 students are facing critical rice shortage.

Trạm Tấu Primary-Secondary School for Ethnic Students has bought rice on credit to cook for over 500 students, but purchasing price is twice as expensive compared to the meal support policy.

Using older rice can also affect the children’s nutrition intake, said the school’s principal Nguyễn Văn Thanh.

Bùi Thanh Tùng, deputy head of Trạm Tấu Division of Education and Training said the unit has been in contact with Yên Bái Provincial Department of State Reserve to soon allocate rice support for schools in the area.

In the immediate future, the division’s solution is to transfer rice from schools with abundant stock left from the first semester to schools experiencing shortages.

Explaining the situation, head of Hoàng Liên Sơn Department of State Reserve Lê Tiến Dũng said that rice suppliers and transport units must undergo open online bidding according to regulations, leading to the delay.

This information has been communicated to provinces, he said, adding that by April 10 at the latest, the rice support will reach schools in Yên Bái Province. — VNS