A literacy class at the Gia Lai Drug Rehabilitation Centre for addicts. - VNA/VNS Photo

GIA LAI – The Gia Lai Province's Drug Rehabilitation Centre has been conducting a special literacy class for the last four months to provide addicts with basic reading, writing and maths skills for reintegration into society.

When the centre opened in March, its officials were concerned at the high number of illiterate patients – 21 out of 238, most of them belonging to ethnic groups with disadvantaged backgrounds.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Trần Đình Hùng, deputy head of the drug habilitation centre, said illiteracy makes it hard to teach legal knowledge and life skills, and so basic reading and writing have been made a key part of the rehabilitation programme.

The centre has created a simple and practical teaching programme. 

The 21 had never attended school before, with 17 of them being ethnic minorities.

H.V.N, 39, of la Hrú Commune is an outstanding student in the maths class.

He said he had been addicted to drugs for many years and never attended school, but could now read, write and understand the value of learning.

The main instructor at the centre is Major Võ Thị Diễm Phúc, who has no formal training in teaching.

Phúc and her colleagues had to figure out themselves how to teach in a manner easy to understand and remember.

Many evenings after work she would watch videos on social media on how to teach adults.

“We try to convey knowledge in the simplest, most familiar way, helping students absorb easily and progress every day,” she said.

The classes are held daily with some slow learners also taught individually. 

Thanks to the programme, all inmates can now read, write and do basic maths.

H.V.N can now write to his parents and hopes to find a job when he completes his treatment.

He wrote once: “Dear Mum and Dad, I can read and write now. I’m sorry for everything. I’ll do my best to recover and become a better person.”

The centre plans to work with local schools to help inmates reach at least primary-level education so that they can return to society with more confidence.

Hùng said literacy is the first step, and when people could read and write they have a better understanding of the world and could make better life choices.  VNS