Preparations are being fast-tracked for the groundbreaking of the inter-level boarding school for primary and lower secondary students in Đăk Plô border commune, Quảng Ngãi Province. VNA/VNS Photo Dư Toán

QUẢNG NGÃI — Every morning, A Hoàng Kiệt, a fourth-grade student at Đăk Xú Primary and Secondary School in Bờ Y Commune, Quảng Ngãi Province, walks three kilometres to class.

At noon, he makes the same journey home, only to return again in the early afternoon for the second session. The long, exhausting commute becomes even harder on rainy days, when slippery roads pose challenges not just for Kiệt, but for many of his classmates.

That daily struggle, however, may soon be a thing of the past.

From March 19, construction is set to begin on new inter-level boarding schools, serving both primary and lower secondary students, in five border communes of Ia Đal, Ia Tơi, Bờ Y, Đăk Long and Đăk Plô. The projects aim to ease access to education for ethnic students living in remote areas.

According to the plan, the total investment for the school construction programme is nearly VNĐ1.17 trillion (US$44.48 million).

A shared hope for teachers and students

“When we heard that a new school would be built, we were very happy because we won’t have to travel such long distances anymore. We’ll be able to stay at school,” Kiệt said with a smile.

Đăk Xú Primary and Secondary School currently serves more than 1,100 students in the commune, including over 630 primary pupils and 470 lower secondary students. Due to limited facilities, the two levels are split across different locations, while many classrooms have deteriorated.

Nguyễn Viết Dũng, vice principal of the school, said most students belong to ethnic groups such as Giẻ-Triêng and Xơ Đăng. Their families largely depend on agriculture, leaving parents with little time to take children to school.

“Many students live up to 20km away, but the school still cannot organise boarding or semi-boarding due to infrastructure constraints,” he said.

Against that backdrop, the policy to build new inter-level boarding schools in border communes has brought renewed optimism.

The new Bờ Y inter-level boarding school will be developed by upgrading the existing Đăk Xú school and consolidating students from several nearby schools.

Built on a five-hectare site in Chiên Chiết Village with an estimated investment of VNĐ290 billion ($11.02 million), it is expected to accommodate around 1,600 students, including about 1,000 from ethnic communities.

The school will provide full boarding for approximately 400 students and semi-boarding for another 600.

“Based on the design renderings, the new campus will be modern and spacious. Both teachers and students will be excited to study and work in such an environment. It will significantly improve education quality and students’ living conditions,” Dũng said.

Strengthening education in disadvantaged areas

According to Y Lan, chairwoman of the Bờ Y Commune People’s Committee, the project reflects the Party and State’s strong commitment to education in border and remote areas.

“With this new school, students will have better learning conditions, contributing to improved education quality across the commune," she said.

"They will also benefit more fully from policies for border regions, helping to narrow development gaps."

In Đăk Plô Commune, where landslides and road disruptions frequently occur during the rainy season, the risks associated with daily travel to school are a major concern.

To address this, the province has also approved the construction of a new inter-level boarding school in the commune. The project will build on the existing Đăk Nhoong school while consolidating students from nearby institutions.

Spanning about five hectares in Roóc Nầm Village with an investment of around VNĐ258 billion ($9.8 million), the school is expected to serve nearly 700 students, most of them from ethnic backgrounds.

Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh, chairman of the Đăk Plô Commune People’s Committee, said the locality’s challenging terrain and underdeveloped transport infrastructure make commuting both difficult and dangerous for students.

“Once completed, we will work with parents to arrange boarding for students from grades 3 to 9, while younger pupils will attend semi-boarding," he said.

"This model will allow students to live, study and eat at school, reducing the risks posed by unsafe roads.”

For students like Kiệt, the new schools represent more than just improved facilities, and they offer a safer, more stable path to education, and with it, the promise of a brighter future.

“Being able to stay at school in a semi-boarding arrangement gives us more time to rest and review our lessons under the guidance of our teachers, helping us strive to improve,” Kiệt said. — VNS