Completion of 100 boarding schools is to be ensured before August 30. Pictured is the Si Pa Phìn Commune Primary and Lower Secondary boarding school, built in Nậm Chim 1 village, Si Pa Phìn Commune, Điện Biên Province. Photo laodong.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Government has ordered all 100 pilot multi-level boarding schools along the land border to be completed and operational before August 30, 2026, amid warnings that construction progress in many localities remains dangerously slow.

Deputy Prime Minister Lê Tiến Châu signed Dispatch No. 42/CĐ-TTg, dated May 23, 2026, on behalf of the Prime Minister, directing a push to accelerate construction of the combined primary and lower secondary boarding schools in land border communes.

The dispatch acknowledged that the new model carries high requirements for schedule, quality and effectiveness, but noted that a number of localities continue to face serious difficulties. Investment preparation, site clearance and the sourcing of construction materials remain problematic, and total investment costs for many projects have risen significantly above initial estimates. Some structures are still only at the foundation or first-floor stage, and certain projects face a high risk of missing the Politburo's deadline.

The Ministry of Education and Training is required to take the lead, working with relevant ministries, agencies and localities, to provide urgent guidance on enrolment, boarding and semi-boarding admissions, teacher assignments, management staffing, and all other preparations needed for schools to begin operating after August 30. The ministry must also draw up post-handover organisational and operational plans.

Working with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Training will also study and issue regulations on organisational structures and additional staffing quotas for support and service positions, with particular attention to arrangements for the care, safety and management of pupils in Grades 1, 2 and 3 at border boarding schools.

The Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs are to work closely with the Ministry of Education and Training to address border security difficulties and maintain order and safety at construction sites. They are directed to have armed forces in the area actively contribute labour, working days, machinery and equipment to help localities speed up construction, and to provide guidance on organisational structures and staffing, particularly in areas of extreme hardship.

Provincial and municipal Party secretaries have been called on, and chairpersons of People's Committees in land border provinces and cities required, to take direct personal responsibility before the Politburo, the Government and the Prime Minister for the schedule, quality, total investment and effective use of the completed facilities, and to prevent any losses or waste linked to the projects.

Local leaders are to mobilise the entire political system, concentrate resources to the maximum degree, direct investors to maintain a close on-site presence, and urge contractors to take full advantage of favourable weather conditions. They must deploy the maximum available labour, machinery and equipment, follow a strict critical-path schedule, and draw up daily and weekly progress plans for each project.

The dispatch calls for a "100-day and night peak campaign" to ensure all 100 pilot schools are finished as planned before August 30, 2026.

Local authorities must also urgently finalise handover plans covering the facilities, the transfer and disposal of land and property assets, and old teaching materials, ensuring economical and effective use of resources.

Once completed and handed over, schools must begin operating and teaching immediately. The dispatch explicitly prohibits any situation of "schools waiting for equipment" or "schools waiting for teachers". — VNS