At a small house in Ia Puch Border Commune, seventh-grader Nguyen Ngoc Minh Tam packs her books, clothes, and personal belongings into a bag before leaving for boarding school. She will stay at school during the week and return home only for weekends. The new school year is bringing with it a brand-new learning environment, with better facilities for studying, training, and recreation.
Tam says she’s very excited: “I’m very excited because I’ll be able to learn more skills and subjects and have more time to study. If I don’t understand a lesson, I can ask my teacher for help immediately instead of having to wait until the next day. In addition to studying, we can visit the library to read books or play sports. It will be really enjoyable.”
This academic year the Ia Puch Primary and Lower-Secondary Boarding School will have 752 students in 23 classes.
Teacher Truong Duy Hong says: “Homeroom teachers have explained to parents how the semi-boarding and boarding arrangements would work. Most parents have learned that the new school will be much larger and better equipped for recreation, meals, and sleeping.”
The 7 new schools in Gia Lai’s western border communes have enrolled more than 6,800 students, most of whom will study under boarding or semi-boarding arrangements.
Pham Van Nam, Director of the provincial Department of Education and Training, said: “These schools are very important as they give students better learning conditions. They will develop high-quality human resources who, in the future, can contribute to local development.”
With the start of the new school year, students in Gia Lai’s western border area will enter an integrated educational environment where they can live, study, and develop together.
