The departments of education and training in
several localities are working with relevant authorities to provide material
support and other incentives for students not to drop out of school after the
Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays.

Financial difficulties and the availability of jobs typically result in an
increase in the rate of dropouts and students who attend classes irregularly
after the Lunar New Year holiday, according to the Ministry of Education and
Training. The rate is particularly high in northern provinces like Dien Bien and
Lao Cai.

Most of
the dropouts are students between the ninth and 11th grades.

Lieu
Thanh Cong, deputy head of the Department of Education and Training in Vinh Long
Province, said financial difficulty was one of main reasons that kept students
away from school.

They are
also influenced by relatives and friends who encourage them to work for
enterprises facing a shortage of workers at industrial parks at this time, Cong
said.

Many
students themselves do not want to return to school and resume studying, and
have not yet wanted to return to school in Lunar January because there are many
festivals, he added.

Deputy
Minister of Education and Training, Nguyen Vinh Hien asked local departments to
implement policies for students, especially disadvantaged ones, in order to
limit the dropout phenomenon.

Truong
Kim Minh, head of the Department of Education and Training in Lao Cai Province,
said that it had been co-operating with the local authorities to encourage
parents as well as their children to return to school.

Among
several incentives being offered are the provision of cooking, including
vegetables, meat and rice, to semi-boarders and extra lessons for students with
poor results.

In
provinces affected by natural disasters like storms and floods, the department
has asked schools to exempt tuition fees and provide books as well as food to
disadvantaged students.

The
Department of Education and Training in Lai Chau Province also provides
scholarships to 6,000 semi-boarders at high schools.

Le Van
Quy, head of the Department of Education and Training in Dien Bien Province,
said that in the days before Tet, teachers called on each family and requested
parents to promise that they would encourage their children to return to schools
after the holiday.

The
ministry would continue to build semi-boarding and day schools to facilitate the
education of ethnic minority students, Hien said.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News