LookAtVietnam – Thousands of students in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta are quitting school because of poverty and bad transportation.

Every school and commune had taken measures to curb drop-out rates, with encouragement funds, charity funds or negotiations with boat owners to reduce boat fees for students.

Bach Van Dinh, a resident in Ca Mau Province, had to move to Binh Duong Province to earn a living, taking with him his wife and two children, one in grade three and one in grade seven.

“Life is getting harder for us. We had to leave to make ends meet,” he said.

Many schools in Bac Lieu Province are also suffering from the same problem.

More than 30 students from Le Van Dau High School in Bac Lieu Province dropped out after the end of the first term of the 2008 academic year. Thirteen more quit after the Tet holidays.

Pham Dang Khoa, principal of the school said parents took their children with them when they sought employment outside the province.

“The possibility of persuading them to come back to school is therefore really hard,” said Khoa.

“Transportation is also a big problem,” said Bui Trong Khanh, principal of Ninh Thanh Loi High School in Bac Lieu Province.

Another survey carried out by Ca Mau Province’s Department of Education and Training last month revealed that 15.35 per cent of the province’s students had to travel to school by boat. Of the drop-outs, 392 out of 2,400 students said they couldn’t afford the boat fares.

On average, primary and secondary school students in the province have to travel about 4km to get to school: students at Phan Ngoc Hien High School have to travel 15km via river and canal, those at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School travel 13.5km and Ngoc Hien High School, 12km.

The students all have to wake up really early in the morning and don’t get home until very late, said Trieu Y Loan, a teacher at Long Dien Tien Secondary School in Bac Lieu Province.

“Many students who have classes in the afternoon have to leave home at 8am to be in time for school,” she said.

Students at Dam Doi, U Minh districts have to spend about VND156,000 (US$8.9) each month to pay for boat tickets. Those in Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School have to pay VND468,000 ($26.7) and pupils at Ngoc Hien High School pay VND450,000 ($25.7).

According to Thai Van Long, director of the province’s Department of Education and Training, around 9,300 students struggle to pay boat fares.

State support

During his visit to the province last month, President Nguyen Minh Triet promised that he, together with provincial authorities, would call on enterprises and other benefactors to help poor children keep up their school studies.

Every school and commune had taken measures to curb drop-out rates, with encouragement funds, charity funds or negotiations with boat owners to reduce boat fees for students. However, these were not far-reaching measures, Thai Van Long said.

The Department of Education and Training had asked local authorities to give out a general solution for the problem, such as improving transportation infrastructure by making roads or building bridges, he said.

The provincial authorities considered the proposal and would ask relevant sectors to brainstorm ideas.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News