The Department of Student Activities
has asked teachers to keep a close watch on students in danger of dropping out
of school after Lunar New Year.

Every
year as many as 30 per cent of students across the country drop out of school at
this time, the start of Spring, according to Nguyen Dinh Manh, deputy director
of the Ministry of Education and Training’s Department of Students Activities.

“Our
policy is not to let students leave schools because they lack money or books,”
he said.

Schools
with poor students must report to district departments so that support can be
given in the form of school fees, books or free lunches.

“If
district authorities do not have enough funds, they can ask the Department of
Students Activities for support,” said Manh, adding that People’s Committees in
wards had the responsibility of getting students back to class.

“If
students get bad marks in the first term, school managing boards can consider
letting them do the test again,” he said.

Manh
added that local authorities could also arrange for some students to continue
their studies in vocational training schools.

Educational experts say that the number of students dropping out of schools
generally increases after Lunar New Year.

By the
end of November, more than 7 per cent of students nationwide had already left.

The
provinces with most dropouts include Long An, An Giang, Dong Thap, Soc Trang and
Bac Lieu.

“In the
North, Thanh Hoa Province has the highest number of students dropping out of
schools,” said Manh.

Last
school year more than 1,000 of students in the province left after Tet.

Nguyen
Tai Hiep, principal of the Cam Ba Thuoc High School in Thuong Xuan District in
Thanh Hoa, said that last school year, 130 students in his school dropped out
after the first term.

“They
were from poor, remote communes and found it beyond their means to rent
accommodation,” he said.

Hiep
said some students also found it difficult to learn – 9th, 10th or 11th graders
who wanted to find jobs and earn money to help their parents.

“This
school year, families in central provinces had little money after the storms
destroyed their livelihoods and found it difficult to pay for schooling, he
said.”

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News