Pupils of the Secondary Ethnic Boarding School in Chau Thanh district celebrate the Chol Chnam Thmay Festival 2024. (Photo: sotuphap.soctrang.gov)

The Secondary Ethnic Boarding School in Chau Thanh district impresses visitors with its spacious classrooms and its clean, beautiful school yard. 9th grader Tran Thi Chanh Tha said she has been living and studying here for 4 years. Her family pays no tuition fees.      

"At the beginning of the school year, we’re given all our books, notebooks, and pens. The teachers encourage us to learn and concern themselves with our lives and living conditions,” said Tha.

This year the school has 265 students from grade 6 to grade 9. Most of the students are ethnic Khmer. Although they’re living far from home, the children have devoted teachers. 

The school regularly organizes cultural and sports activities for the students. During the recent Khmer New Year (Chol Chnam Thmay), all the students took part in cultural activities at the nearby Khmer Theravada pagoda. In the evening, the school organized a student performance of Khmer arts.

“I’m confident performing because I know I can sing. I auditioned for the ‘Golden Voice’ award organized by the school and I passed. Now, whenever there is a music program, I  participate,” 6th grader Son Hao Nghi said.

Cultural and art programs have helped the students learn about their group’s culture, customs, folk games, songs, and dances, said Rector Do Van Noi.

“Our activities contribute to preserving and promoting the cultures of ethnic groups like the Khmer. We organize sports and cultural events to help the students get comfortable and study better,” Noi said.

Since it achieved the national standards in 2016, Chau Thanh district’s Secondary Ethnic Boarding School has constantly invested in repairing and updating its educational facilities. Many extra-curricular activities are offered. Recently, the school built a swimming pool and bought some Khmer musical instruments for the children to learn and play. This year it spent 320,000 USD repairing the dormitory, the computer room, and other facilities.

In the previous school year, more than 70% of the pupils achieved good academic results.

“We have good teachers, a good staff, and good facilities. We pay close attention to the pupils’ study and daily life, particularly the 6th graders who just started here and are living away from their family for the first time. They need the compassion and support of the teachers and the staff while they’re getting used to the boarding school environment,” Rector Noi said.

Ethnic boarding schools play an important role in training quality human resources for ethnic minority and mountainous areas. Soc Trang province now has more than 3,300 ethnic minority students attending 10 boarding schools.