Pham Vu Luan, Minister of Education and Training said at a conference in the Mekong delta province of Dong Thap thousands of students have stopped attending school and we need more social contributions to help these students.

Needy students in the province Vinh Long are given free meals, contributed by the teachers (Photo: SGGP))

Addressing the meeting, Luan pointed out the reasons why students are dropping out of school. He said this was due to the students’ poor academic performance and financial problems in the students’ families.

However, it is difficult to remedy this issue. The academic year 2010-2011 has seen a high percentage of students dropping out of school. That is 0.34% of the primary students, 2.28% percent of junior students and 3.53% of senior students leave school.

The Mekong delta province of Soc Trang, An Giang, Dong Thap, Bac Lieu and Long An have the most dropouts; with 9.35% in Soc Trang, 5.6% in Kien Giang and over 3% in Long An and Dong Thap.

Trieu Minh Duc, a schoolteacher of Hoang Dieu High School in Soc Trang, said teachers have visited the students in their homes, encouraging them to return to study. However, many of them now worked in factories in the Southern provinces of Can Tho, Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City. The parents have informed the teachers, that the children have decided to work in the factories, rather than return to school. 

Minister Luan said that we need more social contributions and changes in education in the attempt to stop the drop out rate from students. The parents and the community at large should not leave this problem for the teachers to solve.

Minister Luan also said, “The departments of Education and Training and the local government authorites need to have more coordination, so that we can create a better teaching environment for our students, encouraging them to attend school.

The provinces have adopted certain strategies to stop students leaving school early. The department of Education and Training in the province An Giang has implemented a movement called ‘one tutors one’. This means that one good academic student will tutor a student that has a poorer performance at school.

Meanwhile, the department of Education and Training in the province Hau Giang called for the contributions of teachers to assist low-income students and their families. Teachers have contributed VND10, 000 to100, 000 dong each to the fund. The department has collected nearly VND200 million in the aid to help disadvantaged students. With this kind of assistance, many students can now stay on at school.

In addition, the Committee party from Hau Giang province has ordered all agencies, organizations and companies to help sponsor low-income students. Over 300 schools have received support from their benefactors. Over VND5 billion (US$250,000) have been raised for low-income students in the academic year 2010-2011.

The Mekong delta province of Dong Thap has also implemented certain strategies so that schools can keep in close contact with the parents of the students. These strategies include informing parents about the progress of the student while at school. Developing and implementing extra school activities in the attempt to persuade students to stay at school. Informing parents of the negative influences that computer games have on students. Finally, explaining to the parents that some students force and coerced students, into ‘playing truancy’.

Furthermore, the province of Soc Trang has constructed houses for low-income students and their families. In the province of Vinh Long, teachers have provided free meals for students whose homes are far away from the schools.

To conclude, these strategies have been implemented in the attempt to decrease the dropout rate from students. However, it requires more support from many individuals and organisation to maintain.

Source: SGGP