>> River threatens children\'s education
Teachers in Ayun Commune, Gia Lai Province, show love and sacrifice for their beloved students although their own lives are filled with challenges.
Students here are living in very needy conditions. They do not have enough money to buy school supplies, clothes or shoes. Their meals cost just VND1,500 ($0.1).
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| Preschool teachers of the Ayun Commune |
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| Pupils do not have shoes to wear to school |
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| Some just have torn sandals |
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| They use 3 bricks as a cooking oven |
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| Each meal for pupils is simple like this |
Preschool teachers in Ayun Commune are all females and have to teach at villages which are very far from their home. They even sacrifice their youth and family happiness for their job. Many of their students do not want to go to school and do not know the national language. Most only know their ethnic language.
There are 145 preschool students and 7 young teachers. They have to travel very far to get to the village then carry some of the children on their back to get to school.
Luong Thi Tho, Principal of a preschool, said that teachers had to work 8 hours per day and travel dozens of kilometres between preschools in villages to teach them. However, they do not benefit from any allowance.
For example, if a teacher is on maternity leave for 4 months, another teacher will handle her job during this time but is not paid anything for the extra working hours.
Meanwhile, although wages of these teachers are very modest, they have to spend their own money on buying school supplies for their pupils so that they agree to go to school. Their parents are too poor to afford these items.
“It’s very difficult for us when pupils of primary and secondary schools are given gifts and clothes, my preschool pupils do not have, then they asked us why they were not given these things,” shared Tho.
Additionally, they have to work at schools for entire days so they do not have enough time to take care of their own children and family. Many of the teachers often quarrel with their husbands. However, with their love towards disadvantaged pupils, they are determined to complete their duties everyday.
Teacher Nguyen Thi Tuyet, who has two children, said that it’s very hard for her now because she can’t find time to look after her small children and she often quarrels with her husband.
“I stayed at the school all day during the time when my child was just 4 months old. When my child was 1, I had to take him to my school. I looked after him while I was teaching classes. Now, I have to spend VND800,000 ($41) per month on getting him admitted to a kindergarten. Our wages are very low so I often quarrel with my husband about that also,” shared Tuyet.
Tho added, “ In the past, I requested that the Department of Education & Training of Chu Se District provide allowances for these female teachers. However, they told me that they did not have enough power to do that.”
Kai Thi Thanh Thuy, 24, an unmarried teacher joked, “There are very few people working here so I still cannot find a boyfriend.”
Others added, “We do not benefit from any allowance or any extra incentives for extra working hours. Teachers here have to not only teach but also take care of many other duties. Now we should follow 3 “No’s”: No pregnancy, No petrol allowance and No boyfriend.”
Only VND1,500 ($0.1) for each meal
I have been to many places but I have never seen any which is as impoverished as Ayun Commune. Over half of the total families here are living in poverty conditions. I have also never found any place where the commune officers and teachers have so much love towards needy pupils.
Duong Manh Man, Chairman of Ayun Commune, along with teachers here, are trying their best to develop education in this commune and to bring it to a higher level by opening courses for training high school students so that in the future the commune may have students who can graduate from high schools. Furthermore, they can train the them to become officers who can then work here.
However, challenges of the education development in this commune are abundant. When we saw pupils here going to school in very simple clothes, some even do not have shoes to wear; we understand why these pupils are concerned about their livings more than their education.
Teachers here manage to support 133 pupils who are living away from their school by providing them two meals per day so that they will not leave school.
Each of them is funded VND3,000 ($0.2) per day for food by the Department of Education & Training of the district.
They stay at school for a whole week except Saturdays and Sundays. Chairman of the Ayun Commune had to ask for help so that the school can have enough money to buy rice for them every month.
Every day, teachers have to go and find vegetables for them and pupils go to the forest to find wood for cooking.
Tuoi, a cook of Phan Dang Luu Secondary School, said it’s very difficult to prepare two meals for 30 pupils with only VND90,000 ($4.6) but each meal needs to have vegetable with meat or fish. However, she tries to manage to meet this requirement. “I can afford to buy meat sold at very cheap prices and small fish for them,” added Tuoi.
“I feel very sorry when they have only VND3,000 per day for food,” said Pham Hoang Tung, Vice Principle of the Phan Dang Luu Secondary School.
Teacher Dao Tien Sinh said, “Pupils here do not have to pay anything for their schools. Thanks to the district’s support, they can have two meals at school so they do not leave school. No matter how hard it is, we will have to try to provide them with enough food so they can have energy for schooling.”
“Under Decree 112, each disadvantaged pupil will benefit from some allowance however, the allowance for the 2009 school year has not been sent to them yet. Thus, functional authorities should consider the change in delivery time of this allowance from yearly to monthly so that needy pupils here can have some money to cover their monthly expenditures,” added Sinh.