The departments of education and training in several localities are working with relevant authorities to provide material support and other incentives for students not to drop out of school after the Tet holidays.
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Financial difficulties and the availability of jobs typically result in an increase in the rate of dropouts and students who attend classes irregularly after the Lunar New Year holiday, according to the Ministry of Education and Training. The rate is particularly high in northern provinces like Dien Bien and Lao Cai.
Most of the dropouts are students between the ninth and 11th grades.
Lieu Thanh Cong, deputy head of the Department of Education and Training in Vinh Long Province, said financial difficulty was one of main reasons that kept students away from school.
They are also influenced by relatives and friends who encourage them to work for enterprises facing a shortage of workers at industrial parks at this time, Cong said.
Many students themselves do not want to return to school and resume studying, and have not yet wanted to return to school in Lunar January because there are many festivals, he added.
Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Nguyen Vinh Hien asked local departments to implement policies for students, especially disadvantaged ones, in order to limit the dropout phenomenon.
Truong Kim Minh, head of the Department of Education and Training in Lao Cai Province, said that it had been co-operating with the local authorities to encourage parents as well as their children to return to school.
Among several incentives being offered are the provision of food, including vegetables, meat and rice, to semi-boarders and extra lessons for students with poor results.
In provinces affected by natural disasters like storms and floods, the department has asked schools to exempt tuition fees and provide books as well as food to disadvantaged students.
The Department of Education and Training in Lai Chau Province also provides scholarships to 6,000 semi-boarders at high schools.
Le Van Quy, head of the Department of Education and Training in Dien Bien Province, said that in the days before Tet, teachers called on each family and requested parents to promise that they would encourage their children to return to schools after the holiday.
The ministry would continue to build semi-boarding and day schools to facilitate the education of ethnic minority students, Hien said.