Every day, from early morning, many parents in Ca Mau 'go to school' with their children on ferries with the hope that their children will have a better future.
Ngoc Hien is the most remote area of Ca Mau province, with 27 kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools. Here, going to school is not only a journey for students but also a difficult story for parents. With the crisscrossing terrain of rivers, the trips by boat have become a daily habit, bringing with them both hardship and anxiety for parents.
At Dat Mui Primary School 2 (Dat Mui Commune, Ngoc Hien District), parents gathered in large numbers around the shops near the school waiting to pick up their children. The school currently has 350 students, of which about 80% have to go to school by boat.
Parents in Ngoc Hien District (Ca Mau) wait to pick up their children from school by boat.
Ms. Huynh Bich Ngoc has to wake up at 4 am to prepare her daughter for school. Her house is located deep in a small canal, and to get to school, she has to cross many large and small rivers. "Every day, I ask my husband to take me to the big river, then take a boat to school, which costs about 60,000 VND per day for the two of us, not including food. The house is far away and in many ways, so I have to stay at school until the afternoon to pick up my child," Ms. Ngoc confided.
Mr. Tran Van Dung (73 years old, residing in Cai Xep hamlet, Dat Mui commune) also has to spend 30,000 VND for ferry fares every day, going in the morning and returning in the afternoon for his grandson to study in grade 5, not including lunch. "Traffic here is difficult, so studying is difficult, some children from poor families have to drop out of school," Mr. Dung shared.
At Tan An Tay Primary School 1 (Tan An Tay Commune), Ms. Tran Thi Thuy (32 years old, in Tan An Tay Commune) said: "My house is more than 10 km from the school, and there is no road, so I have to take my 2 children to school by boat. If I choose to stay and wait to pick up my children in the afternoon, I only need 2 liters of gasoline for the 2 trips back and forth; but if I choose to go home at noon, it will cost double. To save money, I stay at a relative's house at noon."
Ms. Dam Thu Ha, Vice Principal of Tan An Tay Primary School 1, said that 100 out of 321 students currently go to school by water. Although the locality has made many efforts, the roads do not cover the entire area, making it even more difficult for students to get to school.
According to Ms. Ha, going to school by water is more difficult than by road because it is expensive, time-consuming and dangerous. "It is also common for children to be late to class due to mechanical problems in the boat. During low tide, I feel heartbroken when I see children climbing up and down the boat using a makeshift wooden bridge," Ms. Ha shared.
Students of Ngoc Hien District (Ca Mau) go to school by boat
According to the Department of Education and Training of Ngoc Hien District, the whole district has more than 1,600 students going to school by water. Recently, schools have actively mobilized benefactors and local authorities to support difficult cases.
Mr. Le Xuan Hung, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Ngoc Hien District, recommended that the locality continue to have policies to support ferry fares for students in difficult circumstances; pay attention to building roads in remote areas so that students can go to school conveniently.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/di-hoc-cung-con-tren-nhung-chuyen-do-185241111193143288.htm
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