In one place, teachers have to 'fight' for students with... bamboo sticks.

That is the Que village school, about 50 km from Tra Bui commune Primary and Secondary School. This school is located at the foot of Ca Dam mountain range (1,400 m above sea level).

Que village school has 3 teachers and 1 male teacher, teaching 47 students from grades 1 to 4. Entering a classroom of teacher Vo Thi Nhi, we witnessed students shivering in the winter cold.

The way to class of Que village students

Ms. Nhi said that due to the difficult life, the students' parents are busy working in the fields and forests, so they pay little attention to their children's education. When the children go to school, they leave everything to the teachers. Group 8 of Que village is the farthest away, so every time the rainy and cold season comes, the students miss school and have no way to call their parents because the phone signal is sometimes there and sometimes not.

The Kor people in Que village are poor, and few people go down to the mountains to work for money. Therefore, at the beginning of the school year, teachers here spend their own money to buy books and school supplies, and students just have to come to class. Many days in class, hearing the students cry: "Teacher, we're out of notebooks, teacher, we're out of ink...", the teachers can only shed tears.

Teaching in Que village, the teachers were most afraid of the Lunar New Year and the bamboo season because students often missed school. Teachers had to take turns going to each house to meet parents, and during the day the Kor people went to the fields and forests, so the hardest part was going at night to "fight" for students and bamboo, because cutting bamboo brought money, but learning to read and write did not.

It's cold but the children are thinly dressed.

In recent years, people have become more aware of their children's education. In addition, students are supported by the government, which has encouraged them to go to school. However, the situation of absenteeism from time to time still occurs.

In the highlands, the sky gets colder as it gets darker. During this season, teaching has to stop around 3pm because fog covers everywhere. When the last student left, teacher Nhi followed the fog back to her 4-year-old child in Di Lang Town, Son Ha District (Quang Ngai).

Ms. Nhi said that her husband lives in Binh Chanh commune, Binh Son district (Quang Ngai), and she and her child had to rent a house in Di Lang town to stay temporarily. Last year, she could not send her child to daycare, so Ms. Nhi had to take her child to Que village school. "It's so cold here, I can't stand it, let alone the children," Ms. Nhi said.

This year, I was able to send my child to daycare, but because I had to leave early, when I took my child to class, the kindergarten gate was not open yet, so Ms. Nhi had to leave her child with a water seller near the school and then drive her motorbike to the Que village school to be on time for class.

In the cold season, seeing her child's eyes following her, her heart ached but she had to turn around and wander. Her husband worked as a worker in Dung Quat Economic Zone (Binh Son District, Quang Ngai); therefore, the whole year, only in the summer and Tet, the whole family could reunite for a long time.

We went to the teachers' temporary accommodation here. The house was very old, with very simple furniture. The two girls put their beds next to each other. After class, the teachers took turns cooking and cleaning.

Que village school at the foot of Ca Dam mountain

Mr. Ho Ngoc Ninh, Vice Chairman of Tra Bui Commune People's Committee, said that Que village has 84 households with more than 350 people, all of whom are Kor ethnic people, mainly living by growing upland rice and cassava, with no stable income, so nearly 100% are poor households.

According to Mr. Ninh, the cold weather in this area makes production and raising livestock and poultry difficult. Trees here, even acacia trees, grow slower than in other areas. Due to the difficulties, parents pay less attention to their children's education. "In recent years, people's awareness of education has gradually improved, all thanks to the teachers stationed here," said Mr. Ninh.

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