Accelerating Construction of Boarding Schools in Border Communes
Vietnam is accelerating the construction of boarding schools in border areas to improve access to education for ethnic minority communities and residents in remote areas.
On May 15, Hoang Minh Son, member of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Education and Training, chaired an online meeting with ministries, central agencies, and local authorities regarding the construction of combined primary and lower secondary boarding schools in land border communes.
At the Lam Dong venue, Nguyen Minh, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, attended the online meeting and reported on the province’s implementation progress.
Nationwide Push for Border Boarding Schools
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, following the Politburo’s directive, the country has so far launched the construction of 108 schools in 19 border provinces and cities. Of these, 100 schools belong to the 2025 pilot phase, while eight schools are funded through local budgets and socialized investment sources.
In 2026, an additional 121 schools will continue to be developed across 17 provinces and cities, with total investment demand estimated at more than VND 30.128 trillion.
Reports at the conference showed that localities are focusing on accelerating construction progress, site clearance, and investment procedures. To date, 99 out of 100 projects in Phase 1 have basically completed land clearance work, while 25 schools have finished structural construction and moved into the finishing stage.
Lam Dong Advances Key School Projects
In Lam Dong Province, Vice Chairman Nguyen Minh said the province is directing relevant agencies to accelerate investment preparations, land clearance, and resource allocation to ensure projects stay on schedule.
The province is currently building the Quang Truc Combined Primary and Lower Secondary Boarding School and the Thuan An Combined Primary and Lower Secondary Boarding School.
For Phase 2, Lam Dong will continue investing in the Tuy Duc Combined Primary and Lower Secondary Boarding School. The project was approved on March 15, 2026, with a total investment of VND 225.94 billion, and construction officially began on March 19, 2026.
Regarding progress, the project investor has coordinated with local authorities and related agencies to encourage residents to hand over land for construction. Site inventory work has been completed, while land measurement, map adjustments, land subdivision, and land valuation procedures are being finalized for appraisal. Ground leveling work for the school buildings is currently underway.
Addressing Challenges in Remote Areas
At the conference, representatives from ministries, sectors, and localities also raised several challenges related to land clearance, shortages of construction materials, and a lack of workers in remote and mountainous areas. They proposed that the Government and relevant ministries continue supporting funding, special mechanisms, and legal guidance to ensure projects are completed before the new academic year.
Concluding the conference, Minister Hoang Minh Son emphasized that this is an important political task aimed at improving education quality and creating better learning conditions for students in border and ethnic minority areas.
The Minister requested local authorities to continue strictly implementing the principle of “six clear responsibilities,” strengthen accountability among leaders, promptly resolve obstacles, ensure construction quality and progress, and put the schools into effective operation as soon as possible.