From spacious boarding schools built amid the mountains and forests of border areas to textbooks, new uniformss, nutritious meals and cartons of school milk delivered directly to students, every school day is now a joyful one for children in ethnic minority, mountainous and border areas of Quang Ninh City. Through a comprehensive system of specific education policies, Quang Ninh is helping children in disadvantaged areas pursue their dreams by giving them better conditions to learn and grow, ensuring that no one is left behind on the journey towards the future.
Every school day is a joyful day
This year, Chiu Thanh Hang, a Dao girl from Pac Lieng village in Binh Lieu commune, entered Grade 1. Born into a family with four children, with difficult economic circumstances and a home far from the centre where travelling is not easy, Hang nevertheless began her first school year fully equipped, with essential learning items supported by the city and provided by the school. Textbooks, uniforms, personal items and school supplies are provided free of charge. She is also exempt from tuition fees, receives meal support and is provided with free school milk. The 2026–2027 school year is particularly memorable for Hang as her school, Binh Lieu Primary and Secondary Boarding School, was inaugurated just in time for the new school year.
Hang currently receives VND 450,000 in meal support and 8kg of rice each month, while her two older siblings at boarding school each receive VND 1.17 million and 15kg of rice per month. Each school year, the children also receive VND 2.05 million to purchase two sets of clothing and school supplies, while Hang’s older siblings are each provided, at every level of education, with blankets, mosquito nets and personal items worth VND 2.05 million. These practical forms of support are helping improve their living, boarding and learning conditions, enabling Hang and her siblings to attend school with greater peace of mind and stay engaged with their studies.
Expanding learning opportunities for students in disadvantaged areas
In addition to Government policies providing boarding students with support for meals, rice, clothing and school supplies, children in Quang Ninh’s ethnic minority, mountainous, border and island areas also benefit from the city’s own policies, including tuition fee exemptions, free textbooks and school milk.
Notably, Quang Ninh has also expanded both the areas and groups eligible for support so that no student is left behind in the development process. Children in 24 ethnic minority, mountainous and island communes, 49 villages in eight other communes, and children covered by preferential policies receive lunch support of VND 360,000 per month for preschool children and VND 400,000 per month for primary school students. Schools also receive funding for kitchen staff, electricity and water used to provide meals. Each school year, around 36,900 children and students at 116 educational institutions benefit from these policies, with total funding of approximately VND 188.1 billion.
Along with meal support, students in ethnic minority, mountainous and island areas who live far from school or in areas with difficult transport conditions are supported with centralised boarding arrangements or daily transport to and from school. Those staying and eating at school receive VND 936,000 per student per month. In areas where centralised boarding cannot be organised, transport support ranges from a maximum of VND 510,000 to VND 730,000 per student per month, depending on the level of education. Total funding for the policy is around VND 92 billion per school year.
Quang Ninh is among the localities that have paid particular attention to developing and issuing specific mechanisms and policies in education, with strong support for students in ethnic minority, mountainous, border and island areas and other vulnerable groups. The city has so far issued 10 specific education policies, providing support for more than 539,000 students and teachers, with total funding of nearly VND 800 billion each school year. The policy system covers preschool, general education, continuing education, vocational education and higher education, while also supporting spearhead education and talent development.
Alongside policies supporting learners, investment in school infrastructure continues to be prioritised, particularly in border areas. Five border boarding schools and one combined primary and lower secondary school in a border area have received investment of more than VND 377 billion; 91.8% of schools have met national standards; and nearly 12,000 air conditioners have been installed at public schools, providing a stronger foundation for improving education quality across the city. Students are also transported to and from school free of charge by electric buses.
Across Quang Ninh City’s highland, mountainous, border and island villages, the joy of going to school is increasingly present in students’ daily lives. They are learning and being cared for in steadily improving conditions, while their parents can work and produce with greater peace of mind as they build their livelihoods. Through these simple but meaningful changes, education policies are gradually becoming a source of support, giving children in mountainous, border, island and ethnic minority areas more opportunities to learn, progress and broaden their future prospects.
