In recent years, alongside efforts to improve teaching and learning quality, Điện Biên Đông Kindergarten in Na Son commune has focused on building a child-centered educational environment through the development of a “children’s clean vegetable garden.” From unused plots of land, neglected corners, and recycled foam boxes, teachers have gradually transformed barren ground into lush green gardens, creating a cool, nature-friendly space.

Pointing to rows of thriving vegetables, Nguyễn Thị Kim Nguyên, Principal of Điện Biên Đông Kindergarten, said all produce grown at the school is mainly used for children’s semi-boarding meals. The vegetables are closely monitored by teachers themselves, who plant and care for them without using chemical pesticides, ensuring food safety and hygiene. This allows the school to take full control of nutritional quality while minimizing the risk of unsafe food, one of the potential causes of school -related illnesses.

Covering more than 1,000 square meters, the garden is often described as a “classroom without walls”. Here, children experience being “little farmers”, pulling weeds, removing pests, and tending plants, which helps develop fine motor skills, foster a love of labor, and raise environmental awareness. Notably, when children enjoy vegetables they have grown themselves, they eat more willingly, helping address picky eating habits and contributing to safe, nutritious, and inspiring meals for preschoolers.

In the 2025-2026 school year, Nậm Pố Semi-Boarding Primary School for Ethnic Minority Students in Mường Nhé commune has a total of 739 students, including 251 semi-boarding students. With a large number of students living and eating at school, the quality of each meal is given heightened attention and strict oversight. The school identifies food safety as a core task, starting with careful selection of food supplies to support students’ comprehensive physical and mental development.

All food ingredients must be fresh and traceable, with low quality frozen products strictly prohibited. Pork and chicken - staples on the menu - are handled with particular care: pork is purchased fresh daily, while chickens are raised on campus and processed according to the menu for each meal, ensuring freshness, safety, and nutritional value. The school also maintains its own supply of clean vegetables, reducing reliance on the market and improving meal quality.

According to Principal Vũ Văn Nguyện, the school assigns five kitchen staff to handle all stages from preparation to cooking. “We strictly follow food input control procedures,” he said. “Ingredients must be fresh, safe, and properly stored. During cooking, hygiene and nutrition are always our top priorities. As a result, our semi-boarding meals are consistently safe, providing a solid foundation for students’ health and learning.”

To protect students’ health, prevent disease, and improve the quality of holistic education, the Department of Education and Training has placed special emphasis on caring for boarding and semi-boarding students, with food safety at the core of its coordinated efforts.

As of December 31, 2025, the provincial education sector comprises 484 schools and centers with 7,356 classes and 208,642 students and learners. Ethnic minority students account for 86.23% of the total. The network of ethnic minority boarding and semi-boarding schools continues to be maintained and expanded to meet the learning and living needs of students in remote and disadvantaged areas.

Currently, the province has nine boarding high schools with 129 classes and 4,511 students, representing 20.55% of total high school enrollment. There are also 136 semi-boarding high schools serving 51,141 semi-boarding students, including 74 primary schools with 27,402 students and 62 lower secondary schools with 23,739 students. With a large number of students eating and living on campus, ensuring meal quality is a consistent, system wide priority.

Educational institutions have focused on selecting food supplies with clear origins, freshness, and suitability to local conditions, while strengthening oversight from procurement and storage to preparation and cooking in collective kitchens. Many schools have also proactively developed clean food sources to improve nutritional quality. Thanks to these comprehensive measures, the living conditions of boarding and semi-boarding students have become increasingly stable and well-organized, with improved care and nutrition that meet food safety standards, helping deliver safe meals, protect students’ health, and prevent disease across the province.