Entering the 2026 - 2027 school year, educational institutions across Điện Biên province have intensified management, strictly overseeing food procurement sources, culinary processing procedures, and dietary portion quality to ensure semi-boarding meal safety for pupils.

At Pu Nhi Ethnic Boarding Secondary School in Pu Nhi commune, the 2026 - 2027 school year counts 940 students, of whom 784 are registered for semi-boarding meals. Given that most pupils reside far from the school, organizing semi-boarding dining and accommodations provides favorable learning conditions, curbs travel times, and sustains pupils’ health throughout the school day.

The school currently organizes dietary rations tailored to different boarding groups. The meal allowance for students having three meals a day is VND 42,000, while for those taking two meals it is VND 34,000. From formulating menus and selecting ingredients to food preparation and portion distribution, every step receives close scrutiny from the school to ensure nutrition and food hygiene safety.

According to Hoàng Quốc Huy, Principal of Pu Nhi Ethnic Boarding Secondary School, the school identifies food safety as a paramount, ongoing requirement in semi-boarding management. Staff directly engaged in food preparation are carefully recruited, participate in training courses, and hold food hygiene and safety certificates. Ingredients imported into the school must possess clear origins and provenance, undergoing rigorous inspection before processing.

Alongside food source control, the school strictly implements a unidirectional kitchen workflow. Reception, preliminary preparation, cooking, and portion distribution areas are arranged sequentially across distinct stages, curbing risks of cross-contamination. Following each cooking shift, the kitchen area is cleaned and sanitized; food trays and utensils are washed, dried, and stored in well-ventilated spaces.

Maintaining hygiene regulations within the semi-boarding kitchen is bound to the individual responsibilities of each cadre and staff member. From personnel receiving provisions, pre-processing, and cooking staff to those serving food, all must comply with regulations on personal hygiene, protective gear, and kitchen cleanliness. Through this, every phase in organizing semi-boarding meals for students is stringently controlled.

In Sam Mứn commune, semi-boarding meal arrangements are deployed across multiple educational tiers. For the 2026 - 2027 academic year, four schools in the commune organize semi-boarding dining: Sam Mứn Kindergarten, Sam Mứn Ethnic Boarding Primary School, Sam Mứn Secondary School, and Sam Mứn Boarding Primary and Secondary School. The total volume of pupils taking semi-boarding meals across these institutions stands at 2,130 children.

With a substantial student population, safeguarding food safety is defined by the schools as a regular mandate. From the very beginning of the school term, the Sam Mứn commune People’s Committee established an inspection team to strengthen oversight over semi-boarding meal organization across campuses. Alongside scheduled inspections, the delegation conducts surprise checks on food reception, cooking processes, and student meal delivery, while collecting food samples for quality testing when deemed necessary.

This approach elevates accountability among school boards and personnel directly preparing and supplying food. Schools proactively review kitchen workflows, equipment sanitation, food processing spaces, food preservation practices, and regulatory sample retention.

Phạm Văn Tuân, Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Division of Sam Mứn commune, stated that from the beginning of the school year, the commune formulated a plan and set up an inspection team regarding food safety assurance. Through inspections, the team reminds schools to strictly maintain unidirectional kitchen workflows, sanitize preparation quarters and cooking utensils, and properly execute food safety regulations. When necessary, the inspection team collects food samples to oversee quality.

Realities of semi-boarding operations across localities indicate that coordination among schools, local authorities, and parents is creating an additional layer of oversight over student meals. Across numerous schools, parents have participated in surprise inspection teams, directly observing meal preparation and dietary portions provided to their children. This offers a foundation for parents to monitor meal quality while helping schools receive constructive feedback to rectify existing shortcomings promptly.

Quàng Thị Thời, Head of the Parents’ Association of Branch Campus 1 under Thanh An Kindergarten, stated that parental participation in meal inspections provides families with greater peace of mind when sending their children to school. Through physical inspections, parents have the opportunity to grasp food sources, culinary methods, and children’s nutritional rations clearly.

For students in highland and ethnic minority areas, semi-boarding meals also contribute to maintaining enrollment rates, creating conditions for children to dedicate more time to studies and communal activities. Consequently, alongside elevating educational quality, safeguarding nutrition and food safety in schools represents an imperative that must be maintained consistently.

As the new academic year commences, the volume of semi-boarding students across provincial schools remains high. Stringent control spanning food supply sources, cooking procedures, and individual portion quality, coupled with supervisory participation from local administrations and parents, contributes to establishing a secure semi-boarding environment where every meal delivered to students is nutritionally balanced and hygienically safe.