Following administrative mergers, all schools from preschool to lower secondary are now under commune-level management (except high schools). Ahead of the new school year, local authorities are focusing on infrastructure upgrades and making sure conditions are ready for the first day of school.

Vũ Đức Biểu, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Sính Phình commune, said preparations such as repairing classrooms and teaching equipment began in early August. For textbooks, schools publicly announced the book lists for each grade at the end of the 2024-2025 school year so that parents would know exactly which textbooks their children would need. As Sính Phình is a remote commune (zone 3), students receive government support for study expenses, with an allowance of VND 150,000 per month for nine months. Typically, parents either allow schools to deduct part of this subsidy to buy textbooks or purchase them on their own.

Quàng Văn Tin, Principal of Trung Thu Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, noted that the school has nearly 500 students this year, mostly of the Mông ethnic group, all of whom qualify for the state subsidy. “From the end of the previous year, we worked with parents to purchase textbooks and notebooks for students, and most parents entrusted the school to do this. At present, textbooks have already been delivered and sorted,” he said. For first graders, additional learning materials and Vietnamese language support books for ethnic minority students were prepared as early as July.

Given that most students in the uplands come from disadvantaged households, schools carefully calculate whether to purchase new books or reuse old ones, ensuring both affordability and sufficiency.

At Trung Thu Lower Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, Principal Ngô Sơn Ngân explained: “The school has over 400 students. Some students receive old books from siblings, so they don’t need to buy new ones. Others benefit from donations of secondhand books to the school library, which we keep as reserves in case families cannot afford full sets.”

The cost of a standard set of textbooks ranges from VND 300,000 to 400,000; with workbooks, the cost can double to around VND 800,000. For upland families, this is a significant amount. Therefore, Trung Thu Primary Boarding School does not encourage buying workbooks, instead, teachers assign and explain practice exercises directly in class.

As the new school year approaches, textbooks and school supplies remain essential for students returning to class. Despite challenges, schools in Điện Biên’s upland areas are making every effort to prepare facilities, teaching equipment, and textbooks, giving students the best possible start to the year and helping improve the quality of education across the province.