18-student school on a remote island: Where dreams go on.

(Wesine) - With only 18 students and 6 teachers, the children in this place still enjoy happiness and pursue dreams for a better education future. 

A hidden village in Cat Ba Island

The ancient fishing village of Viet Hai is a small village nestled deep within Cat Ba National Park, located in Cat Hai, Hai Phong. Compared to other fishing villages, this area is relatively small, covering only about 141 hectares with 80 households and approximately 300 residents. 

To reach Viet Hai, visitors can travel by land or sea. By land, tourists can embark on a 12 km trek from Cat Ba through the forest to reach Viet Hai. Alternatively, choosing the sea route involves traveling by sea to Beo ferry terminal and then renting a canoe, tender, or yacht would take tourists about 1,5 hours to reach Viet Hai fishing village.

Upon arriving in the Viet Hai fishing village, the distance from the ferry terminal to Viet Hai Primary School is approximately 5km. Viet Hai Primary School, which was formerly a branch of Nguyen Van Troi Primary School, is located in Hamlet 1, Viet Hai commune, Cat Hai district, Hai Phong City. In 2000, according to Decision No. 634/QD-UB issued by the People's Committee of Cat Hai district, Viet Hai Primary School was established, offering both kindergarten and primary school education.

The image of Viet Hai Primary School. Photo by Wesine/Linh Dan.

Route to Viet Hai village. Video by Wesine/Minh Tam.

Difficulties in education provision

There are a total of 18 students in Viet Hai Primary School, which is only nearly one-third of those in a normal class on the mainland. In particular, according to Mrs. Hoang Thi Thu, the principal of the school, in the school year of 2023-2024, there is no 3rd grade due to not reaching the required number of 3 students per class. Accordingly, a 3rd-grade student on the island had to move to Cat Ba Town, to go to school.

With 8 teachers, including preschool, primary school teachers, and the principal, the teaching and learning process at Viet Hai Primary School faces certain challenges. 

The whole school has only 2 elementary teachers in charge of 4 grades, leading to a heavy workload in researching and preparing lessons before class. Besides, there are no specialized teachers for subjects such as Physical Education, Music, Arts, etc. Therefore, the two teachers also have to teach those subjects while they are not equipped with a full range of professional knowledge. For English and Information Technology, the school also has to invite teachers from the central town to conduct online classes for students.

A teacher and students during class. Photo by Wesine/Linh Dan.

Heading for a better future

Despite challenges in both geographical location and human resources in the education sector, the relentless efforts of teachers as well as parents in Viet Hai village are admirable.

Regardless of the low number of students, teachers in Viet Hai Primary School always strive to employ various teaching methods, including group activities, so that when students reach 6th grade, they can keep up not only with academic knowledge but also with the teaching formats used in larger schools, shared Mrs. Thu. Mrs. Le, a teacher at Viet Hai Primary School also shared, “It is the love for children and burning passion for teaching that keeps me attached to this place, despite how challenging it is.”

Viet Hai village not only witnesses the effort of dedicated teachers but also nurtures dreams among parents for a better and brighter future.

"I made a lot of effort to help my children learn English online. I also teach them to read books, have morning reading sessions, engage in physical exercises, and even have them exposed to subjects like chess”, shared Mrs. Luyen.

Mrs. Luyen with her daughter. Photo by Wesine/Linh Dan.

When asked about the educational exposure of children in Viet Hai village, she expressed her heartfelt thoughts and shared concerns about the current conditions not facilitating their potential to be fully maximized. “Any organization that can provide some assistance to this remote island district would be greatly appreciated.”, Mrs. Luyen sincerely expressed.

Hearts of Viet Hai Primary School. Video by Wesine/Phuong Hue.

For dreams to fly high

When asked about their future career dreams, the students’ innocent eyes became sparkling. Quan, a 5th-grade student at Viet Hai Primary School, said that when he grew up, he wanted to become a diver to explore the deep ocean. Bich, Quan's classmate, shared that she wanted to become an English teacher because she loved learning foreign languages. 

Quan - a 5th-grade student at Viet Hai Primary School. Photo by Wesine/Linh Dan.

There are children who have other dreams, of becoming a baker or a store owner, simply because those jobs are closely related to their daily lives when they have relatives who used to do it. These dreams are filled with their strong belief and desire for the bright future ahead.

Students of Viet Hai Primary School. Photo by Wesine/Linh Dan.

For children's dreams to develop, the prerequisite is a holistic education, ensuring standard quality. However, due to limited conditions and means in the island district, children's access to education is not easy. This partly causes certain difficulties in nurturing their dreams to fly higher and farther. That is also the expectation of parents and educators, who wish for children to have better educational access, to bring them to a brighter future.

With an age of more than 100 years, Viet Hai is an ancient fishing village located deep in Cat Ba National Park. Viet Hai is one of the few villages that still retains its pristine natural beauty with charming landscapes, and rich ecosystems including sea and forest, creating majestic and poetic sceneries. According to local people, in the past, fishermen fishing on Lan Ha Bay encountered a big storm, so they took refuge on this island, suddenly discovered a source of freshwater and settled there. From then on, Viet Hai village was formed until today. 

Wesine.

If you are a Viet Hai villager, where would you want your child to study?

• Study on Viet Hai village
• Go to Cat Ba for education
• Go to a big city for education