This is a paradox that is happening at Phong Hai Secondary School (Phong Hai commune, Lao Cai province), causing ethnic minority children not to have the opportunity to study in a better environment.
Standing in the middle of the campus of more than 35,000m2 of campus 2 of Phong Hai Secondary School, Mr. Dang Ba Sy - Principal of the school could not hide his regret.
In front are 3 brightly painted high-rise buildings, a spacious boarding area, all of which have been basically completed since the end of 2025. However, for many months, the dream school of highland students has become stagnant.
According to the investigation of Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, the construction project of Phong Hai Farm Town Secondary School (phase 1) has a total investment of more than 32 billion VND, started at the end of 2024.
After more than a year, the main items have been completed, opening up great expectations for a better learning environment for nearly 900 students, mostly children of ethnic minorities.
However, due to the lack of capital for phase 2 implementation, a series of essential items are still lacking: multi-purpose buildings, subject classrooms, playgrounds and auxiliary systems. Therefore, the project has not yet been put into operation and is at risk of being forgotten.
Mr. Do Giang Nam - Director of the Bao Thang Regional Construction Investment Project Management Board - said that from August 2025, the unit has submitted to the Provincial People's Committee a proposal to allocate about 27 billion VND for phase 2, but so far there has been no official response.
The slow allocation of capital not only disrupts the project but also poses a risk of degradation, causing waste of investment resources," Mr. Nam emphasized.
In contrast to the spacious image of the new school, at campus 1 about 3km away, the learning atmosphere is still confined to a campus of more than 10,000m2, cramped, lacking classrooms and functional areas.
There are currently 873 students studying here, many of whom are from remote villages and hamlets and have to walk for hours to get to school. The boarding model has therefore become a "backing point" to retain students, but living conditions are not yet met.
Degraded, damp level 4 classrooms are where hundreds of students eat, live and study together.
Some rooms have to arrange 2 beds for each student. Winter is cold, summer is hot, and rainy season is humid. Such conditions greatly affect students' learning," teacher Dang Ba Sy shared.
According to Mr. Vu Trung Dung - Chairman of Phong Hai Commune People's Committee, the need to complete and put into use the new facility of Phong Hai Secondary School is extremely urgent.
While the old school is overloaded and degraded, a project worth tens of billions of VND cannot be effective. If phase 2 continues to be slow, the quality of teaching and learning will be directly affected," Mr. Dung said.
Not only stopping at the story of the shortage of classrooms, the delay in putting the project into use also leads to the risk of degradation over time, incurring repair costs, causing budget waste.
We just hope to soon have enough conditions for students to study and live better. If the project continues to be abandoned, the opportunity to improve learning conditions for them will become increasingly distant," the Chairman of Phong Hai Commune People's Committee worried.
