Lau Mi Xa learns online in a tent built on the side of a mountain in Ha Giang Province. Photo tienphong.vn

Lau Mi Xa, 21, a third-year student of Hanoi-based National Academy of Public Administration, like all Vietnamese students, couldn’t return to school because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But it was more difficult for him because his house, located in the middle of the mountains in Sung Trai Commune, Dong Van District, did not have an internet connection.

Like many families in the northern mountainous region, Xa’s family members lived together in a one-storey house, where a table was placed in the middle of the house for both dining and studying. 

“Learning at home can be interrupted at any time due to the unstable 4G network, and frequently affected by other noise,” Lau Mi Xa said.

Xa discovered some flat land on the slopes of the mountains – a prime spot to connect to 4G. He built a wooden shack there to create a shelter.

“I used my smartphone to connect to the 4G network. The signal is stable, the area is quiet, I can concentrate on studying comfortably,” he said.

"The shack is temporary but cosy. It can accommodate 6-7 people."

At the age of 12, he left home to attend provincial boarding school. 

Xa said during the COVID-19 pandemic, this was an ideal place for studying for two to three months. “It has internet, enough light and open space.”

The image of Xa's tent has been shared online, among teachers and friends.

Lecturer Bui Huy Tung at the National Academy of Public Administration, was very happy and proud of his student, saying: "Students with strong determination to learn like Lau Mi Xa, demonstrate the spirit and bravery of Vietnamese students, who overcome any circumstances.”

Praise 

Xa was one of the people praised by Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha in an online briefing of the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on April 7.

They were officials, lecturers and students who have made great efforts in scientific research, useful inventions and online teaching and studying.

He said teachers, education officials and students were volunteering to cook in isolation areas and taking part in many other useful activities across the country, demonstrating the spirit of the education sector. VNS

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