In the rocky highlands, though, teachers still strive to provide education to the children of ethnic minority groups in the border area.

In order to get to the Lung Giong branch of the Tong Cot Commune Primary School, Hoang Van Hien and his friends must drive along a rugged, rock-strewn road. The road is not for the faint of heart, but doesn’t stop the passion of teachers to provide the best education possible to the children.

Lung Gioi School has 43 students from Grade 1 to 5, with one class catering to all. After many years of teaching, Hoang Thi Huyen said that of all the difficulties she has had to face, a lack of clean water is the harshest.

At the Sy Bieng School are over 50 students, mainly from the Mong ethnic minority group. Teachers must learn the local dialect and language in order to teach.

Ha Quang district has nearly 100 schools, mainly at the pre-school and primary level, and more than 400 teachers. The enthusiasm of the teachers has made an important contribution to improvements in the quality of education in the remote and difficult communes of Ha Quang district.

Cao Bang still has hundreds of small schools in remote areas, but with the efforts of the teachers, education is still provided in even the most distant of areas./.VNA