After the joyful summer break, the students of Dinh Bo Linh Primary School (Bau Sam Quarter, Long Khanh Ward) returned to letters, calculations and their beloved teachers.
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| Truong My Ngoc (homeroom teacher of class 1/3, Dinh Bo Linh Primary School) assists students in becoming familiar with handwriting during the first lesson. Photo: Doan Phu |
Struggling for literacy
Although achieving only a “fairly good” academic performance last year, N.V.T. (a student in grade 4/1 in the school year 2025-2026) still eagerly awaited the end of summer break to return to school, reciting lessons and pondering over math exercises. With a new uniform, backpack, and books donated by the school, teachers, and generous sponsors, N.V.T. skipped happily to class, leaving behind all unhappiness and hardship.
Dinh Bo Linh Primary School in Bau Sam Quarter, Long Khanh Ward, where I once taught when it was a branch of Le Van Tam Primary School, now has around 100 students who have graduated from universities. Many of them have returned to their old school, alongside their former teachers, to assist students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds in continuing to pursue their dreams of knowledge.
Teacher THAI THI NGOC TRANG, Dinh Bo Linh Primary School
After his parents separated and left Bau Sam Quarter to work elsewhere, N.V.T. was raised and educated by his sister. As his sister’s family encountered financial difficulties, N.V.T. has consistently received care, protection, and support from local authorities, his school, and teachers throughout the past school years.
In the 2024-2025 school year, Dinh Bo Linh Primary School had 11 classes with 381 students, including 25.1% coming from ethnic minority groups and 3.5% from disadvantaged backgrounds. In the 2025-2026 school year, following the merger of Bau Tram Commune and the wards of Xuan An, Xuan Hoa, Xuan Binh, and Phu Binh (former Long Khanh City) to form the new Long Khanh Ward, the school now has a total of 394 students across 12 classes, with an additional first-grade class introduced.
Teacher Luong Thi Hong Nhung, Vice Principal in charge of Dinh Bo Linh Primary Primary School, said: “From the beginning of the school year, the school’s Board of Principals, teachers, and the General Manager of the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneer Organization (HYPO) have coordinated with the hamlet, the Parents’ Representative Committee, and benefactors to promptly update and identify students in need of support in order to provide appropriate assistance.”
According to teacher Luong Thi Hong Nhung, in the first six months of 2025, the school raised nearly 48 million VND from various sources to implement programs such as “White shirts for friends”, giving Tet gifts and health insurance to poor students... In addition, the disadvantaged students and those coming from ethnic minority groups have received support from organizations and benefactors within and outside Long Khanh Ward, including scholarships, uniforms, and books, to encourage their perseverance in attending class and staying in school.
For the sake of beloved students
As usual, before the new school year begins in Dinh Bo Linh Primary School, teacher Thai Duc Duan, the school’s General Manager of HYPO, collaborated with Dao Xuan Nam (owner of Hair Salon 1997, Tran Phu Street, Long Khanh Ward) to arrange free haircut sessions for students, ensuring they began the school year with tidy hair.
Dao Xuan Nam stated, “During the summer break and in the days leading up to the new school year, I frequently collaborated with teacher Thai Duc Duan to provide free haircuts for students and local laborers in need. Students are particularly interested in stylish teenage hairstyles that rival those of children from affluent families.”
Dinh Bo Linh Primary School has 18 officials, teachers, and employees. 92.8% of the school's teaching staff meet the required pedagogical standards. In the 2023-2024 school year, the school attained National Standard Level 1 status for the third time and received Level 2 accreditation for educational quality.
Teacher Thai Duc Duan shared: “Students from Bau Sam Quarter encounter greater challenges compared to those from other quarters of Long Khanh Ward. Therefore, in my role as General Manager of HYPO, I do not hesitate to seek support from benefactors, providing items such as balls, shuttlecocks, and bottled water, so that my students can not only enjoy practicing sports like soccer, sepak takraw, and chess, but also achieve high results in provincial and regional competitions.”
In 2009, Dinh Bo Linh Primary School was established on the basis of being separated from the Le Van Tam Primary School branch in Group 8, Bau Sam Quarter, Long Khanh Ward. Although the number of students was not large, many generations of children from Bau Sam Quarter and neighboring areas have consistently progressed under this roof to secondary schools, high schools, and universities.
Thai Thi Ngoc Trang, the homeroom teacher of class 1/1 at Dinh Bo Linh Primary School, stated: “Although students spend only five years at the school, over such a brief period, the bond among teachers, students, and parents remains beautiful, expressed through gifts such as vegetables, bunches of bananas from the fields, or fish and snails caught brought to the teachers. In return, the teachers provide students in need with bicycles, rice, uniforms, shoes, backpacks, books, and pens.” After more than 15 years of teaching in Bau Sam, teacher Thai Thi Ngoc Trang continues to guide her students through challenges to pursue their studies.
The wind from the Bau Sam fields wafted softly through the classroom windows, carrying the sounds of Dinh Bo Linh Primary School children to the ears of their parents working in the nearby fields, even muffling the noise of passing vehicles.
Nguyen Van Tong, who lives in Bau Sam Quarter, Long Khanh Ward, shared: “Although the The parents in the Bau Sam Quarter may not be as well-off economically as those in other areas, their children are loved, cared for, and looked after by teachers here just as much as anywhere else.”
By: Doan Phu
Translated by: Huyen Trang - Thu Ha
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