Gia Rai improves education conditions
Ha Noi, March 25 (VNA) -- Central highland Gia Lai province has over recent years increased its budget allocation to build houses for school teachers in remote and mountainous areas to help improve their living conditions.
In 2000 and early 2001, the province has invested about VND 4 billion, more than USD 300,000, to build thousands of square metres of housing for teachers who are working in isolated and highland hamlets and communes.
Gia Lai, which has more than 10,000 teachers, including about 8,000 teaching school children of various minority groups in mountainous areas, has also mobilised financial contributions from the local administrations at all levels and enterprises based in the locality as well as local people for the purpose.
With this help, Gia Lai has overcome untold difficulties to gain success in educational development. It was recognised as finishing the programme of illiteracy eradication and primary education universalisation in 1998.
More than half of the children of pre-school age and over 81 percent of the children of school age attend classes. A new survey shows that 2,650 out of every 10,000 local inhabitants in Gia Lai go to school.
The province is striving to replace half of teachers' makeshift cottages with brick houses by the end of this year. This is part of its efforts to help improve the living standards of school teachers, who now earn only between VND 400,000-500,000 a month.--VNA
