On the morning of February 11, the Ministry of National Defence, in coordination with Dak Lak Province, held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ea Rok Inter-level Boarding School, comprising primary and lower secondary levels. General Secretary To Lam attended and directed the ceremony.

Party General Secretary To Lam delivering a directive address at the ceremony.

Reporting on the implementation of investment procedures for the Ea Rok Inter-level Boarding School Project (primary plus lower secondary levels), Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army as well as Head of the Project Steering Committee, noted: The Ea Rok Inter-level Boarding School is funded by the General Staff and constructed in Hamlet 8, Ea Rok Commune, covering an area of nearly six hectares. The project carries a total budget of VND 150 billion, financed through contributions from enterprises affiliated with the Ministry of National Defence. The school is planned for 18 classrooms and developed in a synchronized, modern fashion, incorporating key facilities such as subject classrooms, an administrative building, boarding houses for both students plus teachers, a kitchen, a dining hall, together with a library…

Upon completion and commencement of operations, the school will offer over 630 students from Ea Rok Commune plus nearby localities improved opportunities for study, practice, as well as daily living within an enhanced educational setting, fostering holistic growth in knowledge, skills, physical health, alongside character. Simultaneously, the project will mark a meaningful advance for education across the border area, support preservation of ethnic cultural identities, form a local human resource foundation, while reinforcing national defence together with security along the Fatherland’s frontier.

Party General Secretary To Lam and delegates pressing the button to commence construction of the project.

Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony, Party General Secretary To Lam affirmed that the Party and State consistently regard education as a top national policy as well as a pivotal driver of the national sustainable development. Establishing schools is not solely intended to provide children with improved learning conditions, but also seeks to enhance the quality of life for residents in border areas while safeguarding national sovereignty from its very roots, namely the people and communities whose lives remain closely linked with the land, the forests, plus the boundary lines and markers.

The Party General Secretary stressed that the investment in building the Ea Rok Inter-level Boarding School (primary and lower secondary levels) demonstrates the profound attention of the Party alongside the State regarding education as well as training in border areas. This initiative will enhance learning conditions for children from ethnic communities, reduce regional disparities, while at the same time reinforcing national defence plus security, in addition to fostering socio-eco development in the frontier region of the Fatherland.

Recognizing and highly appreciating the proactiveness alongside the strong sense of responsibility demonstrated by Dak Lak Province as well as relevant agencies in preparing plus completing procedures for project implementation, the Party General Secretary requested that this be regarded as a task of special political significance, which must be carried out thoroughly, promptly, and effectively. He emphasized the necessity of ensuring site clearance, infrastructure readiness, timely capital disbursement, while creating the most favorable conditions for construction units as well as future teaching activities once the school becomes operational.

The Party General Secretary urged local residents to continue accompanying, supporting, while sharing responsibility so that the project proceeds smoothly. He stressed that this is a school for their own children as well as their own community, therefore it should be jointly preserved and nurtured.

Party General Secretary To Lam and General Phan Van Giang, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission and Minister of National Defence presenting gifts to policy beneficiary households and disadvantaged families in Ea Rok Commune.

Comrade further called upon central ministries and sectors to work in close coordination with local Party committees, authorities, village elders, village heads, plus armed forces in mobilizing the people to care for the cause of education, viewing schools as “fortresses” of knowledge, culture, together with patriotism along the border.

Party General Secretary To Lam expressed his hope that students in Ea Rok Commune in particular, across Dak Lak in general, would not study merely as a means of escaping poverty, but also out of aspiration to rise, achieve prosperity for themselves alongside their families, and contribute to building an increasingly prosperous homeland. Each student is a living marker of knowledge as well as patriotism on this sacred borderland.

On the occasion of the traditional Lunar New Year, Party General Secretary To Lam presented gifts for the Party organization, residents, plus students of Ea Rok Commune, in addition to gifts for 30 disadvantaged students with strong academic performance together with 20 policy beneficiary families facing difficult circumstances in the commune.

Translated by HAI LOAN