"Every year, the school spends money on repairs and patching cracks, but the facility is too old to be fixed now," said Nguyen Thanh Yen, head of the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneer Organization at Trieu Thi Trinh Primary School in Thanh Dien ward. He stood next to two restrooms, approximately 30 square meters in size, built two decades ago.

Teachers and students at Trieu Thi Trinh Primary School clear weeds around the school restrooms in preparation for the new school year.

The handwashing area at the school restroom is covered in moss and weeds, with peeling walls.

The teachers' restroom also has a rusty, perforated corrugated iron roof.

At the student restrooms, the old concealed plumbing system has rusted over the years, causing large sections of plaster to become waterlogged and peel off. The tiled floor has sunken by about 20 cm, leading to cracked walls and a rusty corrugated iron roof with holes as large as two fingers. Toilets are cracked and broken, and doors are damaged. Outside, the handwashing area is also severely deteriorated, covered in moss, and the drainage system is faulty.

"I hope the school will soon repair or rebuild the restrooms so we don't get wet every rainy season," said Nguyen Ngo Thuy Vi, a 4th-grade student.

Adjacent to it, the teachers' restroom shares a similar fate; the roof and gutters leak, and weeds grow abundantly. The recently whitewashed walls are peeling due to dampness.

Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, the principal, stated that the school currently has 185 students, 14 staff members and teachers, 14 classrooms, six functional rooms, and four restroom areas. In addition to the dilapidated restrooms, the school lacks a shower area, kitchen, and staff housing.

For many years, teachers and students here have had to use pumped well water because there is no centralized clean water supply. Furthermore, some functional rooms and the perimeter fence are currently deteriorated and require painting and repairs.

The restroom area, built over 10 years ago at the school, is dilapidated and overcrowded, forcing students to queue during break time.

Students at Hoa Dong Primary School wash their hands during break time.

Forty kilometers away, Hoa Dong Primary School (campus two) in Phuoc Vinh commune is located in a disadvantaged border area. Situated 12 km from the commune center, this school is near the Chung Ruc and Tro Piang Som hamlets, home to many Khmer ethnic people. The school has 9 classes with 15 teachers and over 200 students, including 74 Khmer ethnic students. Most parents are farmers or laborers. Many students come from near-poor households, living with grandparents due to parental divorce, facing numerous hardships.

Dang Cong Xuan, the school principal, explained that the school has two restroom areas for students and teachers, each only about 10 square meters, built over 10 years ago and now dilapidated.

Eight years ago, 10 new classroom blocks were built at the school but did not include restrooms at either end. Consequently, the school had to incur costs to repair the old, already deteriorating restrooms, which are now even more overcrowded.

"Due to the cramped restrooms and a large number of students, they have to queue during every break to use the facilities, which is very difficult," said Mr. Xuan.

This school campus also lacks a kitchen and shower area. The staff housing block, built decades ago, is also dilapidated and requires funding for renovation and repair.

The school stated that it has repeatedly requested state financial support for repairs and upgrades, but these requests have not yet been considered.

According to preliminary statistics from the Department of Education and Training of Tay Ninh province, nearly 40 primary schools in the area need new construction or repair of sanitation facilities, not including other educational levels. Quy Hy Vong (Hope Foundation) recently collaborated with the Department to survey several schools to assess the current state of infrastructure and identify priority areas to address difficulties directly affecting students' and teachers' learning and living conditions.

Readers can support efforts to improve learning conditions for students in disadvantaged areas of Tay Ninh province here:

Program name: Ten cua ban - Ve sinh hoc duong

Program ID: 145916

Hoang Nam