Under Decree 339, the government stipulates that lunch support for students in border communes will be provided for the actual number of school months, not exceeding 9 months per academic year. Each student will also receive 8 kg of rice monthly.

First-grade ethnic minority students who study Vietnamese before entering the first-grade program will receive an additional one month of food and rice support.

Schools in border communes receive a government allocation of 2,369,000 dong to organize lunch for 45 students; for every additional 20 students, a corresponding amount will be added. Schools with fewer than 45 students will still receive the full allocation. Support will be provided for 9 months per academic year.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and students at the groundbreaking ceremony for a multi-level boarding school for primary and secondary education in Bat Mot mountainous commune, about 120 km from Thanh Hoa province center. *Photo: Nhat Bac*

Additionally, schools will receive investment in facilities, equipment, and supplies for organizing lunch. They will also receive support for electricity and water services for school lunches. In areas without electricity and water services or during outages, schools may use the support funds to purchase or rent generators and acquire clean water to provide lunch for students.

Schools are responsible for widely disseminating the aforementioned support policy. If students voluntarily decline government lunch support, their parents or guardians must inform the school.

Nationwide, there are 956 schools across 248 mainland border communes, serving 625,255 students. In July, the Politburo decided on a policy to invest in building 248 new multi-level boarding schools in border communes. This initiative is considered a key task for socioeconomic development, improving public education, developing ethnic minority cadres, and strengthening national defense and security.

In the initial giai doan 1, the Politburo approved a pilot program for 100 schools in 2025, to be completed no later than before the 2026-2027 academic year. This model will be replicated over the next two to three years.

On 9/11, 17 localities simultaneously broke ground on 72 multi-level schools in line with this policy.

Vu Tuan