Deputy Prime Minister Le Tien Chau has directed ministries and local authorities to ensure all schools being built in border communes and wards are fully operational before August 30, stressing that newly completed facilities must be ready for teaching and learning when the new school year begins.
On June 19, Deputy Prime Minister Le Tien Chau, head of the Steering Committee for School Construction in Border Communes, chaired an online meeting with 22 localities.
According to a report presented at the meeting, as of June 2026, construction had begun on 229 schools out of a total of 248 border communes and wards across 21 of the 22 provinces and centrally governed cities involved in the program.
Last year, 108 schools launched construction, including eight funded by local budgets and 100 financed by the central government budget. Of those, one school has been completed and put into operation, while the remaining 107 are under construction, with some projects facing delays.
The Ministry of Education and Training and local authorities reported that the main causes of delays and rising investment costs were challenges related to terrain, geological conditions and weather.
Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Le Tien Chau said special mechanisms were already in place, policies for schools and students had been issued, and construction funding had been allocated. Therefore, local authorities could not cite general difficulties as reasons for delaying progress, and responsibility for completing the projects rested with local leaders.
He called for ensuring progress, quality, safety and investment efficiency simultaneously, while preventing any waste or loss of public funds.
Local authorities were also instructed to proactively prepare teaching staff, facilities and educational equipment so that schools could begin operations immediately upon completion. The goal, he said, is for school inaugurations to coincide with the opening of the new academic year.
The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Education and Training, together with relevant ministries and agencies, to regularly monitor and inspect implementation to ensure all schools are operational before Aug. 30. He stressed that there must be no situation in which schools are inaugurated but lack the conditions necessary for teaching and learning.
Chairpersons of provincial people’s committees are required to provide written commitments on project completion schedules. The Deputy Prime Minister said these commitments constitute political pledges reflecting local authorities’ responsibility to the Party, the State and the people.
