Children play at the Tuoi Tho Kindergarten on Con Dao Island.

"Thirty-five years ago, when Con Dao was yet to be liberated, its only inhabitants were the prisoners, their guards, and a small contingent of soldiers and administrators," says Phan Hoanh Oanh, a political prisoner jailed in Con Dao who decided to stay after being released in 1975.

"Of course, there were no schools at that time. But now, Con Dao is a nice place for children."

The archipelago off southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province was known world-wide as hell on earth for its tiny cells called "tiger cages," built by the French colonial administration and consolidated by the US’s puppet regime.

These infamous prisons incarcerated around 200,000 people, two-thirds of them political prisoners, in the most brutal conditions between 1862 and 1975. Of them 22,000 died and were buried in the island’s Hang Duong Cemetery.

Now it is a tropical paradise that attracts tourists by the thousands, has an average income per capital of US$1,000, is crime – and illiteracy-free, and has a clean, green environment.

Con Son is the biggest and most populated island in the archipelago.

Nguyen Thi Dien, rector of the Tuoi Tho Kindergarten, says: "I first came to Con Dao in 1982, seven years after liberation, and it was still very poor."

"With a population of just 2,000, it was still in very poor condition. The administration had to make great efforts even to set up a kindergarten with just three classes, and one school for primary, junior and senior high education.

"Infrastructure and teaching aids were non-existent, the kindergarten was temporarily situated in the former homes of soldiers of the Sai Gon regime.

"Great changes have taken place since. I make sure that Con Dao has no illiterates now. All children of kindergarten age go to school."

Tran Dinh Hue, deputy director of the Con Dao National Park, says: "I am from southern Kien Giang Province but have lived in Con Dao for 21 years. In the two last decades, I saw the island undergo a real metamorphosis, especially in education.

"Studying has always been encouraged by local authorities, so illiteracy is non-existent," he stressed.

Nguyen Thanh Dat, head of the Con Dao District education office, says because of Con Dao’s peculiar characteristics – it is located far from the mainland – the administration has a policy of depending entirely on the local workforce for all the island’s needs.

"Because of this policy, good education and training have for many years been considered by the leadership as one of the most important socio-economic objectives.

"They give priority to developing the local education and training system."

"To ensure all children, including those from poor families, can go to school, we have specific support measures that are implemented through funds set up by mass organisations including the Study Encouragement Association.

"These funds are used not only for supporting disadvantaged students studying on the island but also those studying in colleges and universities in the mainland. "Good students have always received special attention: those studying in colleges and universities in the mainland are given VND500,000 and 700,000 a year while those considered excellent get VND2 million.

"Children on the island get free education at the kindergarten and primary levels. All families are encouraged to put their children in school. The households that find it difficult are supported.

"Our efforts have paid off. We now have a primary school with 16 classrooms, a secondary school, two kindergartens with 19 classes, and a vocational and continuing education center. All of them meet national standards."

The number of students has increased every year from about 800 in 2006 to 1,300 now.

Last year the rate of island students enrolled in colleges and universities rose to 64 per cent.

The administrators also pay close attention to the quality of teaching. All kindergarten and primary-school teachers meet national standards, with 70 of the former even meeting national standards for primary teachers.

"Thanks to the good education system, all of my three children have graduated from university and two of them work for Government agencies on the island," Oanh, the former political prisoner, says proudly.

Education quality

Chau Van Kiet, vice president of the Con Dao People’s Committee, said the authorities have drawn up a comprehensive programme to further improve the quality of education, including teaching, to meet the increasing demand for trained human resources in the coming years.

"Investment will be stepped up further to upgrade existing schools and build new ones for different grades. Priority will also be given to further professional training for teachers, especially the application of IT in education.

"There will be co-operation with some mainland universities to open tourism courses for students to ensure a supply of quality personnel to serve the island’s goal of developing tourism into a spearhead industry in the next five years.

"Financial and legal studies will also be further developed to meet this objective."

Source: Vietnamnet