A boarding house of the Thuan Mang Junior High School in the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan was inaugurated on September 7, accommodating disadvantaged students living far away from their school in Ngan Son district. The house and auxiliary facilities cover more than 400 square metres with 10 bedrooms, four bathrooms, a yard, a collective kitchen, and a dining room, among others. The project is able to cater to over 80 students. It was built in nearly two months at a cost of 2.3 billion VND (103,500 USD) funded by the PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation. The quick construction was meant to put the accommodation into use on the occasion of the new school year, which officially started on September 5. At the inauguration ceremony, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, who is also the Chairwoman of the National Fund for Vietnamese Children, said the boarding house will provide a favourable condition for local students to go on with their study, expressing her hope for their continued study and self-improvement efforts. Thuan Mang is a particularly disadvantaged commune of Ngan Son district with all of its population being ethnic minority people. Most of the local families are poverty-stricken and reside in remote areas. Prior to the house inauguration, 33 students of the Thuan Mang school had to rent rooms in nearby houses while 33 others lived in makeshift tents.-VNA