Vietnam’s northern mountainous region reported more than 11,000 drop-outs in the 2009-2010 academic year due to financial difficulties and poor learning conditions. In the first term of the school year, 8,300 local students gave up their studies, the An Ninh Thu Do newspaper reported, citing the Ministry of Education and Training at a conference on Mar 30. Son La took the lead with 1,782 drop-outs, followed by Hoa Binh with 1,146 and Ha Giang with 1,021, the newspaper added. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has asked the localities to curb the number of drop outs in the years to come and work to alleviate poverty as a reason for students quitting school. Vietnam welcomes 22 million pupils and students in the 2009-2010 school year. Of them, 3.47 million attend nursery schools and kindergarteners; around 6.84 million join primary schools; 9.1 million take part in high schools and more than 1.8 million attend universities.
