Nay Khôn, born in 1976 in Ia Rsai commune, Gia Lai province, has taught for almost 30 years, working in some of the region’s most deprived and hard-to-reach areas. Currently based at Trần Quốc Tuấn Primary School in Uar commune, he is widely recognised for his sustained efforts to prevent students from dropping out.
After graduating from Gia Lai Pedagogical College in 1995, Khôn was assigned to Ia Dreh Primary School, where he worked from 1996 to 2007. Isolated from his family due to difficult travel conditions, he lived with local villagers, teaching during the day and helping host families with farm work in the afternoons.
He later taught at Chư Gu Primary School from 2008 to 2012 before transferring in 2013 to Trần Quốc Tuấn Primary School, where he continues to work.
At every school, Khôn has taken a lead role in encouraging attendance, regularly visiting households and coordinating with village leaders to persuade parents to send their children to class. During harvest seasons, when attendance often fell, he and colleagues travelled dozens of kilometres to fields to convince students to return to school.
As a member of the Jrai ethnic group, Khôn said he was able to understand parents’ concerns and build trust. For families unable to escort children to school, he pledged to personally collect and return students and provide meals during the day.
In 2021, Khôn learned that Ksor H’Met, a pupil from Uar commune, had repeated two years due to frequent absences while helping her family. Facing financial hardship, her family had considered withdrawing her from school altogether.
Khôn decided to sponsor H’Met and her younger brother, buying bicycles for their commute and using his salary to provide daily lunches for them and other disadvantaged pupils, enabling them to attend afternoon classes.
With the support, H’Met has since progressed to secondary school and is maintaining good academic results. Khôn has gone on to sponsor 20 students, many of whom continue to perform steadily in their studies.
Each day, he leaves early to collect pupils from their homes, cooks lunch for them at school and, if necessary, escorts them home in the evening. He also mobilises donations of books, school supplies and bicycles each summer, while personally purchasing clothes and learning materials for children in need.
Nay H’Nhiên, a fourth-grade student sponsored by Khôn, said his teaching style was clear and supportive, adding that the teacher’s care had helped students feel confident about attending school.
According to Đoàn Thị Thúy, principal of Trần Quốc Tuấn Primary School, Khôn’s classes consistently meet performance targets and maintain full attendance, including at remote campuses.
She said his proactive outreach to families and fields had earned parents’ trust and helped students remain engaged in their education, describing him as a role model whose dedication should be widely recognised across the education sector.
