On the last day of April, during recess, Ms. A Lang Thi Diep, a teacher at Tra Tap Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, Nam Tra My District, called three students out to the hallway to get a haircut.

The 26-year-old female teacher skillfully pulled each stroke of the scissors and clippers, and it took her nearly half an hour to complete. Then she removed the cloth covering her student’s hair and used a sponge to wipe away the hair stuck to his neck and shirt. The student ran to the faucet to wash his face and hands, then went back to class to study.

Ms. Diep is from Tay Giang district and has been working at Tra Tap Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities since 2023. She is the least senior among the seven female teachers at the main school.

As soon as she started teaching, Ms. Diep noticed that many students felt uncomfortable with long hair in hot weather. Diep recalled that when she was a child, because life in the ethnic minority area was difficult, her parents often went to the fields and did not return home until late at night. She often had her hair cut by her teachers.

So, Ms. Diep spent 250,000 VND to buy clippers, scissors and a piece of cloth with the intention of cutting her students’ hair. Every time she got her hair cut, the young teacher carefully observed the barber to imitate.

"At first, many students refused, afraid that I would cut their hair badly. I had to buy candy to entice them," Ms. Diep said. Gradually, students took the initiative to ask her to cut their hair, and now the entire class of 32 students is being cut by her.

Cutting hair for students is also a familiar job for teacher Nguyen Thi Thu Ba, a colleague of Ms. Diep. Ms. Ba has lived in the mountainous district of Nam Tra My for more than 14 years and has cut hair for students for about 10 years.

"Before, I used scissors to cut my hair, but now I have clippers so it's faster," said the 35-year-old female teacher.

Before cutting, Ms. Ba will look around to see what style looks good. She also asks about the students' preferences to accommodate them if possible. For the boys, she uses clippers to quickly iron their hair, then uses scissors to trim it neatly. For the girls, the female teacher mainly clips the back and cuts the bangs. Many students have lice on their heads, so she often parts their hair to find them. Therefore, the haircut will take longer.

"I just do simple haircuts. My skills are not as good as those of the barbers at the salon, but I am very satisfied because the students have neat hair," she said.

Nguyen Thi Diem Chau, a 5th grader, enjoys having her teacher cut her hair whenever it's long. "The teacher cuts hair beautifully and cutely. Many of my friends also like it," she shared.

According to the two teachers, the students’ haircuts were approved by parents. Many mothers even came to Ms. Ba for help.

Highland teacher cuts hair for students

Nam Tra My is a difficult mountainous district of Quang Nam province, with complex terrain, mostly hills and steep land. More than 97% of the people here are ethnic minorities, mostly Ca Dong and Xe Dang.

Tra Tap Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities is located about 5 km from the district center. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, Vice Principal, said the school has one main campus and 10 satellite campuses, with nearly 460 students. Of these, more than 330 are boarding students, most of whom are from poor households.

Therefore, for many years, in addition to teaching, the teachers in the school also take care of the children's meals and sleep. Besides Ms. Ba and Ms. Diep, the other teachers in the school are all skilled at cutting students' hair.

Dac Thanh