Boarding students in Nhon Mai Secondary School in the central province of Nghe An have to fish after school hours to feed themselves.

They live in very poor households far from the school, with the trip to school taking nearly a day.

Speaking with DTiNews, a pupil said, "We often come to Huoi Hy Stream to fish. It’s our local food source. The school allows us to go fishing two or three times a week, if we don’t go to the stream, we can go to forest to pick bamboo sprouts. If we can’t catch fish or find bamboo we only have salt for meals.”

The fishing rods are mainly made by the students, with only some of them owning nets.

Students have to bring their own rice to school and provide the remaining food themselves. As a border commune, Nhon Mai in Tuong Duong District has no market, shops or electricity.

Some photos of the students trying to catch fish:

Throwing a net into Huoi Hy Stream

Preparing to fish

Fishing

The students often focus on whirl pools or places under old trees where more fish can be found

Catfish are becoming increasingly scarce