The draft Circular promulgating the Charter of the Parents' Representative Board and educational coordination between families and educational institutions is being consulted by the Ministry of Education and Training.
According to the draft, the Parents' Representative Board is a representative organization of parents, without legal status, without a seal, without a separate account, and is not allowed to use the name of educational institutions or other organizations or individuals to carry out transactions beyond their duties and powers.
The draft continues to clearly stipulate the fees that the representative board is not allowed to collect, such as funds for protecting facilities, purchasing machinery, equipment, teaching aids, rewarding officials, teachers, staff or supporting school management. Fundraising must be completely voluntary, without setting an average or minimum collection level; all revenues and expenditures must be public and transparent to parents.
The regulations in the draft received many mixed opinions from parents, especially on whether to continue to maintain the Parents' Representative Board.
Ms. Chu Thi Chinh (Dong Anh commune, Hanoi) - whose child is preparing to enter 12th grade - said that for many years, the Parents' Representative Board has still played an important role in connecting families and schools.
If there is no Representative Board, when parents need to discuss with teachers or schools about common activities, it will be quite difficult. What I hope is that the Representative Board operates in its right role, representing the voice of parents, not just conveying proposals from the school" - Ms. Chinh shared.
According to Ms. Chinh, in the past time, some cases related to overcharging have caused many people to have an unsympathetic view of the Parents' Representative Board. However, it is not advisable to completely eliminate this model because of some cases.
The most important thing is to be transparent. Which items are allowed to be mobilized, and which are not allowed, it is necessary to clearly stipulate and publicize right from the beginning of the school year so that parents can easily supervise" - she said.
Agreeing with this view, Mr. Nguyen The Tung (Vinh Thanh commune, Hanoi) - with two children in high school - said that many current Representative Boards unintentionally become "extended arms" of the school in mobilizing contributions.
In my opinion, the Representative Board must be truly elected by parents and operate independently. If only standing out to announce contributions, it is very easy to create pressure for other parents, even if it is nominally voluntary" - Mr. Tung shared.
Mr. Tung highly appreciated that the draft continues to specifically list the fees that the Representative Board is not allowed to collect. According to him, the clearer the regulations, the more limited the situation of misuse of funds will be.
I think there is no need to remove the Representative Board. What needs to be done is to have a more effective monitoring mechanism. All revenues and expenditures should be made public in writing or on online platforms so that all parents can monitor" - he said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Pham Thi Thu Trang (Long Bien ward, Hanoi), whose child is in 8th grade, believes that if the Parents' Representative Board continues to let the situation of overcharging occur, then abolishing it is also a plan that needs to be considered.
What I want is not whether or not there will be a Representative Board, but that parents will no longer be under pressure from arising contributions. If it cannot be managed, this model can be abolished" - Ms. Trang said.
According to her, instead of maintaining the Representative Board in the current way, each class can elect one or two parents to be the focal point for contacting teachers when necessary, without standing out to mobilize funds or organize money collection. Legal fees, if any, should be implemented by the school in accordance with regulations and fully publicized for parents to monitor.
Coordination between the family and the school can still take place through online channels, parent meetings or class contact groups. This both ensures smooth information and limits the risk of the Representative Board becoming the school'extended arm' in mobilizing contributions" - Ms. Trang shared.
