Many payments to make
Ms. Pham Thi Mo (37 years old) - a worker in Nam Dinh shared: "I have two sons in grade 9 and grade 10. These are two extremely important milestones for the children, so it costs a lot of money for the new school year ."
The female worker said that tuition fees could increase by one and a half times compared to last year; health insurance fees also increased by nearly 400,000 VND. The second child is preparing an additional 200,000 VND/month for extra classes to review for the high school entrance exam. For the older child, books, uniforms, and clothes must be new, so it is even more expensive.
Since July, Ms. Mo and her husband have taken 7 million VND from their monthly salary to buy their eldest son a 50cc motorbike to go to school. When planning for this, the family had to tighten their spending, cut down on expenses...
Ms. Bui Thi Loan (28 years old, from Lac Son, Hoa Binh), a worker at Doosung Teach Company - Luong Son Industrial Park, said: "My salary is 6 million VND/month, apart from food and rent, it is not enough to pay for school fees because my eldest child has just started first grade, so I have to pay many other fees. In particular, the increased cost of books and school supplies makes me worry even more."
Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thoa (38 years old, from Da Bac, Hoa Binh province, working at Cap Global Company - Luong Son Industrial Park) expressed: "My family has two children studying in grade 8 and grade 12. In addition to normal expenses, tuition fees and contributions have increased, not to mention the current higher price of textbooks. I have to borrow money to prepare for my children to be able to go to school."
Ms. Pham Thi Ngoc (30 years old) - a worker in Thai Nguyen said: "At the end of the school year, parents are notified separately about the fees for school facilities. In addition, the school also announced that the new school year's tuition and allowances may increase compared to last year" - Ms. Ngoc confided.
The female worker said that tuition fees are expected to increase by 50,000 VND/month/child, and child support by 80,000 VND/month/child. Because she cannot go home to cook lunch for her children, this amount alone will cost at least 1.5 million VND/month.
According to Ms. Ngoc, the amount of 8 million VND prepared for the children at the beginning of the new school year is probably not enough. Compared to her salary of more than 9 million VND and her husband's salary of 10 million VND, this number really makes her have to consider many things.
In addition to money, Ms. Ngoc is also worried about the risk of her child getting sick when meeting and interacting with friends. "My youngest child has never been able to avoid getting sick when returning to class with his friends. Mild cases can cause him to get sick for a few days, severe cases can require him to be hospitalized for a week to recover, which greatly affects my work and my children's studies," Ms. Ngoc said.
The female worker shared that the most common illnesses her children get when starting a new school year are bronchitis, pneumonia, pink eye, and hand, foot, and mouth disease. Therefore, in addition to the annual health insurance, at the beginning of the school year, Ms. Ngoc has to buy student health insurance as a precaution...
Try for the future
Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet (42 years old, in Luong Son, Hoa Binh province, working at Transon Company - Luong Son Industrial Park) shared that her family has two children of school age and she is working as a worker near her home with a salary of about 8 million/month, her husband is a local construction worker with an unstable income.
Ms. Tuyet has one child in 8th grade and one in college. According to Ms. Tuyet, despite the difficulties, the family still tries, accepts to work overtime to have enough money to cover expenses and hopes that the children will study hard to have a brighter future.
On September 3, speaking with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Dinh Thi Huong - Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Hoa Binh province - said that according to the plan on September 5, all schools in the province will hold the opening ceremony.
