Ms. Pham Thi Thao is currently a worker in Viet Hung ward (Hanoi), her husband works as a driver for a company in Bo De ward. Ms. Thao's family is currently renting a house in lane 293 Ngoc Thuy Street, Bo De Ward. The couple, both from Thanh Hoa, have been in Hanoi for 14 years.
Ms. Thao and her husband have 2 children, the youngest child is in grade 1 this year, the oldest child is in grade 5 this year.
Ms. Thao said that since they got married and had children, both parents could not support them much because their health was not good and their finances were limited... Ms. Thao's salary as a worker and her husband's driver's salary had to be used well to keep the family of 4 living in the city.
Hearing the news that from the 2025-2026 school year, Hanoi City will support boarding meals for primary school students, Ms. Thao "cried happily".
"I have an older child in primary school, he also participates in boarding meals, and pays nearly 2,900,000 VND per semester for meals. This year, my child is about to enter grade 1, but when I heard that they were supported with boarding meals, I cried. It is calculated that the children's total income is supported each year up to nearly 7 million VND. This is a large amount of money, extremely meaningful for the worker's family," said Ms. Thao.
According to Ms. Thao, half a month ago, the homeroom teacher created a poll to collect parents' opinions on whether to register their children for boarding or not. For registered parents, after deducting 20,000 VND in support, the remaining amount will be paid. For families with 2 children like me, when supported with lunch money, the cost is reduced by nearly 1 million VND per month. I can use that money to buy more milk and food for my children..." - Ms. Thao said.
Mr. Dam Duc Minh and his wife are all workers in Ha Dong ward (Hanoi), have 3 children, the oldest child is in grade 4 this year, the second child is in grade 2 this year, the youngest child is around 3 years old.
Like Ms. Thao, Mr. Minh was very excited when his homeroom teacher informed him that his child would receive support for boarding meals from the 2025-2026 school year. The couple was instructed to declare information and send the soft copy back to the homeroom teacher. On the day of school opening, the children will bring the hard copy to submit to the school.
"I feel the humane policies and companionship of the city. My family has 2 primary school children, and I feel very happy and excited to enjoy this policy. The family has 5 meals, and my husband and I are all workers, so we can save money on every thing," said Mr. Minh.
According to Mr. Minh, in addition to working hours, he and his wife also take advantage of doing other jobs to have money to pay for their children's education. Spending every penny to take care of their children, when receiving this support, he and his wife were very happy and excited.
From the 2025-2026 school year, Hanoi City will support boarding meals for students studying at educational institutions in mountainous areas and communes in the middle of the Red River at a rate of 30,000 VND/student/day.
Primary school students studying at educational institutions in the remaining area are supported with 20,000 VND/student/day.
