On September 23, informing Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Ha Van Tai - Director of Si Pa Phin High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative (HTX) said: "HTX will file a lawsuit against a number of principals in Nam Po district (old) because schools arbitrarily cancel contracts signed with the cooperative since the beginning of June to get food from other suppliers".
Mr. Ha Van Tai also said that when the principals arbitrarily canceled the contracts, they could not give a reason. While Si Pa Phin Cooperative has been a traditional supplier to schools in the area for many years without any disputes or problems arising.
"To have a source of food and green vegetables to provide for schools, the cooperative has planned to prepare many months in advance. Therefore, the fact that schools arbitrarily cancel contracts without prior notice has no reason to cause great damage to the cooperative" - Mr. Tai added.
According to information provided by the cooperative, as of September 23, out of 42 schools in Nam Po district (old) that have signed a principle contract with the cooperative, there are currently nearly 20 schools that do not fulfill the contract but arbitrarily sign a food supply contract with other units.
Previously, Lao Dong Newspaper had a series of articles reflecting on the provision of food for boarding meals for students in Dien Bien province. When asked by reporters, many principals were confused and did not dare to answer directly about changing food suppliers. Some principals suggested that reporters work directly with the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee to find out the cause.
According to Decree 214/2025 of the Government guiding the selection of contractors, this matter is decided by the school principal. In Official Dispatch No. 1702 dated June 19, 2024 of the Department of Education and Training of Dien Bien guiding the organization of collective kitchens in educational institutions, the organization of boarding meals is also the responsibility of the principal.
According to the reporter's investigation, right before preparing to enter the school year, Si Pa Pin Cooperative issued an official dispatch requesting schools to proactively refer to prices, arrange time to negotiate prices, and proactively propose prices for food and provisions to promptly cook for students.
It emphasized: "The school agreed to sell food and cooking to students in September at the price proposed by the school". However, after that, the schools still unilaterally canceled the contract and signed with another supplier without giving a reason!
On September 10, reporters were directly present at the meeting of 11 principals, vice principals and accountants of schools in Na Hy commune along with representatives of 3 food suppliers. At the meeting, there were heated arguments between units and disagreements about the choice of views of principals.
The meeting lasted nearly 10 hours (from 7:30 a.m. to more than 4:00 p.m.) but schools have not yet selected a supplier. To end the meeting, the schools and 3 suppliers agreed to "divide 3" market share. Accordingly, each contractor is appointed to "intermediate" food for some specific schools in the area until September 20.
On September 17, speaking with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper about this content, Mr. Le Thanh Do - Chairman of Dien Bien Provincial People's Committee said that the Provincial People's Committee had received information reflecting on the imposition and appointment of food suppliers for schools by a number of commune-level authorities.
Determining that these will affect the effectiveness of the operation of local authorities at both levels, the Provincial People's Committee has also issued a document directing timely correction of current shortcomings.
In which " Prohibiting impositions, instructions, and putting pressure in selecting food and provisions suppliers for profit. Urgently review, inspect, promptly detect and strictly handle violations (if any)" - Chairman of Dien Bien Provincial People's Committee affirmed.
