Parents' representative boards need to return to their proper roles
The draft Circular promulgating the Charter of the Parents' Representative Board and educational coordination between families and educational institutions of the Ministry of Education and Training is attracting public attention. One of the notable new points is the regulation that the parent representative board does not have legal status, does not have a seal, does not have a separate account; it is not allowed to use the name of educational institutions or other organizations and individuals to establish, perform transactions or perform activities exceeding the tasks and powers as prescribed.
From this proposal, many people believe that the parents' representative board needs to return to its proper role. Ms. Tran Thi Ngan - a parent with a child in 5th grade in Cau Giay ward (Hanoi), shared that contributions do not stop at the beginning of the year. During the school year, parents have been mobilized many times to repair air conditioners, replace door locks, hire people to clean classrooms, move things, decorate classrooms or organize activities such as Mid-Autumn Festival, Spring Festival.
I do not object to contributing if it is really necessary. But in fact, controversy has occurred many times because some people think that this is a voluntary contribution, while others think it is mandatory" - Ms. Ngan said.
This parent also reflected the reality that many fees are introduced as "voluntary" but if they have not been paid, parents are often reminded on class groups or mobilized many times, making "voluntary" sometimes become pressure.
Ms. Nguyen Thu Thao - a parent whose child is in 1st grade in Dak Lak - believes that the parents' representative board still needs to be maintained if it operates properly. This organization should focus on coordinating with teachers in educating students, sharing information and supporting common activities of the class, instead of becoming the focal point for implementing collections.
I do not oppose the parents' representative board. What I want is for this organization to return to its right role, thereby limiting overcharging and reducing pressure on parents and schools," Ms. Thao expressed.
Need to synchronize many solutions
Talking to a reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam - Chairman of the Education Council of Dinh Tien Hoang High School (Hanoi), Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Psychological Educational Sciences - said that the Draft Circular promulgating the Charter of the Parents' Representative Board and educational coordination between families and educational institutions has an appropriate approach of clearly affirming the position, role, and at the same time specifying the powers, responsibilities and coordination mechanisms between the representative board and the school.
I completely support that approach. If implemented in accordance with regulations, the parents' representative board will operate in accordance with its functions and limit the situation of being exploited to perform tasks that are not their responsibility" - Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam said.
This draft has clarified that the representative board is not allowed to use the school or educational institution's name to organize activities and illegal collections. This is considered an important step to return the parents' representative board to its role as a bridge between family and school, instead of becoming the focal point for implementing collections.
However, according to Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam, the new regulation is only one of the solutions. To effectively limit overcharging, educational institutions need to strictly implement the disclosure and transparency of collections, clearly define the responsibilities of heads and strengthen inspection and supervision in the implementation process.
In addition, the draft also needs to clarify the responsibility of parents in accompanying their children and coordinating with the school. There should no longer be the idea of "white-handed" education for teachers. Families need to share responsibility in monitoring the learning process, training, career orientation as well as creating a comprehensive development environment for students with the school.
Not allowing the parents' representative board to collect fees from the school is expected to remove a "bottleneck" in the management of revenue and expenditure at the beginning of the school year. However, in order for overcharging to no longer have "land to live", many opinions suggest that the draft needs to be further improved in the direction of clearly defining the responsibility of the head, making fees transparent, strengthening sanctions for handling violations and establishing a monitoring mechanism to protect complainants. Only when these solutions are implemented synchronously and new regulations, will they be truly effective in practice.
