Regarding the incident in which the Vice Principal of An Thanh Secondary School (Van Duc Commune, Gia Lai) was accused by parents of showing signs of abuse of power and behavior that did not meet pedagogical standards when suddenly asking many classes to stop teaching, forcing students to sweep the yard in the sunset, Mr. Pham Minh Trung - Vice Principal - responded.
In a private exchange with Lao Dong, Mr. Trung said that, implementing the school's education plan, he has conducted an inspection of school hygiene, sense of organization, discipline, skills... This is a regular and necessary job of the school's leaders.
Before entering school, the classes will assign duty groups and classroom hygiene. The two classes required to stop teaching (classes 8A3 and 9A1) to clean up have been reminded many times before.
"This is to educate and raise awareness of discipline for children, because education is not just about learning. When I stopped teaching, I asked the teachers to ensure the teaching time for the students. The students swept the trees under the canopy, not had to be exposed to the sun, and this is not a punishment," Mr. Trung explained.
According to the Vice Principal, he only requested to stop teaching and suggested that homeroom teachers and department teachers consider students' sense of responsibility in cleaning the school. "I did not directly take the students to the toilet, I only reminded the teachers to do it," Mr. Trung affirmed.
Mr. Trung also denied that he had shouted and scolded Ms. Hoang Thi Bich Hanh when checking the plan and teaching equipment in a Natural Science class of class 6A1 as reported by parents.
"I did not scream or raise my voice at Ms. Hanh. The homeroom teacher and two students (the vice class monitor and class monitor) confirmed that I did not do that behavior. I do it as a common job, without any personal factors, so there is nothing to bully the teacher about," Mr. Trung affirmed.
The Vice Principal also said that through this event, he will pay more attention to his direction and administration, to ensure both science and comprehensive education management.
On October 24, a representative of the Department of Education and Training of Gia Lai province confirmed that the Department had received a complaint from parents related to the incident. Because An Thanh Secondary School is under the management authority of the commune, the Department has transferred the petition to the locality for handling. Currently, the Department is still waiting for the school to specifically report the incident to have a suitable handling direction.
According to parents' feedback, at around 1:50 p.m. on October 2, when students in grades 8A3 and 9A1 were in first grade, Mr. Trung suddenly entered the classroom and asked the teacher to stop teaching, and let the students go to the schoolyard to clean up because the morning shift area of these 2 classes still had garbage and leaves. At the same time, teachers are required to teach compensation in the 5th class on the morning of October 6.
"At noon, we have to force students to go to school to clean up, while they are in first grade, this is an offensive behavior that can easily affect their psychology," Mr. H.A.Q - a parent of the student was upset.
Parents also reported that Mr. Trung had inspected the plan and teaching equipment in a Natural Science class 6A1 taught by Ms. Hoang Thi Bich Hanh and loudly asked Ms. Hanh to stop the class and go to the office. This action made some teachers and students feel stressed, while parents thought that the Vice Principal abused his power and behaved in an inappropriate manner.
