Parents speak out
According to many parents whose children study at Hai Thuong Primary School (Nghi Son Town, Thanh Hoa Province), for many years they have been very upset about the fees collected at the beginning of the school year at this school. "This year, the above situation continues, but most parents do not dare to speak up for fear of affecting their children's studies. Only a few parents, unable to bear it, have expressed their opinions" - said one parent.
Sharing with Lao Dong Newspaper, another parent said that in recent years, before holding a school-wide parent meeting, the homeroom teachers “appointed” a representative of the class’s parent association to attend the meeting with the school. These representatives were mostly from well-off families and spoke fluently.
After the initial meeting, the school organizes a school-wide parent meeting, and those who were previously appointed by the teacher are later elected as the class parent association president. The presidents will coordinate with the homeroom teacher to announce and call on parents in the class to contribute to the school.
“Every time they call for socialized money, they keep saying that it is not worth much, investing a few hundred thousand for their children's education is very worthwhile. In fact, for families with conditions, that amount of money is very simple, but for poor, near-poor households with many children, this is a pressure. Some families even have to borrow money at interest to pay for their children, because their daily lives are struggling with many expenses, so even a small amount of money can sometimes put them in a difficult situation and cause them to have to go into debt,” said this parent.
Many problems
According to parents, in recent years, many problems have occurred at Hai Thuong Primary School that have upset parents, from the story of calling for socialization (in 2023 it is 350,000 VND/student, this year 250,000 VND), to organizing review sessions for excellent students with money, class fund, parent association fund... Even when any parent reacts and has opinions on social networks, they are then pressured in many different aspects.
Regarding the parents' reflection that the chairpersons of the parents' association of each class at Hai Thuong Primary School are all appointed by the homeroom teacher and are mostly from well-off families, speaking with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, a representative of the Nghi Son Town Department of Education and Training said that the parents' association is elected by the school and parents themselves, and the Department of Education and Training does not guide or intervene in this matter.
“The call for socialization in the area is directed and approved very clearly by the department, the amount is not much, at most 300,000 VND/case and is not equal. When large amounts of socialization are needed, it is mainly mobilized from businesses and sponsoring units” - said a representative of the Department of Education and Training of Nghi Son Town.
Previously, Lao Dong Newspaper had a series of articles reflecting on the fact that, after the parent meeting, parents with children studying at Hai Thuong Primary School, Nghi Son Town expressed their anger and "fear" when informed about the fees at the beginning of the school year.
After Lao Dong Newspaper reported, Nghi Son Town People's Committee directed the education sector and police to investigate and clarify.
Through verification and inspection, the representative of the Nghi Son Town Department of Education and Training said that some contents at this school were not implemented correctly, such as the socialized money was not given an average level, and the extra fee that a teacher announced was collected was not in accordance with regulations.
Thereby, the Department of Education and Training of Nghi Son Town requested the Principal of Hai Thuong Primary School to seriously learn from experience when implementing the content to teachers and parents.
