Le Quy Don Primary School (Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City) launched a fundraising campaign to support the Northern people affected by storm No. 3, including staff, teachers, workers, parents and students.
During the fundraising period, the school received more than 268 million VND in donations from students of 45 classes.
Afterwards, the school awarded certificates of merit to encourage students to actively participate in the movement. However, only students who donated 100,000 VND or more received certificates of merit, while students who donated less than that amount only received letters of merit from their homeroom teachers. The incident made many parents angry and said it was unreasonable.
The school representative said that this form of reward comes from the desire to encourage students in a timely manner, but the school made a mistake in the way it did it. The school would like to learn from the experience and will make adjustments in the next reward activities.
On the evening of September 24, speaking with Lao Dong reporter, Mr. Trinh Vinh Thanh, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City affirmed that the Department did not direct the school in the above activity. The Department of Education and Training of Go Vap district does not agree with this way of doing things of the school.
"This is something the school did itself, causing bad public opinion. Therefore, the school principal must take responsibility. I have asked the school to submit a report to the Department of Education and Training tomorrow," Mr. Thanh informed.
According to the Head of the Go Vap District Department of Education and Training, the above action of Le Quy Don Primary School is not negative in its starting point, but the way it is done is not appropriate. Giving certificates and letters of merit when differentiating between amounts of money is not good. The school should mobilize as much support as possible, but the important thing is the heart, not the level of contribution.
"On this occasion, the Department has also disseminated and reminded schools in the area. Units must consider carefully when organizing rewards or implementing any policy to avoid causing harm to students, parents and creating public outrage," said Mr. Thanh.
