"Fear" of income
According to the feedback from parents of Hai Thuong Primary School (Nghi Son town, Thanh Hoa province), on September 14, the school held a parent meeting at the beginning of the year. At this meeting, parents felt confused when the homeroom teacher informed them about many fees at the beginning of the school year.
A parent with a child in grade 2 said that the expected revenues of Hai Thuong Primary School are as follows: the regulated revenues include transportation fees of 135,000 VND/child/year, health insurance fees of 885,000 VND/child/year; the collective revenues include: team fund of 30,000 VND, Red Cross fund of 10,000 VND, small plan of 15,000 VND and application fees of 30,000 VND/child/year.
In addition, there are also services such as: student card 20,000 VND/student/year; electronic contact book 50,000 VND; drinking water 100,000 VND; life skills (10,000 VND/period x 35 periods) 350,000 VND; English (10,000 VND/period x 70 periods) 700,000 VND.
In addition, there are also voluntary funds such as: parent fund 50,000 VND; socialization 250,000 VND; hygiene fee 117,000 VND; class fund 200,000 VND; body insurance 100,000 VND; overtime fee (15,000 VND/session) 1,575,000 VND.
“After the parent-teacher conference, we were shocked by the number of fees. Combined with the amount of money that needs to be paid at the beginning of the new year, it was nearly 5 million VND. In addition to the fees that are not mentioned in the regulations, there are many unreasonable fees for services and voluntary fees,” a parent shared.
According to this parent, teaching more periods and sessions is according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, but charging each student 15,000 VND/session is not right. In addition, the school organizes teaching both English and Life Skills programs (charging an additional 10,000 VND/student/session) is also not right.
What does the school say?
Speaking with Lao Dong Newspaper reporter, Ms. Nguyen Thi Yen - Principal of Hai Thuong Primary School - said that in the 2024-2025 school year, the whole school has nearly 1,300 students studying, and the school recently held a parent meeting.
According to Ms. Yen, the school's revenues are implemented in accordance with regulations and guidance documents of Nghi Son Town People's Committee, such as vehicle parking fees and mandatory health insurance fees.
As for the revenues of mass organizations such as: team fund, red cross, small plan, student records; service revenues such as: school cleaning fee, drinking water, electronic contact book, student card, life skills and English, all are based on the documents of Nghi Son Town People's Committee.
Regarding the two fees for life skills and English, the Principal of Hai Thuong Primary School further explained that these are service fees, according to agreement and not mandatory, so parents who need them can pay.
“The English tuition (the school cooperates with English centers) is only implemented in grades 1 and 2, while grades 3, 4, and 5 are compulsory. The life skills tuition is implemented in all grades, parents can pay if they need it, and not if they don’t. If they participate, students will learn lessons on different life skills,” said Ms. Yen.
According to Ms. Yen, with the socialized amount of 250,000 VND, because the school is building according to national standards level 1, while the school and the locality are still facing many difficulties, it has to rely mostly on parents and call on parents to join hands in contributing. The personal insurance fee is voluntary.
In particular, regarding the fee for extra sessions (15,000 VND/session), the Principal of Hai Thuong Primary School affirmed that the school did not implement it and did not collect money from students.
