Questioned about the 1 million VND expenditure, the parents' committee 'sulked' and returned 22,000 VND.

At the beginning of the year, the story of school fees, especially parent funds, is hotter than ever.

In the HCMC Parents Group with more than 360,000 members, an anonymous participant whose child is in 7th grade recently posted: “Is it reasonable for parents to spend class funds like that? After spending, they then announce it, and then claim it was voluntary, which is no different than forcing parents into a fait accompli situation, and then challenging each other.”

The article includes a series of screenshots of messages exchanged in the parent group.

According to the information posted, this is a group of parents of class 7/2 of a school in Ho Chi Minh City. The class has 51 students, 47 parents have contributed 14.6 million VND to the fund. The representative board listed the expenses: 1.7 million VND for repainting the classroom, 2.5 million VND for cleaning class 5 every month, and 1 million VND for supporting the school's parent association.

A parent asked: "The class fund has been used to support the school's parent association, so why do we still have to contribute more?" The representative board member spoke up to explain but was not convincing, leading to a heated debate.

Some people suggested “compensating” the expenses to acknowledge the efforts of the representative board. This idea was met with a reaction: “We should ask for the collective opinion before making a decision”, while others said “we should respect the efforts of the representative board”.

The argument escalated when someone threatened to “report to the Ministry of Education ”. The representative board expressed a “sulky” attitude, declaring that they would return 22,000 VND to each parent.

There were dozens of comments under the parent’s post. The poster wanted to disband the representative board because after receiving comments, they demanded a refund. Meanwhile, the class representative board criticized this person for making a fuss just because of 22,000 VND. Many people calculated: with 50 students in a class, 20 classes per grade, four grades in the school, in addition to the class fund, there are many other support funds. Some suggested bringing the matter to the Department of Education and Training.

A parent who has been the head of the parents’ association for 10 years supports the poster’s point of view: “The head of the parents’ association must clearly understand what he is doing, especially when it comes to the group’s finances. He cannot ‘sulk’ or demand payment when receiving criticism.”

However, there are also opinions that to maintain the class's activities, funding and consensus are needed: "All children enjoy the same rights, the school cannot take care of everything. Don't let small things affect the teachers' psychology. If it's reasonable, don't be too picky."

Some people emphasized that the board of directors does not benefit anything and must “serve a hundred families”, so parents should be understanding. For the class to function well, it needs the support and solidarity of all parents.

Speaking to VietNamNet, Ms. Phan Bich (HCMC), who has been a member of the representative board for many years, said that parents' anger stems from the fact that the parent fund always says it is voluntary but everyone has to pay. "Money is a sensitive issue, especially at the beginning of the school year. The 7th grade parents' association did not handle it thoroughly by spending money and then reporting it, putting everyone in a fait accompli situation," she said.

According to Ms. Bich, one million VND is not a large sum, what parents want is respect and transparency. The representative board's "sulky" attitude makes many people unhappy.

“If the representative board had been open, respectful and tactful in their behavior, the matter would not have gone as far. This is a lesson for those participating in the parent association. Even though it is a 'prisoner and general' job, it still requires responsibility and skills to reconcile and receive support from the group,” said Ms. Bich.

Many people think that 22,000 VND is a very small amount, but the story shows a big lesson: The representative board needs to be financially transparent, publicly disclose income and expenditure, and always seek collective opinions before making decisions. Only then can unnecessary arguments be avoided.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/phu-huynh-chat-van-ve-khoan-chi-1-trieu-ban-phu-huynh-doi-tra-lai-22-000-dong-2445034.html