Warning about job "traps" for students during the summer

“Hello everyone, I’m going to Bac Ninh to work, I don’t want to study anymore, studying is boring. Come with me to Bac Ninh. No need to study.”

In mid-May, a clip with the above statements by a female student, said to be studying at a junior high school in Bat Xat district, was widely shared on social networking sites and attracted a lot of attention. Perhaps, these were just the students' jokes. But many parents were startled when watching this clip, because their children had also intended to find "easy work, high salary" like that.

The trap of sweet words

Invited by someone to work in Bac Ninh with a salary of 12 million VND/month, on May 11, Luong Duy K., born in 2010, a 9th grade student at Ban Qua Secondary School, Bat Xat District, along with his two friends, Lu Van T and Ly Phuc T, both from Ban Vuoc Commune, left home and took a bus to Bac Ninh Industrial Park. When they were near Lao Cai Central Bus Station, all three were found by the authorities, brought back to their hometown and handed over to their families. K said: They promised that if you just go to the address they provided, someone will pick you up and arrange a place to stay and work. Because they wanted to have money for personal expenses during the summer, K and his friends trusted them and followed the instructions.

Lieutenant Truong Dang Chien, Ban Qua Commune Police, Bat Xat District, said: When receiving information from a journalist about students dropping out of school to work in an industrial park at the enticement of a strange young man, realizing that the case had signs of fraud, the commune police coordinated with the families to promptly search for and bring the students back to their hometowns. At the Ban Qua Commune Police headquarters, the students wrote a report, and the authorities explained the matter to them so that they could understand it clearly.

Also at the end of March, Bat Xat town police promptly discovered and stopped two students who were lured away from home to work in Bac Ninh with the promise of "easy work, high salary".

Then, on May 13, 2025, the Traffic Police Department of Lao Cai Province Police discovered and promptly stopped a passenger bus carrying 4 8th grade students, residing in Can Cau Commune (Si Ma Cai) leaving the area. It is known that the children fled to Bac Ninh to work as hired laborers after being lured by strangers on social networks.

On May 22, 2025, Tong Sanh Commune Police, Bat Xat District also promptly stopped 3 9th grade students from dropping out of school, showing signs of being lured into working for hire, when this group of students was on a bus going to Vinh Phuc .

On May 23, 2025, the Traffic Police Department, Lao Cai Provincial Police coordinated with Yen Bai Provincial Police, Hanoi City Police to safely hand over an 8th grade student from Vinh Yen Secondary School (Bao Yen) who was lured into working far from home to his family. In this case, he was brokered to work by an unknown person and had to pay a brokerage fee of 1.8 million VND. At the same time, the broker kept his phone and did not allow him to contact his family.

Although there are no complete statistics, these are cases that the police force is aware of and intervenes promptly. In addition, there are many cases that occur sporadically in localities but have not been discovered. This is an alarm bell about the situation of students leaving their locality to work for hire, warning about the traps they may encounter that need special attention from their families.

Prevent in time

Middle and high school students often have a desire to explore and assert themselves, but they lack understanding, so they are easily influenced by attractive enticements. Especially at this time, when the school year has ended, they do not have to go to school, their families are busy with the highland crop season, and lack of control leads to the situation of students being lured into part-time work, which tends to increase.

The school year is about to end, Lu Minh K, an 11th grade student at Bat Xat District Secondary and High School, and his two friends went online to find part-time jobs. K said: I wanted to have money to buy a new phone, so I looked for a job on Facebook. Although the job was attractive, I had to work at night, so I was quite worried.

Ms. Sin Thi B (K's mother) living in Muong Hum village, Muong Hum commune shared: My family and I were very worried when we learned about our child's intention to work part-time during the summer. After advising, the family also paid more attention to the child, asking him to help with some housework so that he would no longer think about earning money outside, avoiding possible risks.

Lieutenant Colonel Pham Van Hoan, Deputy Chief of Police of Muong Hum Commune, Bat Xat District, said: According to Vietnamese law, employers are not allowed to recruit children under 14 years old to work, except in special cases such as art, physical education, and sports that do not affect the child's development. Therefore, basically, students in grades 7 and 8 will not be able to apply for jobs in industrial parks as enticed online.

Coordinate propaganda and mobilization at students' homes. Photo: Pham Duong

The school has been educating students before the summer break, encouraging them not to listen to the enticements of strangers on social networks. Photo: Pham Duong

Currently, in Muong Hum commune, there are about 200 students of middle and high school age. The local government and the commune police have proactively grasped the situation, conducted propaganda and mobilization, and at the same time asked households to sign a commitment not to let their children work for hire. Lieutenant Colonel Pham Van Hoan added: Currently, in Muong Hum commune, there are also 2 bus companies. We also proactively work with the bus companies, requesting to provide information to the local police if we detect cases of students showing signs of running away from home to work for hire, so that timely measures can be taken to prevent and handle them.

Mr. Tan Lao Si, Vice Chairman of Muong Hum Commune People's Committee, also shared: Recently, a company contacted the local school to recruit students for summer jobs. Realizing that the information was not transparent and clear, the commune government asked students not to connect themselves to find jobs through this channel.

Back to the story of the female student at the beginning of the article. Working with the school where this student is studying, we were informed: The school asked the student to remove the post to avoid negative public opinion. At the same time, right before the year-end summary, the school coordinated with the authorities to organize communication about labor and employment, thereby raising awareness for students and providing necessary warnings.

Summer is a precious time for students to learn, experience and grow. However, if they are not alert, they can easily be scammed, directly affecting their property, health, and even their safety. Being proactive and taking precautions early and far away will help them avoid the “trap” of jobs during this summer vacation.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/canh-bao-bay-viec-lam-cho-hoc-sinh-trong-dip-he-post402702.html