Small things also need to be public and transparent

QTO - From the scandal over the quality of school meals to the voluntary fees at the beginning of the new school year, public opinion has raised the issue of management and transparency of revenue and expenditure in schools. Moderate people say, don't be quick to blame the school. Some others say, "If you don't have a clear idea, it's too heavy to carry a vase." It is the lack of transparency that has led to the above public concerns.

From lunch to… voluntary payments

The incident in which more than 40 students of Kim Thuy Primary Boarding School (Kim Ngan Commune) suffered from stomach aches, vomited, and had to be taken to the hospital after breakfast at school on September 26, 2025, once again raised public concern about the quality and control of meals at the school. It is worth mentioning that before that (September 19), after breakfast, students here also suffered from stomach aches and vomited, but with milder symptoms. However, the school ignored food safety and hygiene inspections, leading to a more serious incident that occurred later, causing public outrage. The test results of food samples on September 26 were positive for Bacillus cereus bacteria. This is a common type of bacteria in soil, dust, water, and food, often causing poisoning if cooked food is left for a long time. The incident is being verified by the authorities, but the fact that parents want to "boycott" the person responsible for the school meals in the following days partly reflects that frustration.

Students of Kim Thuy Primary Boarding School (Kim Ngan Commune) were rushed to the hospital after being poisoned, causing a stir in public opinion - Photo: DCH

The incident had not yet subsided when, a few days later, social media again appeared an image of a boarding meal costing 25,000 VND with a tray of rice containing only a few pieces of ham, half a boiled egg, and vegetable soup of Ba Don Primary School No. 1 (Ba Don Ward). After the local authorities intervened, the school leaders admitted that the above image was the lunch of boarding students on October 6, 2025. The local authorities pointed out that the meal did not follow the menu, the food quantity was small, and did not ensure nutrition. At the same time, they required the school to review and rectify the entire boarding organization process, ensure food hygiene and safety, and publicize the menu and images of daily meals for parents to monitor.

Also in the past time, after public reaction and direction from competent authorities, some schools in the province were forced to return some of the "voluntary" donations to support and purchase facilities, which were collected in a flat and pre-determined manner. For such things to happen, it is inevitable that parents will be worried and anxious.

Take care of children

After the public uproar over the voluntary collections of some schools, a letter with the following content spread on social networks: "Don't be quick to blame the school when it mobilizes social resources because our children are enjoying it every day."

Quote: “Like many other parents, I just want my children to go to school every day and study in the best environment. Everyone knows that public schools do not have a lot of budget. Many small things like fans, blackboards, curtains, air conditioners for children to take cool naps... if parents do not join hands to contribute, it will be difficult to have. I remember, the other day my child came home, while eating, he said: “Mom, my classroom has air conditioning, it is very cool to take naps at noon, not as hot as last year.” Hearing him say that, my heart felt warm. Thinking about it is also happy, because how many hands contributed to get that coolness for our children.

Lately, I have seen many posts online talking about the "wrong" collection of socialized money. Actually, if the collection and expenditure are clear and agreed upon between parents and the school and the money is used for the children, then I think we should not rush to generalize or condemn. What we need to do is discuss together, supervise together, and be of one mind, and not let a few rumors destroy the love and heart of those who are taking care of their children every meal, sleep, and class period. If everyone simply thinks: "With a little contribution from me, in return for the children having a better, cooler, cleaner learning environment", then everything will be easy and good. I know, when writing these lines, there will be people who say I "defend the school", "speak for the teachers". But that's okay, I just want to say what I really think. I don't defend anyone, I only defend the children...".

The letter received mixed responses from the public. Some agreed, but many also opposed. They said that contributing a few hundred thousand dong to buy facilities for their children to have better learning conditions is completely supported. They were only upset because the revenue and expenditure were not public and transparent. For example, there are schools that every year require parents to pay for TVs and air conditioners, while the equipment is available? Some parents said that if they had to contribute, each student only needed to contribute once from the first year of school, and the rest only needed to pay a small amount for maintenance and repair when the equipment was damaged. That said, but they had to pay. There is a folk saying that "if your thinking is not clear, carrying a pot is also heavy" for this reason.

No small matter

At the first parent meeting of the school year, after the homeroom teacher explained the reason for the meeting, an angry parent stood up and protested: "The parent meeting is to discuss education and learning for children, not to discuss paying money." After saying that, this person angrily left, much to the surprise of many parents and teachers. The meeting became tense when discussing the fees, including the fee for hiring someone to clean the classroom. Many parents agreed to contribute to share the hardship of teachers because they had to supervise and remind their children to do it. Only a few people disagreed, with the reason being that the students should clean the classroom themselves.

A parent meeting to discuss payment - Photo: DCH

A parent from a well-off family stood up and spoke frankly: “My child is an only son, but we do not want to overprotect or spoil him. At home, we still ask him to do small tasks, appropriate for his age, such as: washing dishes, cleaning the house, arranging clothes... but not doing it for him. We ask our child to do it, not only to help his parents, but also to train him to work and respect the value of labor. More than anyone else, school is the place to educate children about knowledge and character, so we should not let others do it for them.” Finally, when all the parents' opinions were taken, everyone agreed to pay for the work. The few remaining parents who objected could not change the situation, so they had to follow, because this was the decision of the majority. Telling this story to know that, with issues that need to be discussed, let's make it public so that the people involved can decide.

From the above cases, some people say that many people “look for trouble” and “make a mountain out of a molehill”. We pay for our children to enjoy, so why should we worry? However, when it comes to money, to meals and the health of our children, everyone is “sensitive” and should not consider it a small matter.

Duong Cong Hop

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/xa-hoi/202510/chuyen-nho-cung-can-cong-khai-minh-bach-d1748a6/