Da Nang: "Meager boarding meals" appear again, principal says it's difficult to balance

On April 14, Ms. Truong Thi Nha Truc, Principal of Phu Dong Primary School (Hai Chau District, Da Nang City) - said that the same morning, district leaders directly went to the school to inspect the organization of boarding meals for students.

The inspection took place after a stir on social media from an anonymous post with photos said to have been taken at P.D. Primary School.

The post reads: "These are the pictures of my child's meal." The parent also said that "he really wanted to see his child's meal, but parents were not allowed to come and go freely at that time."

Social media post with pictures of boarding meals said to be taken at Phu Dong Primary School - Da Nang

Ms. Truc said the photos posted by parents were taken in the first semester, October 2024. One meal includes 4 dishes: rice, soup, okra stuffed with shrimp patties and 1/2 banana. The remaining meal includes: fried rice, soup, 1 slice of watermelon.

According to Ms. Truc, to change the menu for the students, the school made okra stuffed with shrimp patties and the cost of buying shrimp was quite expensive. This meal was only served once because many students did not like okra.

As for the fried rice, there is sausage, meat, and egg inside.

Each meal for boarding students costs 28,000 VND. Of which, the main lunch meal costs 22,000 VND, and the afternoon snack costs 6,000 VND. Ms. Truc said it is also "very difficult to balance" the main meals.

"There are days when the menu is mackerel or stir-fried beef, and a serving is already 30,000 VND. So there are times when we have to adjust to the main dish being fried eggs or fried rice... to balance the cost" - Ms. Truc said.

Lunch on April 14 provided by the Principal of Phu Dong Primary School

According to the Principal of Phu Dong Primary School, the school still encourages parents to visit the meal. However, the information about the control at the entrance gate is correct. For school safety reasons, security guards are always on duty at the gate. If parents of the school come to check suddenly, they just need to inform the security guard so that the relevant departments can lead them inside.

In addition, every Monday, the school always sends the menu to parent groups for easy monitoring and comparison with information from students.

A few days ago, social media was also abuzz with a picture of a "poor" lunch taken at Nui Thanh Primary School in Hai Chau District. The school's leaders said the picture was taken before the wardens had finished distributing the food.

Speaking to the press on April 11, Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Thi, Vice Chairwoman of the Da Nang People's Committee, said that she had asked the Department of Education and Training to direct boarding schools to pay special attention to the quality of meals. Ms. Thi also emphasized the need to publicize and make the menu transparent so that parents can easily monitor and evaluate.

According to Ms. Thi, parents are encouraged to visit the student's meals at any time, without prior registration. This is to give parents peace of mind that their children are being fully cared for and guaranteed nutrition at school.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/da-nang-lai-xuat-hien-hinh-anh-bua-an-ban-tru-leo-teo-196250414164305848.htm