Causing controversy over poor meals, Hanoi secondary school temporarily closes kitchen

Specifically, on the afternoon of October 18th, parents of students at Yen Nghia Secondary School (Ha Dong, Hanoi ) received a notification from the school sent to class groups via chat with the following content:

" To ensure better after-school care, following directives from higher authorities, the Board of Directors of Yen Nghia Secondary School would like to inform parents that the after-school meal program will be temporarily suspended from October 19, 2023. The schedule for extra classes in the after-school program will change from week 8. We kindly request the cooperation and compliance of parents."

This unexpected announcement left many parents confused and worried, as they hadn't had time to prepare alternative lunch options for their children.

A message notifying parents of students at Yen Nghia Secondary School about the temporary suspension of school lunch services has been sent.

Pham Thuy Nga, who has two young children attending Yen Nghia Secondary School, shared: “I was very surprised and caught off guard by the school's announcement. With my busy work schedule and small family, I haven't been able to make arrangements for lunch for my two children yet.”

Ms. Nga's concerns, as well as those of many other parents with children attending Yen Nghia Secondary School, are understandable, given that many families live far from the school. Furthermore, due to the nature of their work, parents find it difficult to arrange their schedules to pick up their children for lunch and then return to school.

Although in a three-party meeting held on the afternoon of October 17th, parents, the school, and the cafeteria had agreed to maintain operations until the end of the month. Only if parents felt the situation was unsatisfactory would the service be temporarily suspended or replaced with another provider. Therefore, this change caught many parents off guard.

The image of the meal served to boarding students had previously caused much controversy.

On the afternoon of October 18th, the Parents' Association held a meeting with the school. However, according to the school, the decision to temporarily suspend the school canteen service was directed by the district, therefore the school can only rearrange the students' schedules accordingly in the coming time.

On October 18th, Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Trinh, Principal of Yen Nghia Secondary School, confirmed that the school will temporarily consider suspending the provision of school lunches for students. Ms. Trinh stated that the school had reported the incident to the Ha Dong District Department of Education and Training that same day.

From the school's perspective, if the school continues to operate the canteen and provide meals for students, it will change some aspects of its boarding school management to improve efficiency. It will strengthen management and supervision of all aspects of the canteen if it continues to operate. The school will install cameras in the kitchen and will consider parents' feedback regarding the kitchen to implement timely corrective measures and changes.

Ms. Trinh stated that suspending the school's meal service is a temporary measure. In the future, if parents still wish for the school to provide meals for students, the relevant parties will discuss and consider which service provider is capable of cooperating.

Speaking to the press, Ms. Pham Thi Hoa, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Dong district, said that the district has just directed Yen Nghia Secondary School to temporarily suspend its lunch program, starting from October 19th.

According to Ms. Hoa, since school lunch programs are not mandatory at the junior high school level, schools are still facing many difficulties in managing them. Therefore, the District People's Committee has temporarily directed schools to suspend lunch programs so that schools and parents can find common ground, carefully consider, discuss, and analyze the situation, reach a high level of consensus, and find the best measures to implement together.

"We are only temporarily suspending the school canteen service. Once there are no more misunderstandings between parents and the school, we will resume the boarding program, creating the best possible learning environment for students," Ms. Hoa added.

Regarding the education management unit, Ms. Pham Thi Le Hang, Head of the Education and Training Department of Ha Dong District, stated that Yen Nghia Secondary School announced the temporary suspension of its school canteen due to the inability to allocate sufficient resources and teachers to supervise the canteen's operations. Therefore, the school requested a temporary suspension of the canteen to conduct research and select a suitable alternative.

According to Ms. Hang, at the secondary school level, teachers lack the expertise in childcare and supervision of school lunch programs, unlike at the preschool level. Therefore, the organization and supervision of students' meals are still limited.

"Hopefully, parents will share their concerns with the teachers and encourage the school. If we find a suitable method and direction in the future, we will continue to organize the school lunch program," Ms. Hang said.

Previously, according to feedback from parents of students at Yen Nghia Secondary School, each school lunch cost 32,000 VND, consisting of only one small piece of pork sausage, a little potato, and 3-4 pieces of crispy fried fish, with a few meager strands of bean sprouts.

On another occasion, the menu consisted of only a few potatoes, 3-4 small pieces of crispy fried fish, and a small piece of meat instead of ham. Parents felt that the quality of the meal was too meager, failing to provide adequate nutrition for students who are growing and need to maintain good health for studying.

On the afternoon of October 17th, at a tripartite meeting involving the school, representatives from Hoa Sua Company (the provider of school lunches), and the Parent Representatives of each class, Principal Hoang Thi Thu Trinh proposed that parents cooperate with the school to continue monitoring the school canteen until the end of October 2023.

If the company performs well and parents agree, the school will continue to maintain the school canteen with this company. Otherwise, the school will temporarily suspend the canteen for a period of time to explore other food suppliers.

THANH TUNG

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