Hanoi requests not to interrupt meals for boarding students

Regarding the issue of "food provided to the canteen of Cu Khe Primary School showing signs of not ensuring food safety and hygiene", on the afternoon of October 20, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training said that it had sent Document No. 4329/SGDĐT-GDTH dated October 20, 2025 to the People's Committee of Binh Minh Commune (Hanoi) regarding strengthening the management of organizing meals for boarding students.

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training requested the People's Committee of Binh Minh commune to direct functional units in the commune to inspect and review food safety conditions and the organization of boarding meals at Cu Khe Primary School and other schools in the area, and strictly handle any violations of hygiene, food safety, or violations of regulations on contracts for providing meals for students.

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training also requested the People's Committee of Binh Minh Commune to direct Cu Khe Primary School to continue organizing boarding meals, not to interrupt and affect the rights of students, creating peace of mind for parents when sending their children; at the same time, requested the People's Committee of Binh Minh Commune to inform the Department of the inspection results and the plan to stabilize boarding activities at Cu Khe Primary School for synthesis and reporting to the City People's Committee.

In the 2025-2026 school year, Cu Khe Primary School organized boarding for students in the form of a company providing full meals. On October 15, during the inspection of boarding meals, the school and parents who supervised discovered that the food (quail eggs) had an unusual smell and did not meet quality standards. The school immediately stopped using it and replaced it with boiled chicken eggs for students.

On October 16, at the school meeting with representatives of parents of students from each class, the parents agreed to terminate the contract with Nhat Anh Import-Export Trading and Service Company Limited (the unit providing meals) from October 17. The school sent a notice about temporarily suspending the organization of boarding for students and reported to the People's Committee of Binh Minh commune to issue a decision to appoint a unit to provide meals for boarding students...

On October 19, the school announced that it would temporarily adjust the boarding meal plan and select a new meal provider for students. The announcement stated that while the school and the government complete the bidding process, parents can choose one of two options to ensure students' meals and lunch breaks.

Option 1 is for parents to prepare lunch for their children in the morning and bring it to school, and the school will arrange for teachers to take care of and supervise the children so they can eat and rest in class; option 2 is for parents to pick up their children to eat lunch and rest at 10:30 a.m. and bring them back to school at 1:30 p.m. for the afternoon class.

The school also commits to implementing a transparent, careful, and regulated process for selecting a new kitchen unit; developing a process for closely monitoring input food, meals, and sample storage; and not allowing any further food safety incidents to occur in the future.

However, as of October 20, according to school statistics, 1,335 out of 1,518 students attended school, reaching 88%. There were 182 students who were absent with permission for various reasons such as: health, parents unable to pick up and drop off their children, some parents unable to prepare lunch for their children...; 1 student was absent without permission. There were 497 students who brought lunch and slept at school (37%); 838 students finished school and left at 10:30 am (63%).

The school is implementing new bidding processes such as developing plans, sending invitations, and receiving documents from contractors.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/giao-duc/ha-noi-yeu-cau-khong-lam-gian-doan-bua-an-ban-tru-cho-hoc-sinh-20251020201136800.htm