In recent days, online forums for students in Ho Chi Minh City have been flooded with images and complaints from students about the quality of school lunches.
The school lunch meals were deemed by students to be not worth the price.
PHOTO: PROVIDED BY STUDENTS
In a social media post, an account claiming to be a student from G. High School, a top school in the city, shared that their friend, having recently had braces fitted, had registered for the school lunch consisting of porridge. However, the kitchen ran out of porridge, so they boiled three eggs for the friend to eat with rice and soup. The student was outraged that a school lunch costing 38,000 VND only consisted of three boiled eggs.
Confirming with a Thanh Nien reporter, the account holder stated that the student is from Gia Dinh High School (Binh Thanh District) and posted the message expressing frustration. "Because we have repeatedly complained to the school but the issue remains unresolved, my classmates and I feel we haven't received understanding or been listened to. Therefore, I posted about the school lunch to seek empathy and a common voice from the online community," the student explained.
Students express their outrage about the school lunch program on social media.
Notably, under this post, many parents and students expressed their outrage at the lunch meals at Gia Dinh High School, claiming that the portions were too small, the dishes were meager, not fresh, and even "worse than charity meals."
BM (name changed), a student at the school, told a Thanh Nien reporter that with the school lunch program, even if they ask for more food, they only receive a small amount, insufficient for the needs of growing students. "In addition, the menu is often repetitive, sometimes including chicken 2-3 times a week, and there are even foreign objects like worms and flies in the soup and vegetables, and the rice is sometimes moldy," BM complained.
"We reported this situation to the school administration, and the school resolved it by removing leafy vegetables and only giving us root vegetables. The problem of requesting more food initially improved, but after only a few days, it reverted to the same situation, still giving us too little," BM shared.
CP (name changed), another student at the school, shared with Thanh Nien newspaper that, despite their reluctance, they have to register for the school lunch program in order to take a nap. "My house is far from the school, and I have classes in the afternoon. I can't stand not taking a nap, but the school says that if you want to nap, you have to register for lunch. Last year, the school banned us from ordering food from outside or bringing food from home," P. said.
In addition, many readers also sent messages to Thanh Nien Newspaper complaining about the school's lunch program. One parent of a student at Gia Dinh High School angrily complained to a Thanh Nien reporter: "Oh my God, it's terrible. There's so much spoiled food. We pay for the lunch program, but my child doesn't eat it; we have to bring our own food. 38,000 VND per meal is not a small amount, but the food is spoiled. We raised concerns at parent meetings, but nothing changed. Once, the children saw the spoiled food and reported it to the principal, but she said, 'Throw it away, don't say anything.' So every day we have to cook rice for our children to bring to school."
What did the principal of Gia Dinh High School say?
Following complaints and concerns from students and parents of Gia Dinh High School, reporters contacted Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Khanh Van, the school principal, to receive feedback on the school lunch program. However, on October 29th, Ms. Van stated that she was busy with a meeting and "needed sufficient evidence to prove that the school had no problems, and that the problem lay with someone other than the parents and students"...
As of today, October 31st, when reporters contacted the source to inquire about the information, they were asked: "Please confirm the truth, how do you know it's a parent and student?", "Please provide proof first. I found on that forum that it wasn't a student."
When the reporter continued to provide data regarding parents' complaints to Thanh Nien Newspaper about the quality of school lunches at Gia Dinh High School, Ms. Khanh Van replied: "It's still not enough to verify whether it's a parent or someone else. I have enough information about the untrue allegations. But we need to verify with that woman whether she is actually a parent."
Thanh Nien newspaper will continue to update the information once we receive a response from the school.
Students complained about insufficient food portions, and the school promptly explained and adjusted the situation.
Students posted pictures of their school lunch.
On a student forum in Ho Chi Minh City, information and images allegedly from some students at Hoang Hoa Tham High School (Binh Thanh District) were posted, reflecting on the school lunch. One student posted a picture of a lunch consisting of beef noodle soup with only a few scattered pieces of meat and thinly sliced sausage.
Meanwhile, a student from TT said that since the school changed the canteen, the lunch portions are smaller and not worth the price. "Some days there's only fish and eggs, but if you don't eat fish, you have to eat two portions of eggs, and they're just scrambled eggs. At 35,000 VND a meal, ordering food outside is much better quality," this student said.
Sharing the same opinion, HG students were dissatisfied because the food didn't suit their taste and the menu was repetitive. "The portions are quite small, so some meals aren't enough, and we have to ask for extra rice and soup," HG said.
Speaking with a reporter from Thanh Nien Newspaper today (October 31), Mr. Huynh Van Binh, Deputy Principal in charge of boarding at Hoang Hoa Tham High School (Binh Thanh District), said that the school only learned about the meals from social media and did not receive any complaints from students. However, as soon as the information was seen, the school worked with the supplier to make timely adjustments.
Regarding the image of the bowl of beef noodle soup mentioned above, Mr. Huynh Van Binh confirmed that it was a picture of the school's meal and stated that on that day, as part of his daily routine, he personally supervised the food distribution. Mr. Binh acknowledged that there was an uneven distribution of food among the approximately 1,400 students participating in the boarding program. However, Mr. Binh said he only learned about the image from a teacher who reported it online, and that no student had spoken to the school about it. "Upon receiving this information, we immediately contacted the school's boarding meal provider, requesting them to pay attention to food distribution and prevent this situation from happening again," Mr. Binh said.
Regarding the complaints about small meal portions and students having to "ask for extra rice and soup," the Vice Principal in charge of boarding at Hoang Hoa Tham High School stated that the school's policy is not to fill trays with rice and soup because each student has different appetites, so it's best to provide just enough to avoid waste. However, to prepare for situations where students have a hearty appetite, the school always provides a supplementary area where they can take more when needed.
Students of Hoang Hoa Tham High School have lunch in the cafeteria on October 31st.
Speaking to a reporter from Thanh Nien Newspaper about general management, Ms. Le Thi Xuan Dung, Principal of Hoang Hoa Tham High School, said that in the 2024-2025 school year, the school will conduct a bidding process for the canteen in accordance with state regulations. The canteen is clean, beautiful, and spacious, and students really like it. However, each student has different tastes and appetites, so when students have complaints, the school immediately works with the supplier.
"Recently, the school hasn't received any feedback from students, only information shared via Facebook. The school is currently undertaking tasks such as: talking to boarding students to understand their concerns; discussing with teachers in charge of boarding; taking photos of the food, including the extra food trays; and gathering random opinions and suggestions from students regarding the school lunch. At the same time, the school has invited the company to discuss student feedback to make adjustments that better suit the majority of students' wishes," Ms. Xuan Dung informed.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hoc-sinh-tphcm-phan-anh-bua-an-ban-tru-khong-xung-voi-gia-tien-185241031171842127.htm
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