When a meal is more than just… a meal

This is a student meal at Hanoi University of Science and Technology - one of the largest training institutions in the country in terms of both training scale and position within the higher education sector.

Some students at the school participating in a national defense and security education training course said that their meals, even though they have to pay 35,000 VND per serving (not a lot, but not a little either), are not products of proper care and respect. Instead, they appear to be nothing more than "leftover rice and soup," and even contain foreign objects.

If it weren't for the frank feedback from some students, this story would probably have been swept under the rug, and there's no guarantee it wouldn't happen again.

I've shared many times about the student meals at the A15 cafeteria, where the recent incident occurred and which is currently closed. Although I knew what "student meals" were like, I never imagined something like this could happen in this place.

A meal is not about the quality of the food, but about the heart of the person serving it. (Illustrative image.)

Therefore, my feelings ranged from surprise to outrage, making it difficult to distinguish between surprise and outrage. I believe that anyone who has witnessed similar events can share that sentiment.

Because every meal, no matter where it is served—from a humble roadside eatery to a clean, fragrant meal in a luxurious restaurant—shows the highest respect for the dignity of the person being served. A meal may have many different food items, and a menu may have many or few items, but the mindset of the server, if it still possesses that quality, is only one: respect for the person being served, and if there is anything more significant to mention here, it is responsibility to the community.

Perhaps the heartbreaking stories, from children's meals in remote schools to the meals of university students right in the capital, at one of the country's most prestigious educational institutions, mentioned above, serve as a warning about the responsibility of a segment of us who are disregarding the community.

The nature of the recent incident has prompted government leaders to intervene. Government Office document No. 7385/VPCP-KGVX, sent to the Minister of Education and Training, conveyed the opinion of Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long regarding the handling of press reports about Hanoi University of Technology students being forced to eat "leftover rice and soup" and having "foreign objects" in their meals.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long requested the Ministry of Education and Training to strengthen guidance, management, and inspection of food hygiene and safety for students in educational institutions, ensuring quality and safety, and preventing similar incidents from recurring.

We highly commend the approach and accountability of those involved. The Hanoi University of Science and Technology's leadership team has adopted a policy of taking direct responsibility, transparency, and strict handling of all relevant groups and individuals to ensure the rights of students are protected.

A meal with unsafe food is something no one wants. But a meal like the one that just happened is not just something nobody wants; it highlights the shortcomings in monitoring activities and work in our area.

And it also needs to be definitively determined whether or not there is any truth to the claim that "the school is searching for the student who spread the false information in order to take action" (?).

I really want to end this discussion here so that a meal can truly be a meal. Even students, regardless of their region, have every right to demand that for their meals.

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