Overcharging at the beginning of the school year is still hot

Although there have been many directives from the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) on tightening fees at the beginning of the school year, in some places overcharging still occurs, causing public outrage.

At the beginning of the school year, at Ha Trung Kindergarten (Ha Trung commune, Thanh Hoa province), homeroom teachers of 4 and 5 year old classes announced 13 contributions with a total amount of nearly 4 million VND/student. Among these, there are many items that are not in the regulations, such as: electricity for air conditioning 100,000 VND, cleaning 180,000 VND, air conditioning 200,000 VND, hiring a gardener 150,000 VND, school supplies 510,000 VND, making school nameplates 250,000 VND...

At Thieu Toan Kindergarten (Thieu Toan commune, Thanh Hoa province), many parents were upset and "accused" the school of collecting drinking water fees from students of 12,000 VND/child/month for many years but not buying it. Verification by the management agency showed that the school had collected drinking water fees for the 2022-2023, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years.   But not buying water is against the rules.

Currently, according to Hanoi regulations, the maximum fee for late-night childcare is 12,000 VND/hour. Trung Tu Primary School (Hanoi) organizes childcare on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Parents believe that the amount they have to pay will be equal to the actual number of childcare sessions multiplied by 12,000 VND, but the school charges 120,000 VND/month for both September and October. When parents asked, they did not receive a clear explanation.

Parents whose children study at Hung Dao Primary School (Hanoi) reported that the school's requirement that each student pay 200,000 VND/year for "air conditioner and power line rental" from an outside company is unreasonable.

To install a surveillance camera system on campus, Le Hong Phong High School ( Tuyen Quang ) is said to have called for contributions of 240 million VND divided among 30 classes (each class about 8 million VND), each student will contribute about 200 thousand VND.

In Ho Chi Minh City, a class at Vo Thi Sau Primary School (Tan Hung Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) presented a plan and estimated operating budget for the 2025-2026 school year with a total estimated amount of more than 54 million VND. This includes two parts: general activities for the class and children and gratitude to teachers (this expense is completely voluntary, the representative board only sends flowers and gifts on behalf of parents).

Many revenue and expenditure items at schools in many localities have caused frustration for parents. Not only the amount of revenue, but also the collection for the wrong purpose or collection without spending, as in the case in Thanh Hoa, has reduced trust in the school. With socialized expenses such as installing air conditioners, cameras, etc., most parents agree if it is transparent, but the method of collection is equal and lacks transparency, making it difficult for them to accept and agree with the school and the parent representative board.

According to Circular 55/2011 of the Ministry of Education and Training, parent representatives are not allowed to mobilize or collect money that is not voluntary. Some of the allowed collections at the beginning of the school year include: uniforms, health insurance, boarding fees, school supplies for preschool children, drinking water, and class funds if there is consensus, publicity, and transparency.

Recently, the Hanoi People's Committee issued a document requesting that service revenues and educational support for public preschool and general education institutions must comply with Decree 238. In Ho Chi Minh City, the Department of Education and Training established inspection teams to review revenue and expenditure at the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year at educational institutions under the People's Committees of wards, communes, special zones, public high schools and public educational institutions under the Department for the entire month of October.

Thus, schools have clear guidelines on what is allowed and what is not allowed to be collected from the Ministry of Education and Training and local Departments of Education and Training. Tightening the collection of fees at the beginning of the school year is necessary, but more importantly, there is consensus between schools and parents. When all collections are transparent, have clear purposes and are closely monitored, the educational environment will become healthier.

ContentsDeputy Minister of Education and Training Le Tan Dung proposed 9 groups of short-term and long-term solutions to stop overcharging. In particular, he required that fees must be approved by competent authorities, and schools are strictly prohibited from setting their own fees. Educational institutions must publicly announce and list prices for materials, equipment, services, and textbooks; not combine fees, not collect multiple periods in advance, and not take advantage of the name of the parent-teacher association to collect more than the prescribed amount. The Ministry of Education and Training requested local authorities to strengthen inspections and handle violations right at the facility.

Thu Huong

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/lam-thu-dau-nam-hoc-van-nong.html