A school was accused of "embezzling" hundreds of millions of dong in union funds.

(Dan Tri) - A school in Thanh Hoa city, Thanh Hoa province, was accused of collecting many fees in violation of regulations. Notably, this school was also accused of "embezzling" hundreds of millions of dong from the annual union fund.

Recently, Dan Tri newspaper received a report that To Hien Thanh High School (Thanh Hoa city, Thanh Hoa province) collected and spent many amounts in violation of the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training .

According to the reflection, every year, To Hien Thanh High School collects amounts that are incorrect compared to Circular 55 of the Ministryof Education and Training, such as: scholarship fund of 150,000 VND/student; parent fund of 200,000 VND/student.

To Hien Thanh High School (Photo: Thanh Tung).

New 10th grade students also have to pay 60,000 VND to buy plastic chairs and 500,000 VND in socialized money.

The school also collects 243,000 VND/student for toilet paper; 84,000 VND/student for stationery; 280,000 VND/student for parking... Meanwhile, each year the school receives about 19 billion VND from the budget and 60% of tuition fees to pay for teachers' salaries and other expenses for teaching and learning activities.

In addition, To Hien Thanh High School was also accused of "embezzling" money from extra-curricular exams to put into the union fund in 2023 and 2024.

Specifically, in 2023-2024, the whole school collected more than 750 million VND in fees for additional examinations and tutoring. This amount was transferred to the union fund. However, the school has only spent 307 million VND on union activities for staff and teachers; the remaining amount has not been used, causing many teachers to be upset.

Speaking to Dan Tri reporter, Mr. Nguyen Tai Quyen, Principal of To Hien Thanh High School, said that the school has received the complaint and is checking and verifying it to report to the authorities.

According to Mr. Quyen, the initial review results show that the expenditures from the union fund have been fully implemented, with specific supporting documents. “It is not as reported. No one would dare to spend incorrectly like that,” Mr. Quyen affirmed.

Regarding the collection of exam fees, Mr. Quyen said that in previous school years, at the request of parents, the school organized additional exam sessions for students. This was agreed upon between the school and parents. The collected money was used to cover the costs of organizing the exam, the rest was put into the union fund.

According to the report, each new 10th grade student has to pay 60,000 VND to buy a plastic chair (Photo: Hoang Duong).

Regarding the reported illegal fees, Mr. Quyen said that in previous years, some fees were collected, while some fees were newly proposed.

Regarding the money for buying plastic chairs, Mr. Quyen explained that the school only collects it to buy for the students. As for collecting money for buying toilet paper... the school had a policy of collecting it before but has not implemented it.

“The previous principal had a policy of collecting fees, but before it could be implemented, I took over the position of principal. Therefore, I abandoned this policy and did not allow the collection to be implemented,” said Mr. Quyen.

According to Mr. Quyen, the annual parent fund is discussed and collected by parents themselves. As for the scholarship fund, Mr. Quyen said it is not yet clear how it was collected and spent in previous years. But last school year, after taking over as principal of the school, he organized the mobilization and has not yet collected it.

Regarding the above reflections, Mr. Quyen also said that the police have received the information and are coordinating with the school to verify and clarify. In the coming time, the school will soon complete the report to send to the authorities. At that time, specific information about the incident will be announced more clearly.

Section 4, Article 10, Charter of the Parents' Representative Board issued together with Circular No. 55/2011/TT-BGDDT dated November 22, 2011 of the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates:

4. The parents' representative committee is not allowed to collect donations from students or students' families:

a) Donations are not voluntary.

b) Donations that do not directly serve the activities of the Parents' Representative Board: Protecting school facilities, ensuring school security; supervising students' vehicles; cleaning classrooms and schools; rewarding school administrators, teachers and staff; purchasing machinery, equipment and teaching aids for schools, classrooms or for school administrators, teachers and staff; supporting management, teaching and learning organization and educational activities; repairing, upgrading and constructing new school facilities.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/mot-truong-bi-to-bien-thu-hang-tram-trieu-dong-tien-quy-cong-doan-20250529160336409.htm