Ambiguous fees collected at the beginning of the school year.

Seeing that the class's parent association only mentioned paying the fund, without providing a detailed explanation of the 66 million VND spent last year, Ms. Nhung became furious and stood up to confront them.

"This is the second year in a row that they've been managing finances like this," said Nhung, 31, a resident of Ha Dong district, Hanoi , expressing her frustration.

Last year, her son started first grade at a public school in her designated catchment area. The mother said she had no objections to the school's fees, but she found the parent-teacher association fund "unacceptable." During her son's first year, she paid this fund four times, totaling 1.3 million VND.

"The class has 51 students, and they contribute 66 million VND to the fund annually. Of that amount, approximately 24 million VND is spent on student celebrations and birthdays, 2 million VND on photocopying materials, and the rest is not mentioned. When I requested the funds be disbursed, the parents said no, citing sensitive expenses," Ms. Nhung said.

The woman said that the amount of 1.3 million VND wasn't too large, but she was upset by the parents' committee's unclear way of handling the matter.

At the meeting on September 23rd, Ms. Nhung was hoping that in the new school year, the parent committee would work more transparently and clearly, but she received no explanation about last year's expenses, only being told to pay for this year.

"I disagree with the parents' committee's 'act first , report later' approach, simply demanding payment without any projected income or expenditure. This method makes me question the transparency of the collection and expenditure of funds," Ms. Nhung said.

Vietnamese Dong banknotes of various denominations. Illustration photo: Thanh Hang

Besides the parent fund, many parents are also uncomfortable because they believe some schools have unclear distinctions between voluntary and mandatory fees. Ms. Hang, 40 years old, living in Ha Nam , is one such case.

At a parent-teacher meeting for her 11th-grade son in mid-September, the mother was informed that she needed to pay 1.4 million VND, including 270,000 VND for 20 notebooks with the school's logo printed on the covers. A week later, her daughter's 5th-grade teacher also sent a list of fees to be paid, including 150,000 VND for 15 lined notebooks with the school logo printed on them.

"What's concerning is that the teacher didn't clearly inform us that this was a voluntary fee. It was included alongside a series of mandatory fees such as health insurance and tuition," Ms. Hang said. According to her, the notebooks purchased at the school have poor quality paper and thin, easily torn covers, so she didn't want her child to use them. When she refused to pay this fee, many other parents only then learned that it was not mandatory.

At the beginning of each school year, a host of issues related to fees are raised.

Last week, Tu Hiep Secondary School in Hanoi had to return over 160 million VND from the school's parent-teacher association fund to parents because it was deemed "inappropriate." The class representative board of class 1/2 at Hong Ha Primary School in Ho Chi Minh City had to return 247.5% of the more than 260 million VND they had spent. In Hai Duong, Thanh Mien 3 High School was found to have collected many fees improperly and exceeding regulations.

According to a survey conducted by VnExpress in October 2022, out of 550 respondents, 79% opposed collecting parent association funds. The majority believed that this was a difficult-to-manage and easily misused resource.

Ms. Hang recorded the school year contributions for her son. (Photo: Provided by the subject)

The Ministry of Education and Training has issued a requirement for the public disclosure of regular income and expenditure, with a greater emphasis on this at the beginning of each school year – a time when parents have to pay many fees for their children. The Ministry has also issued Circular 55 of 2011 on the regulations for the operation of parent committees and Circular 16 of 2018 on funding for schools. In addition to the Ministry's requirements, local authorities and Departments of Education and Training also issue their own directives regarding financial activities at the beginning of the new school year.

"There is no shortage of legal frameworks for transparent revenue and expenditure, but various issues related to financial matters at the beginning of the school year still occur," said Nguyen Tung Lam, Chairman of the Education Council and co-founder of Dinh Tien Hoang High School, a private school in Hanoi.

Mr. Lam believes the main reason stems from the school principal's failure to fulfill their responsibilities. According to him, while the principal doesn't directly manage the class or school's parent fund, they still need to implement measures to manage and supervise these funds to ensure they are collected according to principles and used for the intended purpose.

However, those in charge of the parent fund also have their own concerns. Lan Anh, 43, residing in Long Bien district, Hanoi, who was once a member of the Parent Committee of her daughter's middle school class, said, "I didn't gain anything" but only bore the pressure. Members of the Parent Committee were also frequently questioned and suspected.

She said that besides buying stationery and equipment for the classroom – expenses she called "easy to track" – there were also more delicate matters like buying flowers and gifts for teachers on Vietnamese Teachers' Day, Lunar New Year, and for female teachers, there were additional occasions like International Women's Day on March 8th and Vietnamese Women's Day on October 20th.

The prices of flowers and gifts on these occasions are usually two to three times higher than usual. Even after surveying the market and ordering in large quantities, the expense is unavoidable, she said.

"Not to mention, not every store provides official invoices; sometimes it's just a handwritten receipt or nothing at all. So requiring every expense to have an invoice is impossible for the Parents' Committee," said Ms. Lan Anh. After two years on the Committee, she decided to resign because "it was tiring, time-consuming, and not appreciated by other parents."

Regarding the confusion between mandatory and voluntary contributions, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Chuong, former principal of Loc Phat High School in Lam Dong province, suggested that it would not be difficult to differentiate them for parents. The school should provide a printed list clearly stating which fees are mandatory and which are voluntary or require contributions, so that parents can easily track them. If necessary, he suggested that the principal could further explain the necessity and reasons for any non-mandatory fees.

"The general sentiment is that no parent wants to pay a lot, so we need to show them that the amount is practical and necessary for their children's education. I believe that then, parents will be more open and feel convinced," Mr. Chuong said.

If the lack of transparency in soliciting donations within schools continues, educators believe that many people will lose faith in the education system. When urgent matters arise that truly require parental involvement, schools will find it difficult to solicit contributions.

Ms. Nhung just paid 600,000 VND as a provisional fee for the new school year to the class's parent fund, after being promised that she would be fully informed of every income and expenditure. She considers this promise a moral victory, believing that she will no longer feel resentful at the beginning of each school year.

Thanh Hang

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/nhap-nhem-cac-khoan-thu-dau-nam-hoc-4659644.html