Blurred parent fund

Seeing the class parents' association reminding her to close the fund without explaining the 66 million VND expenditure last year, Ms. Nhung "got angry" and stood up to confront them in the meeting.

"This is the second year of this kind of spending," said Ms. Nhung, 31 years old, in Ha Dong, Hanoi , after a parent meeting a week ago.

Last year, her son entered first grade at a public school. The mother had no complaints about the school's fees, but had to pay the parent fund four times, totaling 1.3 million VND.

"A class of 51 students pays more than 66 million VND in fees each year. When I asked for a list, they said no, because many of the fees are sensitive," said Ms. Nhung. She believes that this association only knows how to collect money without a clear plan, and is ready to transfer children to another class if they are made difficult.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Ngoc Thy, a parent of class 1/2 at Hong Ha Primary School, Binh Thanh District, was also shocked because the class fund had spent more than 260 million VND without her knowing. This class has 32 students, the parents had agreed to pay 10 million VND to decorate and renovate the classroom, and take care of their children for 5 years.

"It's been almost all spent in just over a month, so what will the whole school year be like?", Ms. Thy wondered.

Last week, Tu Hiep Secondary School in Hanoi had to return more than 160 million VND from the school's parent-teacher fund to parents because it was "inappropriate". Also in the capital, Chu Van An High School required the 12th grade Literature class to return 4.5 million VND from the fund to parents. The representative board of class 1/2 at Hong Ha Primary School in Ho Chi Minh City had to return 247.5 million VND of the more than 260 million VND it had spent.

As usual, at the beginning of every new school year, public opinion is in an uproar over the parent fund. Some people think that the collection is too high, others are upset because it is "voluntary" but is no different from coercion, or because the collection and spending are not transparent. Managers believe that these persistent frustrations are due to the lack of principles on the part of both the school and parents.

Vietnamese Dong in various denominations. Illustration: Thanh Hang

The requirement to publicly disclose revenues and expenditures is regularly noted by the Ministry of Education and Training and localities at the beginning of each school year. The Ministry also has Circular 55 of 2011 on the operating regulations of the parent committee, Circular 16 of 2018 on funding for schools.

There is no shortage of legal corridors for transparent collection and spending, but "this and that" related to parent funds still happen, according to Mr. Nguyen Tung Lam, Chairman of the Education Council of Dinh Tien Hoang High School, Hanoi.

He believes the main reason is that principals have not fulfilled their responsibilities well. Although they do not directly hold the parent fund, they still have to manage and supervise to ensure that these funds are collected and spent according to principles.

"Whoever says they don't know is shirking responsibility. The same goes for other fees. No teacher would dare to collect them without the principal's consent," said Mr. Lam.

The second reason is that the parent committee does not really represent the interests of the majority, still deferring to the school and homeroom teachers, and "racing" in contributions.

Before having to return the collected fund, the revenue and expenditure plan of Tu Hiep Secondary School's parents' committee has 25 items, including rewards for classes with small plans that exceed targets, winning the happy class award; training for students to practice for the opening ceremony, participate in competitions; money to rent performance costumes... Many parents reacted because they thought these items were not the fund's responsibility.

Ms. Lan Anh, 43 years old, residing in Long Bien district, Hanoi, who was once a member of the parents' committee of her daughter's middle school class, admitted that there was pressure in "supporting the school in purchasing facilities" and competition between classes. She said that there were five schools that said they were lacking a few projectors and air conditioners, and the parents' committee "knew what they meant" and immediately went to the class to mobilize.

"Although there was no specific standard, in reality, each class looked at each other to try to get close to the average level and not let their class fall too far below," said Ms. Lan Anh. Because "there was no benefit", but parents always questioned and doubted her, after two years, she asked to leave the group.

Responding to VnExpress at the end of September, Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, said that it is not wrong for parents to voluntarily contribute and sponsor to repair classrooms and purchase facilities.

"Circular 55 requires the parent-teacher association not to force parents to donate to repair schools or purchase equipment. However, if parents voluntarily and agree to contribute and sponsor, then Circular 16 will be implemented," Mr. Minh explained, saying that thanks to this policy, schools have significantly improved their facilities while state funding is still limited.

A head of the education department in the North believes that parent funds and school sponsorship are two different things. In particular, the calling for and management of sponsorship money must be the responsibility of the school. If the school needs any support, it must make a plan, submit it to the superiors for approval, and then announce it widely on a voluntary basis, from many sources. Any parent who wants to support can transfer it to the school's account. This amount is managed, has full documents, and is made public.

"If we do that, there will be no confusion, but many schools and parents do not separate, and then have the mindset of leveling and dividing equally for quick results. Because it is against the principles, it causes frustration," he said.

Classrooms for grades 1 and 2, Hong Ha Primary School, Ho Chi Minh City, before and after renovation, September 2023. Photo: Provided by parents

Teachers believe that overcharging and confusing funds will cause parents and society to lose faith in the education sector.

According to Mr. Pham Tat Dong, Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Promoting Education, socialization is not just about collecting money, so if we use the name of socialization to call on parents to pay money, this activity will lose its meaning.

Ms. Thanh Loan, 42 years old, living in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, admitted that she "always felt skeptical" about the spending plan of the parents' committee after discovering that the price of buying a TV for the class was nearly 2 million VND higher than the market price.

"Even though I was explained that the total cost included tips for workers and cleaning the classroom after installation, I still felt hesitant," she said.

Mr. Tung Lam acknowledged that it would be difficult to end the frustrations about parent funds if management and supervision did not change. He proposed to increase the fines for schools that overcharge or collect fees in violation of regulations, and not just criticize and learn from experience forever. At the same time, local authorities should share with schools in calling for, managing and using funding sources. This would help increase cross-monitoring and reduce pressure on schools and teachers in extracurricular activities.

Agreeing with this view, the above-mentioned head of the education department proposed that regulations need to be stricter.

"Many schools still think that how parents spend their funds is their own business, so they do not interfere. There should be a legal basis for provincial and district authorities to set a certain contribution level to avoid chaotic revenue and expenditure," he said.

Chief of Office Ho Tan Minh said that Ho Chi Minh City has asked schools to expand the scope of fundraising, not focusing on parents and not concentrating on the beginning of the school year. Because at this time, parents have to worry about buying books, notebooks, school supplies, uniforms, and health insurance for their children. Fundraising can easily become a burden for them.

Mr. Dong said that the government needs to increase investment in education. "Once a school is opened, it must prepare adequate facilities. It cannot just build classrooms and then let the school install fans and air conditioners. Every expense must be mobilized," he said.

Ms. Nhung does not know when the unreasonable collection and expenditure of the parents' association will end. She only knows that she has just paid 600,000 VND for this school year's provisional collection.

After her opinion, the head of the parents' association promised to make a full report of income and expenditure. This was the only "spiritual victory" so that she would not have to feel dissatisfied at the beginning of each new school year.

Thanh Hang

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/nhap-nhem-quy-phu-huynh-4659644.html