T earned over 310 million; spent 225.5 million to renovate one classroom.
The incident, which has caused a stir among parents, recently occurred in class 1/2 at Hong Ha Primary School, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City.
According to the parent-teacher association (PTA) fund income and expenditure statement for this first-grade class, at the beginning of the school year, the total amount collected by the PTA reached 313.3 million VND, and the expenditure was over 260.328 million VND. This class has 32 students, with each parent contributing 10 million VND to the fund.
Class 1/2, Hong Ha Primary School, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. Parents of this class spent 225.5 million VND on classroom repairs.
Of particular note are the expenses related to classroom repairs. These include an advance payment of 150 million VND to the contractor for classroom repairs on August 13, 2023; a payment of 50 million VND for classroom repairs on August 19, 2023; 5.5 million VND for painting desks and chairs (3.5 million VND) and tiling the side of the classroom (2 million VND); and 20 million VND for the remaining construction costs paid to the contractor… In total, the Parents' Fund spent 225.5 million VND on classroom repairs.
Yesterday afternoon (September 27), Ms. Bui Thi Hai Yen, Principal of Hong Ha Primary School, Binh Thanh District, officially spoke to the press regarding the allegations of irregularities in school finances. Ms. Yen stated that the school had investigated and verified the matter, confirming that the fees for classroom repairs at the beginning of the school year for class 1/2 were collected based on voluntary agreement with the parents. The school has worked with the homeroom teacher and parents to halt the collection of these fees for class 1/2. "Regarding the fees for the nanny, the school has requested the parent-teacher association to stop the payments, and the nanny has returned the money received to the parents. Following this incident, the school will hold a meeting to learn from the experience and rectify the financial management of class 1/2 as well as other classes in the school," Ms. Yen said.
By the evening of September 27th, Thanh Niên reporters repeatedly tried to contact the Head and Deputy Head of the Education and Training Department of Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, to discuss the issue, but were unable to reach them and they did not answer the phone.
Income and expenditure statement of class fund at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year of Hong Ha Primary School, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City.
PARENTS SHOCKED
The initial income and expenditure figures for class 1/2 at Hong Ha Primary School, Binh Thanh District, have shocked the parent community, as evidenced by hundreds of comments from Thanh Nien Newspaper readers sent to the editorial office.
Reader Trung Ha wrote: "225.5 million VND, this is the money for repairing the classroom after paying the contractor. Remember, it's only for repairing one classroom that the school used last school year. It's appalling." Or reader Pham Duy Viet commented: "The class fund, each student contributes 10 million VND. If it's voluntary, does that mean it's not mandatory? Or if more than 50% of parents vote in favor, then it's mandatory. If a parent doesn't contribute, will the homeroom teacher call them out and 'praise' them?"
Nghi Chan asks: "At the beginning of the year, the parents already paid the 'facilities' fee, so why are they collecting fees for 'classroom repairs' and 'building new classrooms' for the contractor? Where did the infrastructure money go?"
Everywhere there are complaints about income and expenses.
On September 27th, Thanh Niên reporters also continuously received emails and phone calls from parents and students complaining about school fees and expenses at the beginning of the school year.
A group of parents whose children attend Long Binh Primary School in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, complained: "Right from the beginning of the school year, the school didn't check the facilities beforehand. Instead, they waited until the students started school before the homeroom teachers called for social contributions. The expenses we had to contribute included: supporting the whiteboard, buying sliding whiteboards, marking the whiteboard, buying chairs for the flag-raising ceremony, decorating the classroom at the beginning of the year, fans, lights, etc."
Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training: Strictly prohibited from exploiting the name of the Parents' Representative Committee.
Mr. Le Hoai Nam, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, said that the Department has instructed education departments and schools on the collection and use of tuition fees and service fees to support educational activities for the 2023-2024 school year.
Accordingly, educational institutions must fully and publicly inform parents, students, and pupils in writing about all fees, clearly stating the content of each fee as stipulated. They must also stagger the collection of fees and avoid collecting multiple fees simultaneously.
Regarding the operating budget of the parent-teacher association, the Department's leadership emphasized that it is strictly prohibited to misuse the name of the parent-teacher association to collect fees outside the regulations stipulated in Circular No. 55 of the Ministry of Education and Training.
The Department also noted to educational institutions that the operating funds of the parent-teacher association are managed and used by the parent-teacher association itself and are only for activities directly related to the parent-teacher association.
The funds of the Parents' Representative Committee shall not be used for the following purposes: "Protecting school facilities, ensuring school security, supervising students' transportation, cleaning classrooms and the school grounds, rewarding school administrators, teachers, and staff, purchasing machinery, equipment, and teaching materials for the school, classes, or for school administrators, teachers, and staff, supporting management, teaching organization, and educational activities, repairing, upgrading, and constructing new school facilities" (point b, clause 4, article 10 of Circular 55).
In addition, the Department also requests that principals and heads of educational units coordinate with the head of the school's parent-teacher association to decide on the plan for using the association's funds; and only use the funds after unanimous agreement from the entire parent-teacher association.
Bich Thanh
A parent whose child attends NH Primary School in Thu Duc City also complained to a Thanh Nien reporter: "Every year, the school asks parents to contribute money for various purposes, including: school building repairs (which are done every year); electricity; projectors (which are paid for every year); cultural activities; printing certificates and buying gifts for students; scholarship money; and contributions to the school's parent-teacher association..."
In response to this situation, yesterday, September 27th, the Department of Education and Training of Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, issued Official Document No. 1649 providing guidance on the mobilization, management, and use of operating funds for parent-teacher associations according to Circular No. 55/2011/TT-BGDĐT. This document was sent to all principals of kindergartens, primary schools, and secondary schools in the district. This is a very timely move by the district in response to the situation where schools in many localities across the country have been criticized for collecting and spending excessive amounts of money, causing distress to parents.
WHAT ARE THE REGULATIONS OF THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING?
Circular No. 55/2011/TT-BGDĐT clearly stipulates that the mobilization and establishment of the parent-teacher association's operating fund must be carried out in accordance with points a and b, clause 1, Article 10 of Circular 55/2011/TT-BGDĐT as follows:
The operating budget of the class's parent-teacher association is derived from voluntary contributions from parents and other legitimate sources of funding for the association.
This is a notification message from the Parent-Teacher Association that parents of students at NH Primary School, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, received at the beginning of this school year.
The operating budget for the school's parent-teacher association is drawn from the operating budget of the class parent-teacher associations, as recommended by the general meeting of class parent-teacher association chairpersons at the beginning of the school year, and from other legitimate sources of funding for the school's parent-teacher association.
Regarding the principles of collection and other related regulations, the provisions of Clauses 3 and 4, Article 10 of Circular 55 apply: "The collection and expenditure of funds by the Parents' Representative Committee must ensure the principles of transparency and democracy: After expenditure, a public report on the financial settlement must be presented at the general meetings of parents of students in each class and at the general meetings of the Parents' Representative Committee of the school. There is no prescribed average amount of financial contribution for parents."
The Parent-Teacher Association is prohibited from collecting donations from students or their families that are not voluntary or that do not directly support the activities of the Parent-Teacher Association.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Education and Training emphasizes that educational institutions do not accept donations to cover the following expenses: teaching fees; expenses directly related to administrators, teachers, lecturers, and staff; security and protection activities; fees for supervising students' transportation; fees for maintaining classroom and school hygiene; rewards for administrators, teachers, and staff; and expenses supporting the management of the educational institution.
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