The truth about an elementary school in Binh Phuoc 'charging' students extra money on Friday afternoons

At the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, a post appeared on Facebook by a parent whose child had just entered first grade in Dong Xoai City ( Binh Phuoc ) and was surprised by some of the fees at the beginning of the school year.

This parent listed the fees including: social mobilization 200,000 VND, class fund 200,000 VND but must deduct 20% for the school; students study from Monday to Thursday, and on Friday they study half a day, additional fee 65,000 VND x 9 months = 585,000 VND...

Parents question fees at the beginning of the school year

Through verification by Thanh Nien Newspaper reporters, the school that parents reported is Tien Hung A Primary School (Tien Hung Commune, Dong Xoai City, Binh Phuoc).

Parents did not attend the meeting so they misunderstood the information.

Speaking to Thanh Nien Newspaper reporter, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hao, Principal of Tien Hung Primary School, confirmed that the above information was from a parent, but this person quickly deleted it from her personal Facebook page after receiving an explanation from the school.

According to Ms. Hao, the parent who posted the article on Facebook did not attend the meeting in person, so he may not have fully and accurately grasped the information given by the teacher at the meeting.

Regarding parents' questions about socialized money, Ms. Hao said that at the beginning of the school year, the school had actually listed the tasks that needed to be done to ensure facilities for students in the new school year. Specifically, the school added 72 wall fans and replaced ceiling fans in classrooms for students; installed cameras at the gate, classroom hallways and school grounds; repainted 4 old classrooms; repaired some peeling classroom floors, filled the yard; made roofs for 2 halls of the 18 new classrooms to prevent water stagnation and leakage; purchased additional computers for students to study...

Tien Hung A Primary School (Dong Xoai City)

Sponsorship from parents and donors (if any) is voluntary, as the parent representative committee and parents of each class call for support so that the school can ensure teaching and learning.

"Regarding the information about collecting 200,000 VND in class funds but having to deduct 20% for the school, in reality, it is the fund for parents of the classes. Because parents of the classes called for support and submitted it to the school's parent representative board to operate according to Circular 55 of the Ministry of Education and Training, the school did not collect this fund. This fund is also used by the parent representative board for purposes such as unexpected rewards, gifts, scholarships for poor students who overcome difficulties... during the school year", Ms. Hao explained.

Friday afternoon tutoring is a parent suggestion.

Regarding the collection of money on Friday afternoons as parents reported, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hao said that Tien Hung A Primary School is currently short of 10 teachers. According to the regulations ofthe education sector, each week must ensure students have a minimum of 32-35 lessons. Due to the lack of teachers, the school can only teach a minimum of 32 lessons. Currently, the standard teaching hours for each primary school teacher is 23 lessons/week. Due to the lack of teachers, even though they teach at the minimum level, most teachers have to teach extra lessons (9 lessons/week). Based on the timetable, by the end of Friday morning, students have completed 32 lessons in class and can go home. The school has also notified parents to pick up their children at noon on Fridays to avoid leaving students without supervision.

Provisional payments at the beginning of the school year of Tien Hung A Primary School

According to Ms. Hao, the proposal to collect tuition for extra classes on Friday afternoons is due to the fact that many parents who are workers and have children studying at the school are stuck at work and cannot pick up their children at noon on Fridays, so they want the school to organize extracurricular, skills, and talent classes on Friday afternoons. Because they are outside the program, organizing classes according to parents' needs forces the school to charge extra fees to pay for teachers.

In fact, the Friday afternoon classes (if offered) are not required for all students, but are based on the actual needs of parents of each grade. The school will then group students into one class. The main purpose is to support parents who cannot pick up and drop off their children on Friday afternoons.

"This is the first time the school has proposed this because parents want it. Most parents agree and support it. However, with a few questions, the school is still considering whether to organize classes for students on Friday afternoons or not," Ms. Hao explained.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/thuc-hu-mot-truong-tieu-hoc-o-binh-phuoc-phu-thu-tien-hoc-sinh-chieu-thu-sau-185231004152940854.htm