Schools react in unison to the Department of Education and Training's revenue and expenditure guidelines.

Many schools in Dak Lak are facing the risk of having to stop boarding activities because the service fee instructed by the Department of Education and Training is too low, not enough to cover operating costs and staff salaries.

Dak Lak Department of Education and Training recently issued guidelines on collection and rectification of over-collection from the 2025-2026 school year. Schools must clearly distinguish between compulsory, negotiated, and voluntary collections; do not use compulsory forms for mobilization and voluntary collections; all revenue and expenditure must have estimates and be implemented in the accounting department.

Notably, for services such as boarding and after-school childcare, the Dak Lak Department of Education and Training requires schools to apply Resolution No. 34 of 2023 of the People's Council of Phu Yen province (old).

This resolution stipulates that the fee for hiring cooks and managing boarding students is 120,000 VND/student/month and for purchasing supplies and equipment for boarding students is 100,000 VND/student/year.

Many school principals in Dak Lak expressed concern that this fee is too low and cannot sustain boarding operations.

Ms. Kieu Thi Anh, Principal of Nguyen Duc Canh Primary School (Buon Ma Thuot Ward), said the school has 940 boarding students and 20 service staff (catering staff, nannies).

Previously, in addition to the meal fee, the school collected 215,000 VND/student/month for boarding services. With this fee, employees were covered by insurance and earned more than 3 million VND/month.

"If we only collect 120,000 VND/month, the staff salary will be only over 2 million VND/month, very low. Surely many people will quit their jobs and the school will not be able to organize boarding school," Ms. Anh shared.

Ms. Anh also added that previously, boarding schools balanced their own income and expenditure based on the number of students and staff. Now, applying a fixed fee according to Resolution 34 causes great difficulties.

Many school leaders also believe that the facility fee of 100,000 VND/student/year is too low, not enough to purchase and maintain the quality of boarding. In particular, the fee according to Resolution 34 is lower than the regional minimum wage according to Decree 128 of the Government, which has been effective since July 1.

"We do not understand why the Dak Lak Department of Education and Training is applying Resolution 34 issued in 2023 while there is already a decree on regional minimum wages. We hope the Department will review and make appropriate adjustments," a leader of a primary school in Thanh Nhat ward suggested.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Lan, Vice Chairman of Buon Ma Thuot Ward People's Committee, confirmed that he had received many complaints from principals about the boarding fee collection level according to Resolution 34 being inappropriate.

"The schools all said that the fee was too low and not enough to maintain the boarding kitchen. I assigned the Department of Culture to send a document to the Department of Education and Training and the Provincial People's Committee for consideration," Mr. Lan shared.

A representative of the Dak Lak Department of Education and Training said that they had grasped the information and acknowledged that Dak Lak province currently does not have a separate resolution regulating the collection fees and collection levels for services serving and supporting educational activities in schools. Therefore, the Department will advise on adjusting Resolution 34 to suit the economic situation of Dak Lak province.

While waiting for adjustments, many schools have had to temporarily collect money from parents to have funds to maintain boarding kitchens and ensure meals for students.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/truong-hoc-dong-loat-phan-ung-truoc-huong-dan-thu-chi-cua-so-gddt-20251010102429754.htm