List of 6 teachers' holidays a year: Parents' fund is "heavy" with... envelopes

(Dan Tri) - Not only the "6 days a year for teachers' holidays" budget plan happened at a school in Ho Chi Minh City, but parents' funds in many places are also "heavy" with the problem of... envelopes like this.

Looking at the list of parent fund estimates for a second grade class at Vo Thi Sau Primary School, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, everyone is overwhelmed by the plan to give "envelopes" to teachers during the holidays.

In a 9-month school year, this list shows that there are... 6 holidays in the year when parents give envelopes to teachers.

The list of expected parent fund contributions is full of "envelope money" in a class at Vo Thi Sau Primary School, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City (Screenshot).

Apart from Vietnamese Teachers’ Day on November 20, this list does not exclude any other holidays during the year to give gifts to teachers. Specifically, October 20, the founding day of the Vietnam Women’s Union, New Year’s Day, Lunar New Year, March 8, and the end of the school year.

Depending on the occasion, the "envelope" for homeroom teachers, nannies, and subjects ranges from 1 to 2.5 million VND.

The above budget of the parent fund of this class was "whistled" by the school for not following the regulations and the fund was required to return the money to the parents who contributed.

According to the leaders of Vo Thi Sau Primary School, this collection and expenditure is not in accordance with Circular 55 on the regulations of the Parents' Association. The school has also analyzed for parents to understand that the care and training of teachers and nannies is against the regulations.

We also need to look straight, not only the budget table "6 holidays a year for teachers" at Vo Thi Sau Primary School but also the reality that parent funds in many places are "heavy" with the issue of envelopes like that.

Remember, not long ago, the shocking revenue and expenditure estimate as long as the "Tao Quan petition" of a 9th grade class at a middle school in Ho Chi Minh City also had a "heavy" amount of envelopes for teachers on November 20 and Tet.

Of which, on November 20, the expenses for the principal, vice principal, homeroom teachers, subjects, nannies, supervisors, admission data entry... totaled 31 million VND. On the occasion of Lunar New Year, the total amount of money "gone" to teachers was 27 million VND.

Ms. H.Ng.H., a mother of two children studying in Ho Chi Minh City, said that showing gratitude to teachers on holidays throughout the year is not a strange thing, and parents with children studying here understand this issue.

However, according to Ms. H., giving gifts to teachers causes frustration because it is overused. Instead of being only 1-2 occasions a year to show gratitude and thank teachers, now in many places, every day can be turned into a... Teachers' Day, including the Mid-Autumn Festival. In many places, parents' funds are set as a default for these expenses during the year, causing frustration for many people.

Ms. H. said that recently, she was the one who protested against the class parents' association spending the fund to celebrate teachers on October 20.

Personally, I don't mind contributing a few tens of thousands, but for Ms. H., this is not an occasion for parents to show their gratitude to teachers. She is also a woman, she has no need to congratulate or give gifts to other women on this occasion, no matter who they are.

Ms. H. expressed that the widespread practice of giving "red envelopes" to teachers during the holidays of the year has led to many consequences. "Wealth begets courtesy", many unnecessary things are displayed, while in a collective, not everyone has the means. For many families, a few tens of thousands to pay for their children's education has to be calculated.

In particular, Ms. H. is concerned that the current practice of giving envelopes to teachers is a way for parents to "go" to their teachers and does not teach children a lesson about gratitude to their teachers. Parents are doing too much for their children, including thanking and expressing their feelings to their teachers.

Not to mention, we also teach children to get used to the "envelope culture" atmosphere from an early age.

Having participated in the class parent committee, Ms. H. shared that there are cases where the parent fund must be approved by the homeroom teacher for all expenses. However, there are also cases, especially with gifts, where the teacher does not know and the parent committee makes the plan themselves.

"The proliferation of envelopes in schools often brings shame to teachers. Although they are not worth much, teachers bear all the negative publicity related to parents' envelopes," said Ms. H.

Sharing the same opinion, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Linh, a primary school teacher in Ho Chi Minh City, shared that she was heartbroken when she heard people discussing gifts for teachers. During holidays, she often saw parents asking each other online: "What should I give my teachers? How much should I give them?", it was very difficult.

Ms. Linh once encountered a case where a parent in her class planned to give gifts to teachers during the year. But soon after, the parent turned around and "accused" her of having to pay money to the parent fund against regulations.

"There are cases where teachers extort money, but there are also many cases where teachers are notorious for these formalities from parents," said Ms. Linh.

To protect teachers and avoid pressure on parents, many schools, especially private schools, have long had a rule that teachers do not accept gifts or envelopes from parents.

A teacher in Ho Chi Minh City returned the parents' lucky money (Photo: NA).

There are schools that do not have regulations on this issue, but teachers choose to say "no" to gifts sent by parents... For them, saying no is choosing to feel at ease.

Giving gifts as a sign of gratitude is a beautiful trait, especially in the teacher-student relationship. However, when gift giving becomes a burden for both the giver and the receiver, this act of gratitude is distorted and deformed.

The envelope in the parent fund's budget list seemed light but turned out to be heavy...

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/danh-sach-mot-nam-6-ngay-le-thay-co-quy-phu-huynh-nang-phong-bi-20241024110628751.htm