Dialogue with residents after parents protest school merger

People hung banners in front of the gate of the People's Committee headquarters of Trieu Son town, Trieu Son district (Thanh Hoa) on the morning of March 28 to protest the school merger - Photo: Contributor

At the dialogue, Mr. Pham Van Thuong - Chairman of Trieu Son Town People's Committee - said: "The merger of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School with Le Van Tam Primary School has just been approved to establish a project, but there is no project yet. In Trieu Son Town, there are three primary schools, but only one secondary school, so the need to expand the secondary school is very necessary.

The local government based on current State regulations requested the policy of merging the two above-mentioned primary schools, reserving the current campus and land of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School for To Vinh Dien Secondary School.

However, many parents whose children are studying at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School believe that this school has been stable and now transferring students to Le Van Tam Primary School will affect the students' psychology.

Besides, if Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School is merged with Le Van Tam Primary School, about 2km apart, students in grades 1, 2, and 3 who cannot ride bicycles by themselves will have difficulty in picking up and dropping off their children, because many parents work as factory workers all day.

"We request that local leaders find a way to please the people. What is good should be done for the people, what is not good should be avoided. We request that superiors keep Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School so that students can go to school conveniently as before" - many parents requested at the dialogue session.

On March 28, many people of Trieu Son town participated in a dialogue with leaders of the People's Committee of Trieu Son district (Thanh Hoa) about school merger - Photo by Contributor

Receiving parents' opinions, Mr. Le Quang Trung - Vice Chairman of Trieu Son District People's Committee - said: "The plan to merge Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School with Le Van Tam Primary School does not mean transferring all students to Le Van Tam School. After agreeing on the merger plan, the District People's Committee will calculate how to make it most convenient for the people and students. If any child lives near Le Van Tam Primary School, they can register to study there."

According to Mr. Trung, the school merger project has just been approved and has not yet been implemented, but many parents have hung banners and gathered in large numbers, causing public disorder. "In addition, parents do not send their children to school, affecting the students' learning. The district leaders request that people send their children to regular schools to ensure their children's right to education," Mr. Le Quang Trung added.

Mr. Pham Trong Dung - principal of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School - said that all professional teaching activities of the school are still taking place normally, so parents should bring their children back to school soon.

However, on March 28, only 139/457 students of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School went to school.

Local authorities, organizations, school principals, and teachers are focusing on encouraging parents to send their children to school tomorrow, March 29, to avoid disadvantages for students.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/doi-thoai-voi-nguoi-dan-sau-khi-phu-huynh-phan-doi-sap-nhap-truong-20240328183326504.htm