Causing controversy over poor meals, Hanoi secondary school temporarily closes kitchen

Specifically, on the afternoon of October 18, parents of students at Yen Nghia Secondary School (Ha Dong, Hanoi) received a notice from the school sent to class groups via chat groups with the following content:

" To ensure better boarding care, following the direction of superiors, the Board of Directors of Yen Nghia Secondary School would like to inform parents that boarding meals will be temporarily suspended from October 19, 2023. The extra-curricular schedule of boarding classes will change from week 8. We hope that parents will cooperate and comply."

The sudden announcement left many parents confused and worried because they did not have time to prepare another plan for their children's lunch.

Message announcing the temporary suspension of providing meals at Yen Nghia Secondary School was sent to parents.

With two young children studying at Yen Nghia Secondary School, Ms. Pham Thuy Nga shared: “I was very surprised and passive at the school’s announcement. With a busy job and few people in the house, I have not been able to plan lunch for my two children.”

The above mentality of Ms. Nga and many other parents whose children study at Yen Nghia Secondary School is understandable because many families live far from the school. In addition, due to the nature of their work, it is difficult for parents to arrange their work to pick up their children for lunch and then return to school.

Although in the previous 3-party meeting held on the afternoon of October 17, parents, the school and the kitchen agreed to maintain the operating hours until the end of the month. In case parents feel it is not suitable, they will temporarily stop or change to another unit. Therefore, this change has left many parents unable to react in time.

The image of meals for boarding students caused much controversy before.

On the afternoon of October 18, the Parents’ Association had a meeting with the school. However, according to the school, the decision to temporarily close the boarding kitchen was directed by the district, so the school can only rearrange the schedule for students appropriately in the near future.

On October 18, Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Trinh, Principal of Yen Nghia Secondary School, confirmed that the school will consider temporarily suspending the provision of meals for boarding students. Ms. Trinh said that during the day, the school reported the incident to the Department of Education and Training of Ha Dong District.

On the school side, in case the school continues to maintain the kitchen and provide meals for students, the school will change some steps in the management of boarding to improve work efficiency. Strengthen the management and supervision of the kitchen steps if the school continues to operate the kitchen. The school will install cameras in the kitchen and receive feedback from parents about the kitchen to take timely corrective measures and changes.

Ms. Trinh said that stopping the kitchen service is a temporary measure. In the future, if parents still want the school to provide meals for students, the relevant parties will discuss and consider which service provider is capable of cooperating.

Speaking to the press, Ms. Pham Thi Hoa, Vice Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Ha Dong District, said that the district has just directed Yen Nghia Secondary School to temporarily stop organizing boarding meals, starting from October 19.

According to Ms. Hoa, secondary schools are not required to organize meals at school, so the management of schools is still confusing. Therefore, the District People's Committee temporarily directed schools to stop providing meals at school so that schools and parents can find a common voice, consider, discuss, analyze closely, reach a high consensus, and have the best measures to implement together.

"We only temporarily closed the kitchen. When there are no more misunderstandings between parents and the school, we will continue to operate boarding schools, creating the best learning conditions for students," Ms. Hoa added.

On the side of the education management department, Ms. Pham Thi Le Hang, Head of the Education and Training Department of Ha Dong district, said that Yen Nghia Secondary School announced the temporary suspension of the boarding kitchen due to the inability to arrange enough resources and teachers to supervise the operation of the kitchen. Therefore, the school requested to temporarily suspend the boarding kitchen to study and choose a suitable solution.

According to Ms. Hang, at the secondary level, teachers do not have the expertise to take care of and supervise the semi-boarding kitchen like at the preschool level. Therefore, the organization, provision and supervision of students' eating activities are still limited.

"I hope that parents will share with the teachers and encourage the school. If we find a suitable method and direction in the future, we will continue to organize boarding meals," said Ms. Hang.

Previously, according to the parents of Yen Nghia Secondary School, each lunch meal cost 32,000 VND, including only 1 small piece of ham, a little potato and 3-4 pieces of fried fish, with a few strands of bean sprouts.

Another day, the menu was still just a few potatoes, 3-4 small pieces of fried fish and a small piece of meat instead of the ham. Parents said that the quality of the meal was too little, not ensuring nutrition for students in their growing years and not ensuring health for studying.

On the afternoon of October 17, at a meeting of three related parties including the school, representatives of Hoa Sua Company - the unit providing meals for boarding students, and the Parents' Representative Board of each class, Principal Hoang Thi Thu Trinh proposed that parents coordinate with the school to continue monitoring the kitchen until the end of October 2023.

If the company does well and the parents agree, the school will continue to maintain the canteen with this company. Otherwise, the school will temporarily suspend the canteen to explore other food suppliers.

THANH TUNG

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