Hundreds of parents let their children stay home from school to protest school merger

Thanh Hoa Hundreds of parents of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School did not send their children to school, to protest the school merger.

On the afternoon of March 27, most parents of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School (Trieu Son Town, Trieu Son District) let their children stay home. Afterwards, they gathered at the gate to protest the merger of this school with Le Van Tam Primary School (formerly Minh Chau Commune, now Trieu Son Town).

"The new location is nearly 3 km further than the current school, causing many difficulties for parents to pick up and drop off their children," said a parent whose child is in 4th grade.

According to parents, they just learned that the two schools are about to merge, and the new school is expected to be located at the current Le Van Tam Primary School.

Many people said they were worried that their children would be unsafe if they were to go to school by bicycle, an additional 3 km from their old school. Many students have parents who work far from home, so their grandparents would have to pick them up and drop them off, which would be very difficult and inconvenient.

Many parents gathered and held banners in protest in front of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School. Photo: Lam Son — Parents gathered in front of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School on the afternoon of March 27. Photo: *Lam Son*

Mr. Pham Trong Dung, Principal of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School, said that he assigned homeroom teachers to persuade parents to let their children come to school so as not to disrupt their studies. The school also urged parents not to gather in large numbers, causing disorder.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Can, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Trieu Son district, Trieu Son town has three primary schools. This number is large compared to the town area, causing difficulties in management, investment in facilities, and improving teaching quality. Therefore, the town proposed merging Nguyen Ba Ngoc and Le Van Tam Primary Schools into one, with headquarters at Le Van Tam School. After the merger, students will not have to travel more than 2 km.

Mr. Can acknowledged that the merger was necessary, but the town had just submitted a proposal. Only when the Provincial People's Committee agreed would a specific project be created and the people's opinions be sought.

"When merging, we will calculate reasonable streams to create the most favorable conditions for students," said Mr. Can.

Chairman of Trieu Son Town People's Committee Pham Van Thuong said that Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School has a small area, while Le Van Tam has a campus and infrastructure that ensures teaching for about 20 classes. In addition, Kim Dong Primary School has a scale of about 30 classes, and can receive more students from Nguyen Ba Ngoc School, although the distance is not too far.

According to Mr. Thuong, on March 28, the Town People's Committee will send an invitation to all parents of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Primary School to come to the headquarters to discuss and find a way to handle the incident.