Recently, at Hoa Sen Kindergarten, 132 students were absent from school. The main reason why many parents let their children stay home from school was related to the boarding meals.

Accordingly, on November 11, the school will not cook or serve lunch. Instead, parents will bring lunch to their children or pick them up at noon and bring them back to school in the afternoon.

The reason for this incident was that the school and parents could not find a common voice in choosing a food supplier to cook lunch at the school.

W-403b978408f5b3abeae4.jpg
After a 1-day suspension, Hoa Sen Kindergarten has resumed cooking and serving meals to boarding students.

Specifically, at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, the school signed a contract with a unit with full documents and papers related to providing food to organize meals for boarding students of the school. The selected unit is Hong Quang General Service Company Limited, headquartered in Bat Xat district.

However, some parents said that the food transported by the above unit to the school is over a long distance, so the quality of the food will not be guaranteed, and the price of the above supplier is higher than the market price. Therefore, parents asked the school to choose a food supplier in Bao Yen district.

To find a common voice and solve the above problem, on November 10, Hoa Sen Kindergarten held a meeting with the participation of all parents and representatives of local leaders and the Department of Education and Training of Bao Yen district.

Ms. Luc Thi My Le, Principal of Hoa Sen Kindergarten, said that at the end of the meeting, the issue of choosing and finding food suppliers had not been resolved, so the school proposed a solution for parents to bring lunch to their children or pick up their children at noon and let them return to school in the afternoon.

"On November 12, a food supplier was temporarily selected and this unit will complete the procedures and documents in the next 1-2 days to ensure compliance with regulations and provide long-term, stable food supply to the school," said Ms. Le.

W-974b05f65187ead9b396.jpg
Teaching and learning activities at Hoa Sen Kindergarten take place normally and stably.

Speaking to reporters on the afternoon of November 12, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoan, Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Bao Yen district, said that after a day of suspension, teaching and boarding meals at Hoa Sen Kindergarten were operating normally. On November 13, the entire school had 38 students absent due to illness or family matters, with an attendance rate of 85%.

According to Ms. Ngoan, not only Hoa Sen Kindergarten but all schools in Bao Yen district strictly follow the instructions of the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Education and Training of Lao Cai province, including providing cooking support for boarding students to eat and stay at school and ensuring at schools.

Principal: 'Parents agree, teachers and students benefit from studying 5 days/week' Lao Cai is the first province in the country to apply a 5-day/week schedule for secondary schools in the area. This approach has brought positive results for students, parents and teachers.