Every beginning of the school year, there are many noisy events related to school fees, class funds, "voluntary" contributions... happening in many schools.

Recently, a primary school in Ho Chi Minh City has attracted much attention when it does not collect any school or class fund fees from parents. Many people welcomed, supported, and even expressed the desire for this model to be replicated nationwide.

Many principals agree that this is an ideal model, but it is not easy to implement, especially for financially disadvantaged schools, of which such schools are the majority.

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Primary school students. Illustration: Thanh Hung.

Sharing with VietNamNet , the principal of a high school in Hai Phong frankly said: "Is that just a way to appease public opinion or decentralize work, reduce responsibility for the principal (to avoid criticism and suspicion)... but how many activities do not require funding?"

The principal said that, in essence, to operate, the budget is not collected into the class fund, the school fund must also be "transformed" into another form.

This person cited: “Every time we photocopy students’ study documents, if there is no common fund, what will happen to schools that do not have financial support or homeroom teachers who do not pay out of their own pocket? Should we divide the money for each photocopy to contribute?

Furthermore, whether or not the ‘no fund’ can be implemented depends on the location, the region, and the local budget for education. If the locality takes care of it or with the non-public school sector (all fees are collected through tuition fees), it can be done. However, in the public school sector, if the locality does not support, it will be very difficult,” he said.

According to the principal, having a common fund for the class and school in many cases will be more convenient. The important thing is to use the fund transparently and only serve the students.

Mr. Ho Tuan Anh, Principal of Quynh Phuong Secondary School (Hoang Mai town, Nghe An) said that to create an organization, it needs funding to operate effectively.

“To maintain the role of the Parents' Representative Board as prescribed, the principal must take on more work and responsibilities, but if, out of fear of responsibility, they say 'no' to the class fund or association fund, it is considered as nullifying the role of this Board.

Imagine how a parent representative board without funds would operate? According to current regulations, the parent association plays an important role. However, when it comes to specific operations, those regulations are far from reality. In my opinion, the most important thing is to implement and monitor the class and school funds in accordance with regulations and appropriately,” said Mr. Tuan Anh.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Tung, Principal of Lomonosov Secondary and High School (Hanoi) said that there should still be a Parent Representative Committee for each class and school.

“The nature of the Parents' Representative Board represents parents with the responsibility to supervise educational programs, teaching methods of the school and to represent and ensure the rights of students; at the same time, promptly criticize inappropriate things of the school or give opinions to management agencies at all levels if the school does not comply with regulations or violates the law,” said Mr. Tung.

According to Mr. Tung, any association, group or organization has the right to establish a fund and use the fund according to the spending regulations of that association, group or organization. The same goes for the parent representative board and whether or not to establish a fund is up to the members to agree. "If the fund is only for spending on students, not for any items of the school or teachers and the spending is public, it will certainly be highly supported," Mr. Tung stated his opinion.

Mr. Tung believes that the “no fund” model is suitable for some international schools or really difficult areas. “In the past, when our country was still facing difficulties, there was no fund from the Parents’ Representative Committee, but education was still good, and there were still generations of students who were successful in many fields.

However, at present, in some places with conditions, I think there should still be a fund for the Parents' Representative Board. The fund does not need to be large, just enough to reward students when they make progress, encourage them when they have achievements or when they are sick, or for year-end parties... We should not stop these necessary activities for students because of the 'scandals' about the Parents' Representative Board fund's money," said Mr. Tung.

According to the principal, depending on the location, the organization of activities of the Parents' Association will be more or less and the fund level will also be different. "The important thing is that each parent needs to show integrity and dare to immediately give their opinion if the fund is not spent openly, transparently or for the wrong purpose or against the spending regulations," said Mr. Tung.

Schools with teachers who violate regulations on extra teaching will not be considered for emulation titles.

Schools with teachers who violate regulations on extra teaching will not be considered for emulation titles.

Schools with staff and teachers who violate regulations on extra teaching and learning will not be considered for emulation titles during the school year.
Ministry of Education and Training inspects 24 provinces and cities on extra teaching and learning

Ministry of Education and Training inspects 24 provinces and cities on extra teaching and learning

The Ministry of Education and Training has inspected 24 provincial and municipal departments of education and training on issues related to textbook selection, extra teaching and learning, etc.