Recently, a parent of Duc Giang Primary School (Hoai Duc District, Hanoi) posted on social media about the school transporting air conditioners from the old school to the new school at an "astronomical" price.

This parent said that the old Duc Giang Primary School is located on Road 422 and the new school is located on Road DH 06 (Cao Ha village, Duc Giang), these two locations are about 2km apart.

Recently, the school held a parent meeting and announced some fees at the beginning of the year, including the air conditioner transportation fee (131,000 VND/student). For grade 1, the school collected an additional 100,000 VND/student under the title of "air conditioner maintenance fund".

Accordingly, Duc Giang Primary School transferred air conditioners in 30 classrooms (an average of 2 units per classroom) to the new facility at a cost of 142 million VND. Thus, it costs an average of nearly 2.5 million VND to transfer 1 air conditioner.

In which, the cost of disassembly and installation is 580 thousand VND/unit. According to the reporter's research, currently on the market, the cost of disassembling and installing an 18-37 BTU air conditioner ranges from about 400 thousand, the smaller type costs about 350 thousand, depending on the complexity of the location.

Parents also said that the construction unit had declared specific expenses during the process of transporting the air conditioner. The declaration was signed by representatives of the parents' association and the school.

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Screenshot of parent's post.

According to the feedback, when deciding to move the air conditioners, the school did not inform many parents. Only when the work was completed, did the school charge 131,000 VND/student to move 2 air conditioners to the new location.

Mr. NVH - a parent of Duc Giang Primary School expressed: "The transportation of air conditioners is socialized based on the voluntary spirit of parents. However, at Duc Giang Primary School, the school transferred the air conditioners without asking the parents' opinions, then divided the money equally among the total number of students, this is unreasonable. I have questioned the class's parent representative but have not received a satisfactory answer.

Up to this point, I have not paid the amount of 131 thousand VND. Not because my family is in financial difficulty, but because I find the expenses unreasonable, too high compared to the market price (specifically 400 thousand VND to install 1 air conditioner; 170 thousand VND/unit for dismantling; 150 thousand VND/unit for maintenance; 500 thousand VND/unit for constructing a rope ladder). Not to mention that old copper pipes can still be reused, there is no need to replace them with new ones," said Mr. H.

Not only Mr. H., many other parents in the school also disagree with the air conditioner transportation fee. Ms. NTT, a parent whose child attends Duc Giang Primary School, thinks that the air conditioner installation fee is too high.

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Detailed list of air conditioner installation and transportation costs. Photo: Provided by parents.

Regarding this issue, speaking with VietNamNet, Mr. Nguyen Vinh Su - Vice Principal of Duc Giang Primary School (Hanoi) said: In July 2024, the school must hand over the old school to the secondary school. At this time, the school did not hold a meeting with parents to get their opinions because it was quite urgent (if the old school was handed over to another unit, the air conditioner would not be available). Therefore, the representative of the parents' committee invited a number of contractors and selected the construction unit.

"I also received information that some parents had comments, but after being explained, they understood the problem. Currently, the classes have paid relatively enough of the 131,000 VND/student, but some families are in difficult circumstances and have not paid yet," said Mr. Su.

In response to questions about the cost of nearly 2.5 million VND to transport an air conditioner from the old school to the new school, Mr. Nguyen Vinh Su said that he only worked indirectly so he could not judge the price. According to him, the parents' association should find out the price themselves.

The Vice Principal of Duc Giang Primary School affirmed: "If any parent is really in difficulty and cannot pay this fee, we will work with the liaison committee to find a solution and support. The contribution is based on the spirit of sharing equally among the total number of students, but some parents who have the means to support more will help families in difficult circumstances. As for parents who are not in difficulty but find the fee unreasonable and do not pay, we will explain. When people understand, they will agree with the policy."

Head of parents' association burst into tears over the air conditioner at the end of the school year

Head of parents' association burst into tears over the air conditioner at the end of the school year

"When the children graduated, even though we agreed on a plan to liquidate the air conditioner to have a fund for the children's party, some parents still criticized me for 'taking advantage of others' and taking the class's common property to please the principal," Ms. Dung recounted.