The Department of Education and Training reports on the verification of the incident.

The document states that there were errors and violations in the implementation of the school's revenue collection.

Specifically, the school leadership's communication with homeroom teachers regarding fee collection was inconsistent and unclear. Some fees were not in accordance with regulations, leading to some homeroom teachers not fully understanding the process, resulting in negative public opinion when communicating with parents.

Accordingly, there are fees that the school administration implements, but the homeroom teachers do not inform the parents about. Or there are fees that the homeroom teachers inform parents about, but which are not on the school's official list.

Verification of projected revenue at Thanh Mien III High School. (Source: Hai Duong Department of Education and Training)

There are four fees listed in the homeroom teacher's statement that are not included in the school's guidelines: Parent-Teacher Association fund, television purchase fee, summer tutoring fee, and photocopying fee. Two fees are higher than the amounts announced by the school: parking fee and electronic communication book fee.

The school's proposed fees, discussed at meetings with homeroom teachers, do not comply with the regulations stipulated in Resolution 08/2022/NQ-HĐND and other current documents.

Specifically, there are 6 fees not included in the regulations: money for notebooks, money for purchasing chairs, money for surveys, money for general exams, class fund, and money for purchasing textbooks. There are 3 fees exceeding the regulations: money for drinking water, money for student ID cards, and money for electronic communication notebooks.

In addition, there are two revenue streams that were not handled according to proper procedures: fundraising through social contributions and parent-teacher association funds.

According to the Hai Duong Department of Education and Training, the school had only initially planned the list of fees and fee amounts for homeroom teachers to publicly announce and solicit feedback from parents. The implementation of the meeting's contents to homeroom teachers was not specific enough, leading to homeroom teachers arbitrarily adding other fees to the list and combining the entire school year's fees from several categories into a single collection, which is against regulations.

The school principal implemented fee collection that did not adhere strictly to the approved list, with some fees exceeding the permitted ceiling, causing negative public opinion.

" The reason for these errors is that the principal has not fully grasped the current regulations and guidelines, " the Department's document stated.

The inspection team from the Department requested the school principal to instruct homeroom teachers to stop collecting fees that are currently being implemented. At the same time, they were asked to review and ensure that all fees and fee levels are implemented in accordance with regulations.

The Department also requested the school principal to review their own responsibilities and those of the individuals involved in the implementation of the initial school year fees; and to report to the Department of Education and Training before September 20th.

As reported by VTC News, last week, social media was abuzz with images showing the total amount parents had to pay at the beginning of the school year, reaching up to 8.7 million VND.

Specifically, a Facebook account belonging to Pham Van Tuyen posted a photo listing the initial school fees for Thanh Mien III High School on social media, attracting significant attention. The items listed included: tuition fees, parking fees, personal accident insurance, health insurance, notebooks, seating, student ID cards, drinking water, sanitation, parent association fund, uniforms, electronic communication book, surveys, general exams, television, social contributions, and scholarship fund. The total amount collected was 8,715,000 VND.

According to Mr. Tuyen, the list of these fees was compiled by the homeroom teacher after the parent-teacher meeting. Parents were not informed which fees were mandatory and which were voluntary, and the total amount was quite large, causing them considerable concern.

Mr. Pham Van Hy, Principal of Thanh Mien III High School, confirmed that the image of the initial school year fees totaling over 8.7 million VND circulating on social media was drafted by a teacher at the school, but this is not the official plan.

Ms. Vu Thi Thuy, the homeroom teacher of class 10D, confirmed that the information in the list posted by Mr. Tuyen was created by her. However, according to Ms. Thuy's explanation, an unexpected family matter arose while she was compiling the list, preventing her from checking and cross-referencing, leading to errors and confusion compared to the school's planned contribution schedule.

THI THI

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