Too much text but not strict enough in handling?

Many opinions say that in addition to handling the situation in the style of "if you collect the wrong amount, just return it and that's it", there is also a problem in the misunderstanding of socialization of education and school management.

TRANSFER TO INVESTIGATION AGENCIES, APPLY STRONG SANCTIONS

The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education and Training said that it had inspected the implementation of tasks in the past 2 school years for a number of Departments of Education and Training and recently announced the conclusion. There were 8 Departments of Education and Training that conducted surprise inspections, the inspection content focused on hot, urgent issues through petitions, press reports or at the request of management, including the organization of revenue and expenditure not in accordance with regulations.

The inspection conclusion of the Ministry of Education and Training with a number of Departments of Education and Training showed that there were many violations in revenue and expenditure. For example, in Vinh Phuc, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education and Training pointed out that: Yen Lac High School had violations in collecting fees for seats for students, fees for school records, collecting funds for parents' associations; paying "commission" percentages to homeroom teachers in the collection of personal insurance, uniforms, etc. At the Department of Education and Training of Lap Thach District, the inspectorate pointed out that this unit issued a document stipulating the framework for revenue in the 2022-2023 school year and the 2023-2024 school year without proper authority according to the Law on Education. In addition, a number of Departments of Education and Training issued a document introducing a number of insurance companies to contact and work at affiliated educational institutions, mentioning the collection content and specific fees of 100,000 VND/student and 200,000 VND/teacher. According to the Inspector of the Ministry of Education and Training, this is "not within the authority, not in accordance with the agreement principle...".

According to many experts, socialization in education does not mean reducing the role of investment and supervision of the State.

However, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education and Training can only point out individual responsibilities and recommend handling according to authority. Whether the local authorities will handle the case and handle it with enough deterrence or not is still an open question.

The Ministry of Education and Training said that at the beginning of this school year alone, there were two documents directing and reminding about revenue and expenditure. In particular, it emphasized the requirement for localities to strengthen inspection, examination, supervision and be accountable to learners and society about the revenue levels and amounts of educational institutions.

A document signed by Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong and sent to the provincial People's Committees right before the school year also requested local authorities to: "Guide and direct local education management agencies to strengthen state management of revenue and expenditure implementation in educational institutions in the area; be responsible for guiding, conducting inspections, checking, and applying strong sanctions to cases of violations of regulations on revenue and expenditure implementation in educational institutions in the area".

In Hanoi, in addition to detailed regulations on fees that are allowed and not allowed to be collected from students, Director of the Department of Education and Training Tran The Cuong also affirmed to regularly review and update information reflecting public opinion and mass media on negative and wrongdoings in education to promptly conduct surprise inspections and handle violations... For socialized fees, schools must have a project, approved by the school's teaching staff and the competent authority before implementing.

"In particular, the principal or leader of an educational institution must be responsible to the management unit, and will even be transferred to the investigation agency for handling if violations are discovered or "overcharging" occurs in the school," Mr. Tran The Cuong emphasized.

LACK OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION

In fact, Circular 16/TT-BGDDT dated August 3, 2018 of the Ministry of Education and Training regulating community funding and contributions to education has very clear regulations on project preparation, project approval, and contribution steps... However, to be quick and easy, schools often let the parents' committee organize the collection, collect on average per capita, and when complaints arise, the school says it is the parents' committee.

Associate Professor Chu Cam Tho (Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences) said: "Letting the parents' committee conduct revenue and expenditure incorrectly is also the school's responsibility, the school cannot stand outside the activities of the parents' committee. We are still thinking that parents need it, not the school. Meanwhile, all issues related to the quality of education must come from the school's need and the school must be responsible for its need. How can parents participate as supporters and share in the school's educational activities?"

Ms. Tho acknowledged that many schools in Vietnam have also done a very good job of the parent committee and parent fund based on the principle of participation and shared responsibility. In many schools, principals have been trained or have researched so they do it very "skillfully", the principle of sharing is very important.

At the beginning of every school year, parents are upset about income and expenditure.

Concerned about the fact that the regulations are complete, and every year there are instructions and guidance to "absolutely not overcharge" but overcharge is repeated every year, Associate Professor Tho presented the reality that she had the opportunity to research and learn about when working with localities. She analyzed: "Investment in schools in localities is very different, some places divide it by the number of students, some apply a percentage of salary and regular expenses... Thus, even the technical institutions for budget investment in education in localities are very different."

Therefore, according to Ms. Tho, to answer the question of whether it is easy or difficult to implement the current revenue and expenditure regulations, it is necessary to recognize the difficulties of localities and schools. Circular 16 stipulates the law, but there may be points that are not compatible with the technical institutions in the locality. Thus, schools in different localities that are implementing different budget allocations will feel stuck without accompanying instructions.

Associate Professor Chu Cam Tho also pointed out that schools are currently lacking very important job positions, including the position of facilities manager. If this position exists, surely how to mobilize resources to contribute to the school, how to understand this issue correctly and fully will help the school operate better.

Given these realities, along with the poor investment in education from the state budget, Ms. Tho said that if this is not resolved, the problem of overcharging will continue to recur every year, even though there is no shortage of documents. However, according to Ms. Tho, this does not mean compromising with overcharging.

"I think we need to see this as a serious problem to have a fundamental solution and take action to reduce it, not just return the wrongly collected money and that's it," said Ms. Tho.

Socialization does not mean shifting financial responsibility to parents.

At a recent seminar organized by the Vietnam Fatherland Front to review the implementation of comprehensive fundamental innovation in education and training, many experts also cited the socialization of textbook compilation to emphasize the need to reconsider socialization in education, which does not mean reducing the role of investment and supervision by the State.

Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Pham Ngoc Thuong, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, said that it is time to have a correct and complete understanding of socialization. In the two fields of education and health, socialization does not put the "forward line" but only in the midfield, with the sponsorship and support of the State. Autonomy in education and training does not mean self-sufficiency, not investing in basic construction.

According to Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh, former Director of the Department of Vocational Education (Ministry of Education and Training), socialization in education does not mean transferring financial responsibility to parents, but rather seeking reasonable coordination between relevant parties to improve learning and teaching conditions. Schools need to have clear regulations on receiving support from parents, ensuring that all contributions are voluntary within the framework of the law and do not cause pressure. At the same time, schools and higher management agencies are responsible for ensuring the best conditions for teachers to teach.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lam-thu-keo-dai-thua-van-ban-nhung-thieu-nghiem-khac-trong-xu-ly-185241003220558551.htm