Teacher asks for support to buy laptops and sell food in class

That is the story that happened in class 4/3, Chuong Duong Primary School (District 1, HCMC), with Ms. TPH as the homeroom teacher.

According to the feedback, in the first parent meeting of the 4/3 class (held on September 14), Ms. H. asked the parents to support a laptop worth 4-5 million VND, a document printer and support the class's nanny with 300,000 VND/month. At that time, the parents commented that the printer had been equipped since grade 3, the teacher should contact the old homeroom teacher to ask for it back for the class.

Parents also calculated that with a laptop costing 5-6 million VND, each person would have to contribute 200,000-300,000 VND.

After that, Ms. H. sent a message to the class's Zalo group with the content: " After the first class of the school year, 29 parents have paid. Currently, I keep 14.5 million VND, and give the nanny 300,000 VND. I pay 500,000 VND to the scholarship fund, I keep 13.7 million VND. I will buy a laptop, I will let the parents know the remaining amount and I will ask for this laptop, parents."

That afternoon, Ms. H. took pictures of the two laptops, quoted the price of the gray one at 5.5 million VND, the black one at 11 million VND and texted: "I'll take the black one for 11 million VND to run data faster, parents support me with 6 million VND, I'll make up 5 million VND. Thank you parents."

Message
Teacher H. texted her parents about buying a laptop. Photo: Provided by parents

On September 16, Ms. H. continued to text with the following content: “On Saturday (September 14), I asked my parents to support me with a laptop worth about 5-6 million. And I bought a laptop for 11 million, so I will add 5 million. This laptop is mine, do my parents agree?”

After that, this teacher created a vote for agreeing and disagreeing. During the vote, when she saw a parent disagreeing, Ms. H. texted to ask which child's parent they were.

Also according to the reflection, in the class's Zalo group with 47 members, 26 parents agreed, 3 did not, and 18 had no opinion.

At this time, Ms. H. continued to text: “Up to now, 26 people have agreed, 3 people have disagreed, and 9 parents have no opinion. If there are parents who do not agree, I will not accept it. I bought it myself and used it myself. I also bought the printer myself. I do not accept anything from the parents. I sincerely thank the parents.”

Message
Message from teacher H. in the parent group. Photo: Provided by parents

On the morning of September 17, Ms. H. texted again with the following content: “Last night and this morning, I received many messages and phone calls from parents begging me to accept the class's support. I would like to clarify my position that I do not accept it, parents, and I also do not have to prepare review outlines for the children. I agree on the review lesson and parents review on their own. Thank you, parents. That's it, parents.”

The parents of class 4/3 also reported that according to their child, Ms. H. also sold food and drinks such as instant noodles, sausages, and soft drinks in the classroom to the students. The teacher also misused her phone and opened Youtube for the students to watch.

Dozens of parents of class 4/3 have submitted a petition to the school principal asking him to change the homeroom teacher and transfer students that parents feel unsafe to other classes.

What did the teacher say?

Knowing the incident, on September 24, the leadership of Chuong Duong Primary School worked with Ms. H. and 27 parents of class 4/3.

Here, parents commented that since the beginning of the year, they have seen their children rarely copy their homework because they cannot keep up with the content on Youtube. At the same time, the teacher also did not agree to add parents on Zalo to discuss study issues, did not teach according to the schedule, sold food to students, etc.

The parents stated that they had lost confidence in Ms. H. and therefore did not agree to let her continue teaching in class 4/3.

Teacher.jpg
Message from teacher H. in the parent group. Photo: Provided by parent

Ms. H. said that she had caused parents to misunderstand her intentions through messages in the class's Zalo group. She also admitted her mistake in persuading parents to equip her with laptops and keeping the class's fund.

“I apologize to the principal and the parents of class 4/3. I promise to correct the mistakes I made,” the teacher said.

The female teacher also promised to regularly contact parents to discuss and educate students, and care more about them. Ms. H. hopes that parents will give her a chance to correct her mistakes.

Mr. Le Cong Minh - Principal of Chuong Duong Primary School - said that the class fund is kept by the Parents' Representative Board and has a clear revenue and expenditure plan. The fund is only spent on students, not teachers. Regarding the printer, the school's Board of Directors has instructed homeroom teachers not to receive it because it is the common property of the class.

Regarding the message that Ms. H. did not review for students, making parents feel uneasy, Mr. Minh said that he had worked with the teacher and corrected this. He also asked Ms. H. to set the class Zalo group to open mode, so that all parents could comment.

Regarding the transfer of Ms. H., the representative of the Board of Directors said that the plan to transfer or choose a guest teacher would not be possible because there was no funding. The plan to divide class 4/3 into the remaining 3 classes of 4 was also not possible because the parents did not agree.

"While waiting for the school to make arrangements, class 4/3 will still study as usual. If possible, please give Ms. H. a chance to make amends," said a representative of the Board of Directors.

'Teachers do not get rich from overcharged money'

'Teachers don't get rich from overcharging'

Having held a management position for many years, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Son often encourages his colleagues: "Try to do well, be transparent and clear, and you won't be afraid of being criticized."
Ministry of Education and Training talks about management of extra teaching and learning, the situation of 'overcharging'

Ministry of Education and Training talks about management of extra teaching and learning, the situation of 'overcharging'

Discovering shortcomings, shortcomings, and violations in the collection and expenditure at the beginning of the year that were not in accordance with regulations, the Ministry of Education and Training organized inspections, checks, and handled responsibilities for allowing "over-collection". In addition, the Ministry also proposed solutions to manage extra teaching and learning.
Requires a school to return more than 700 million in parent funds

Requires a school to return more than 700 million in parent funds

Inspectors of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training requested Le Minh Xuan High School to return more than VND715 million in parent funds. This is the amount the school collected under the authorization of the Parents' Representative Board for the two school years 2020 and 2021.