TP - Many people think that the “parent association” or “parent committee” was created mainly to collect all kinds of funds, so it should be abolished. However, in reality, there are still many dedicated parents who spare time to care for and accompany the activities of the school and class.
Having a child entering first grade this year at a private school in Cau Giay District (Hanoi), Ms. Nguyen Minh Thuy said that she is too busy with work to support the decoration and classroom activities for her child, but many other parents are very enthusiastic. Some people are eager to come early and leave late to take care of logistics, from cleaning tables and chairs, placing decorative flowers, placing wooden cabinets, building a classroom library to buying food for students and gifts for homeroom teachers at the beginning of the year. "I am touched by the dedication and thoughtfulness of some parents because they have spent time and effort to take care of the common activities of the class," Ms. Thuy said.
But what Ms. Thuy was not satisfied with was that right at the first parent meeting of the school year, after the election of the parent committee, those members proposed a budget for the items needed for the school year with a very large amount of money, up to more than 100 million VND/school year, meaning each student paid 2 million VND/semester. Meanwhile, the homeroom teacher announced that the school's policy was to collect the class fund voluntarily, not equally.
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The student fair at a school in Hanoi was organized with the help of parents. |
Some parents expressed their dissatisfaction when, just a few days after the school started, the “parents’ committee” announced that the homeroom teacher was opening an extra class and asked parents to register. These same people stood up at the parents’ meeting to ask the teacher to open the class because many parents had a need, while their opinions were not asked beforehand. “Where to study and whether to study or not is the need and desire of each parent. I do not want the “parents’ committee” to be an extension of the homeroom teacher forcing students to study,” said this parent.
To avoid overcharging, the Ministry of Education and Training also prohibits the "parent representative board" from collecting donations from students for the following items: protecting school facilities; supervising students' means of transportation; cleaning classrooms and schools; rewarding school administrators, teachers and staff; purchasing machinery, equipment and teaching aids for schools, classrooms or for school administrators, teachers and staff; supporting management, teaching and learning organization and educational activities; repairing, upgrading and constructing new school buildings.
In the parent meeting at the beginning of the school year, there was an opinion that why the class's "parent committee" had to do all the school's work, from fixing the TV, light bulbs, window curtains, teacher's desks and cabinets to classroom doors... There were even classes that did not have air conditioning, so parents had to contribute.
Ms. Tran Thi Hong Quyen, who has many years of experience as the head of the “parents’ representative committee” at an elementary school, revealed that last year, her child had just finished the 5th grade program to move on to 6th grade; before the end of the school year, all parents agreed with the plan to leave all the equipment in the classroom for the next grade, including: hot and cold water dispenser, air conditioner, teacher’s cabinet, etc. However, after consulting various places, the message was spread that parents of grade 5 should liquidate all the above equipment so that the next year the lower grades could use new equipment. “I have good intentions to give it back to the students of the next grade, but it’s not something that can be done just because I want to,” Ms. Quyen said.
Avoid abuse and illegal collection
The Ministry of Education and Training has issued a Circular on the Charter of the Parents' Association, stipulating that each class has a "parents' association" consisting of 3 to 5 members responsible for coordinating with teachers and schools to carry out student education activities. The parents' association is also given many tasks and powers in coordinating the organization of activities, proposing commendations and disciplining students, etc. Regarding operating costs, the Ministry of Education and Training clearly stated: "The operating costs of the class's parents' association come from the voluntary support of parents and other legal funding sources. There is no regulation on the average level of support."
In fact, many opinions say that the “parents’ representative board” was established mainly to collect money and perform foreign affairs tasks. Looking at the list of expenses for activities during the school year, it can be seen that the amount of money spent on student activities is very little, the “foreign affairs” expenses, holidays for cadres, teachers, staff, repairs, and purchases of classroom equipment account for the majority.
On the forum called “Hanoi Parents Association”, a member raised the issue that the Ministry of Education and Training should prohibit schools from establishing parent committees for schools and classes. Because, for common activities such as birthdays, Mid-Autumn Festival, holidays, teachers and students can organize together and each child has a task to both study and work. Or like Mid-Autumn Festival, classes do not need to decorate separately but the whole school can decorate a common corner for students to play.
Associate Professor Dr. Tran Xuan Nhi, former Deputy Minister of Education and Training, said that it is necessary to have a "parents' representative board" of the school and class because the school, family and society need to work together to fulfill the task of education. Each class has dozens of students, a teacher cannot inform each student about the situation, so the "parents' representative board" closely coordinates to update and exchange with other parents. When incidents or situations occur, the school and teachers will also discuss and have opinions from the "parents' representative board". However, this committee must perform its functions and duties properly, and should not collect money or "give birth" to various funds to collect. "If the amount collected is in accordance with regulations, the school will have an accountant to collect it. If the amount is not in accordance with regulations, the parents' representative board must not abuse it to collect. Some places asking parents to contribute is incorrect. It is necessary to eliminate this phenomenon of overcharging," Associate Professor Nhi said.
Source: https://tienphong.vn/tranh-cai-chuyen-giai-tan-ban-phu-huynh-post1675885.tpo
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