"Please don't read my child's name in front of the class this morning because he hasn't paid yet. I'm so embarrassed because I can't pay yet, my husband is sick" - the message received from the parent made the teacher who has been teaching for 27 years feel both surprised and guilty.
The earnest plea of a parent has haunted me for a long time, making me think a lot about the responsibility and affection of a teacher towards his students. That incident also made me realize that I still lack pedagogical skills despite having been on the podium for decades!
In the 2015-2016 school year, I was assigned by the school to be the homeroom teacher of class 9/4, Trinh Phong Secondary School (Dien Khanh, Khanh Hoa). At the beginning of the school year, in addition to professional tasks such as organizing classes, disseminating timetables, implementing school rules, labor..., there is an indispensable task for homeroom teachers: announcing the fees collected at the beginning of the school year. These fees include: Tuition, parent-teacher association fund, team fund, library fund, exam paper purchase costs, drinking water, health insurance and personal insurance fees...
Collecting money for the beginning of the school year for students in rural areas like the one where I teach is not easy. Most parents are farmers, just enough to eat every day, waiting until the rice harvest season to have a little extra money to cover many things, including paying school fees for their children.
Therefore, collecting money at the beginning of the year is something that most teachers are very reluctant to do because it is both time-consuming and stressful because it is a target that must be completed.
Because of that target, homeroom teachers have to "shout" every day to collect all the required fees, especially tuition fees. Many times, teachers joke with each other that they are "collecting debts from students". That spirit of "collecting correctly and fully" not only makes teachers tired but also causes more worries for parents.
One morning, I woke up and opened my phone, and was surprised by a long message: “I am T’s parent. Please do not read my child’s name in front of the class this morning. I am very embarrassed because I cannot pay the fee yet, my husband is sick. I hope you understand, thank you!”
After reading, I felt very guilty, even though I had not actually read T.'s name in front of the class. I blamed myself for being so careless, not understanding the students' circumstances so that I could help them in some way. That is the conscience and responsibility of a teacher, especially in the role of a homeroom teacher.
If I hadn't received this message, I would have read out the names of the students who have not paid their tuition and other fees in front of the class as usual! T. would have felt very embarrassed in front of his friends, and his parents would have been upset. Thank you very much, T.'s parents.
From that day on, I never read the names of students who had not paid their fees in front of the class again, even though the principal criticized class 9/4 for not completing the collection of fees at the beginning of the school year.
The day the principal called me to his office, I discussed with him the case of student T: His family was poor and had no money to pay, he was an excellent student for three consecutive years in grades 6, 7, and 8. I proposed that the school waive tuition for him. After listening, the principal immediately agreed. Perhaps this is something I can help student T with, and it is also a lesson for me and my colleagues: Never act based on quotas and competition, we need to respect the personality of students. Reminding students about money matters should be done very tactfully, avoiding reading the names of students who have not paid in front of the class or under the flag. If teachers accidentally do this, they can cause many students and parents to lose sleep, worry, and feel guilty...
On February 28, 2025, the Politburo decided to exempt all tuition fees for students from kindergarten to high school in public schools nationwide, starting from the 2025-2026 school year.
So, from the next school year, our teachers are very happy because they no longer have to "collect debts" from students, and parents no longer have to worry about unpaid tuition fees for their children. We think this is a humane and compassionate policy of our Party and State, showing their care for the education cause so that no student is left behind. This policy also ends the sadness of many families and students when they have to drop out of school because they do not have money to pay tuition fees.
I would also like to remind my colleagues: Currently, in many schools, many teachers still use the method of naming students who violate school rules such as not studying, not wearing scarves, name tags, logos, wearing sandals, not paying fees... forgetting that this is an act that affects the honor and dignity of students. Although we know that schools need rules and regulations, we should understand the circumstances of each student before each action. For students who have not paid tuition, teachers only need to meet privately to discuss. If we cannot help students, then we should not let them be hurt by our mechanical behavior!
Politburo decides to exempt tuition fees for public school students
Free tuition for public school students: A big step forward in Vietnam's education
Tuition-Free: Eliminate Mandatory Fees and Return Real Value to Public Schools
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/xin-thay-sang-nay-dung-doc-ten-con-toi-chua-dong-tien-hoc-truoc-lop-2380261.html
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