Need to be transparent about revenue and expenditure at the beginning of the new school year

Story of the beginning of the school year

The announcement of contributing money to buy air conditioners was discussed quite enthusiastically by parents of 20 classes of grades 1, 2, 3 - Truong Thi Primary School (Vinh City) at the beginning of the new school year. This is certainly normal, because this school year Truong Thi Primary School started using the second facility and shopping is inevitable when students move from the old classroom to a new classroom. At the beginning of the school year, in addition to buying air conditioners, some first-grade classes also have to buy blankets and pillows for boarding. In addition, they also have to buy cabinets, blackboards, curtains... to store books and school supplies.

Through understanding in many classes, the purchase of air conditioners was agreed by most parents. However, problems arose when the parents' association and some homeroom teachers of each class announced the school's policy. In particular, the school suggested that instead of installing by themselves, each class should install a common air conditioner model for the whole school and should be supplied by one unit. Many parents said that this was unreasonable, because the needs, usage time and economic conditions of each class were different. In particular, parents of the first grade classes said that installing a branded air conditioner, worth 8 - 9 million VND/unit, was acceptable. However, some classes said that the school's study time was only 2 - 3 years left, so parents wanted to install a cheaper air conditioner, only about 6 million VND, to reduce the contribution cost.

A parent whose child is in 3rd grade said: At the beginning of the school year, our family had to worry about a lot of contributions for our children. Therefore, just saving a few hundred thousand for each child will help the family reduce some expenses. I think that the decision to install air conditioners in the school should be left to the class, which will be more democratic and objective.

More than a week after the new school year started, 19/20 classes from grades 1 to 3 in the new school area have completed the installation of new air conditioners, with the same brand, Panasonic, with a price of 8,320,000 VND per unit.

Talking with teacher Hoang Thi Hoa Ly - Principal of Truong Thi Primary School, she admitted to this policy: Before entering the new school year, we reviewed all the school's assets and compiled 36 air conditioners left over from the old classes. Thereby, the school used them to arrange air conditioners for 9 classes 5, 7 classes 4 and 4 for the IT room at the old facility. Of these, only 8 classes had paid for air conditioners and this year will use old air conditioners. For the remaining classes, this is the first mobilization. Before implementing, I had a meeting with the parents' association of the classes, the homeroom teachers and all supported. For the rest, the association discussed with the classes to implement. During the implementation process, the school also expressed the wish that the classes should install 1 type and choose 1 supplier to avoid confusion, easy to manage later, especially when damaged. Through the survey, we also introduced some suppliers with suitable prices, the choice is up to the class.

Faced with many parents’ dissatisfaction with this plan, the school principal also said that this was a lesson for him in management. Therefore, many parents did not fully understand the school’s purpose and policies, leading to unfortunate controversies.

Buying televisions, air conditioners and installing equipment for teaching in classrooms is something that many parents' associations have done before each new school year. In recent years, as living standards have increased, and with the requirements of implementing the new General Education Program, the implementation has been basically approved by parents. However, during the implementation process, due to inadequate propaganda, some places still impose or do not publicize revenues and expenditures, so there are still conflicting opinions causing public outrage.

A parent whose child has just entered first grade at a primary school in Vinh city added: All classes have had air conditioners installed for a long time. Therefore, I wonder where the air conditioners from last year were that they are being mobilized to install new ones every new school year. This is wasteful and costly… I think that all these issues, before being implemented, schools need to make public so that parents can have a satisfactory answer. As for me, my child has just entered first grade, and the parent-teacher conference has not yet been held, but the association has mobilized nearly 1 million VND to buy supplies. For an ordinary working-class family, this is not a small amount of money.

Avoid overcharging in schools

Fall is the season for back to school, but for many parents, the back to school season is the “fall” season. This story, although not new, seems to receive many opinions every year. Even at the beginning of the school year, the education sector has issued very specific guidance documents, but the situation of overcharging still occurs.

Parents of 10th graders at a public school in Vinh City were concerned when, at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, the school required them to pay for health insurance not just for 1 year but for 3 years. Although this payment is considered voluntary, most parents volunteered to pay because they thought it would be difficult to "refuse", especially when their children were "new to school".

According to regulations, during the school year, schools are allowed to collect mandatory and voluntary fees. In which, mandatory fees usually include tuition, health insurance, bicycle fees, and drinking water fees. Many of the remaining fees are considered voluntary fees, which will focus on fees such as socialized fees, class funds, and parent association funds. The generation of fees to serve the purpose of improving the quality of education is inevitable. However, if they are not public and transparent, they will lead to "reverse" reactions.

Regarding the implementation of the collection fees at the beginning of the new school year, teacher Tran Thi Thuy Thanh - Principal of Nghi Thu Secondary School (Cua Lo town) said: The implementation of the collection fees at the beginning of the new school year is often very sensitive. Therefore, our school's concept is to collect fees according to the instructions and avoidovercharging. As for this year, the school's socialized collection will be carried out according to the plan approved by the Department of Education and Training and approved by the Parents' Association and local authorities. We also advocate only collecting necessary amounts to serve teaching and learning. For example, this school year, most of the new 6th grade classes have televisions installed and left by their seniors. For a class that does not have one, the school can mobilize all the remaining 6th grade classes to contribute to help reduce the cost.

In many other schools, many principals also believe that if they only rely on the school's savings, it will be very difficult to purchase all the necessary learning materials. In that context, socialization and calling for support from parents are still carried out regularly. However, to ensure transparency and objectivity, the school assigns the parents of each class to collect, install and manage the money themselves, "seeing the classroom as their home" to take care of together.

Regarding the implementation of the early-year collection, up to this point, although some schools have organized parent meetings, many schools have not yet implemented them due to the lack of guidance from the Department of Education and Training. This is considered a positive signal, showing strict compliance with regulations.

However, from now until the end of the school year, when the collection will continue to be implemented, parents expect schools to have appropriate revenue and expenditure plans, following the correct procedures, ensuring the right purpose. On the part of the Departments and Divisions of Education and Training, in the process of approving the school's socialization plan, it is necessary to calculate correctly and fully based on the school's reality and the conditions of parents and students, avoiding overcharging in the education sector./.