School financial transparency - ending worries about excessive fees.

There are some voluntary contributions that are inappropriate.

Upon entering 10th grade, a parent whose child is studying at Dien Chau 3 High School expressed dissatisfaction when the class's parent association solicited contributions from parents to purchase several classroom supplies. These included several relatively expensive items, such as an air conditioner and desktop computers.

According to this parent, at the beginning of the school year, we were informed that we needed to contribute 900,000 VND to the association's fund, with more than half of that going towards purchasing school supplies. Only about 200,000 VND remained for the class fund. When this policy was introduced, some parents disagreed and voiced their opinions, but the class still implemented it.

Working with the school's management board, Principal Phan Trong Dong stated that he was very surprised to receive feedback from parents and affirmed that the implementation was not carried out uniformly throughout the school. The principal also said that if the school had received information earlier, directly from parents, it would have immediately stopped these fees.

Principal Dong added: "Right at the beginning of the new school year, our school held a school-wide parent meeting and publicly disclosed all the income and expenses for the new school year so that parents could be informed. In addition, the school also instructed homeroom teachers on the implementation of the school year fees, requiring strict adherence, including voluntary contributions."

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The fact that classes are collecting fees on their own initiative, even if intended to benefit the students, without their consent is contrary to the directives, and I will work with the class to discuss the issue. If there are still objections, the school will ask the class to remove the items to ensure compliance with regulations.

Mr. Phan Trong Dong - Principal of Dien Chau 3 High School

For many years, parent-teacher associations have been elected by each class to coordinate with the school in carrying out educational activities. In practice, these associations play a practical role in each class, acting as partners with the homeroom teacher and students in many aspects of class and school life.

However, a negative aspect is that many parent-teacher associations are implementing various voluntary fees. Some of these fees do not always receive the approval of all parents.

At the beginning of this school year, a parent whose child just entered 6th grade at a junior high school in Truong Vinh ward shared: "From August, when the children first arrived at their classes, the association called on each parent to contribute 1 million VND to decorate the classroom, buy cabinets, air conditioners, and desktop computers for the teacher. Besides some necessary items, I think there are some inappropriate expenses, such as the desktop computer. Personally, I believe that teachers should equip themselves with teaching equipment and not rely on parents. However, in my child's school, every class does the same thing, and perhaps the classes are just following each other's lead…"

On the Nghe An Parents' Forum, the story about the parent-teacher association also received attention and comments. Opinions suggest that while collecting association funds to support education and children's activities in the classroom is appropriate, some associations have gone "overboard" by implementing numerous additional fees to invest in classroom decoration, purchasing facilities, and giving excessive gifts during holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year), which is not in accordance with Circular 55/2011/TT-BGDĐT on the regulations of parent-teacher associations. This could also lead to "inequality" in the educational environment, creating "rich" and "poor" classes depending on the spending habits of the parents.

Ensure transparency, proper collection of revenue, and proper expenditure.

From the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, the Department of Education and Training issued Document No. 2566/SGD-TC&ĐTGD dated September 5, 2025, regarding the implementation of the following:revenuefor the new school year. This includes not only mandatory fees as stipulated by regulations, but also educational service fees and voluntary contributions.

Upon investigation, it was found that many schools have already held parent meetings and implemented fee collection. Regarding service fees, in accordance with Resolution 31/2020/NQ-HĐND of the Provincial People's Council, these fees focus on areas such as: boarding, enhanced English and IT programs, and competency development programs.

In addition, schools have also collected fees to purchase badges, student ID cards, electronic communication notebooks, learning materials for exams and tests, and to organize mock exams for graduating students.

These fees are also susceptible to abuse or excessive collection if schools do not disclose information transparently or carefully calculate costs, leading to situations where revenue exceeds expenditure, thus increasing the burden on parents and students. Other fees that can easily lead to overcharging or excessive collection include purchasing student uniforms, investing in school facilities through voluntary contributions, and purchasing health insurance.

At Hung Dung Secondary School in Truong Vinh Ward, in response to a question about whether there was excessive fee collection given that the school's service fees were set at the maximum level according to Resolution No. 31 of the Provincial People's Council, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga, the Principal, stated: "We have developed a plan for fees for this school year and are submitting it to the Ward People's Committee for approval. For the STEM enhancement program, the fee will be 25,000 VND/student/lesson; for enhanced English, it will be 30,000 VND/lesson for Vietnamese teachers and 40,000 VND/lesson for foreign teachers, and this will not increase compared to previous years. Regarding service fees, the school is proposing prices based on the maximum levels as stipulated. However, this amount needs to be recalculated based on actual usage at the school. For example, the maximum fee for photocopying periodic test papers is 60,000 VND/student/year. But the actual collection last year was only about half of that."

At Ho Xuan Huong Secondary School in Quynh Luu commune, the school's teaching plan includes a significant amount of enhanced content, ranging from strengthening Informatics and English, teaching and developing talents in various subjects, physical education and sports, life skills education, and teaching and developing subject competencies.

During the discussion, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thien, the principal, stated: "Our school is a key school, so in addition to academic subjects, we focus on subjects that develop students' talents and strengths. However, the school's view is that learning must be voluntary. Regarding teaching to develop competencies in academic subjects, the school has developed a plan but has not yet implemented it due to regulations in Circular 29."

One positive development this school year is that many schools have publicly disclosed all fees on their websites, giving parents another channel to monitor and supervise. For example, at Quynh Luu 2 High School, to avoid controversies related to fees and expenses like in previous years, the school publicly released a detailed annual report from the previous year, including all income and expenses, right from the beginning of the school year. At the same time, the school also publicly announced its revenue and expenditure plan for this school year.

Regarding fees for this school year, the Nghe An Department of Education has requested schools to temporarily suspend the approval and collection of socialized funding. For other fees, in addition to requesting schools to postpone collection, the Department of Education and Training also requires educational institutions to fully inform each parent in writing or by publicly posting notices at the school, or through other means (clearly stating the content of the fees, the amount, the target group, the purpose of use, and the expenditure details). During implementation, schools are encouraged to offer exemptions or reductions for students from disadvantaged families or those with difficult circumstances.

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To ensure proper collection and expenditure, we propose that schools establish a strict monitoring mechanism between the school and the parent-teacher association regarding service fees, educational support fees, and voluntary contributions. If any errors occur, the head of the educational institution will be fully responsible for the collection and expenditure within their unit.

Mr. Thai Van Thanh - Director of the Department of Education and Training