Back to school season and parents' worries…

(Baonghean) -The new school year, along with the excitement of students when getting to know new friends, new classes or the joy of meeting teachers and friends again, is the anxiety of parents, especially for low-income families facing not small expenses...

The husband works in the police force, the wife is a housewife, the family of Mr. Tuan and Ms. Hai in Tan Tien block - Hung Dung ward (Vinh city) cannot help but worry about the school year of their two children, one in grade 2, one in grade 4 when everything related to the school year has increased in price. Ms. Hai said: "Just the money spent on buying uniforms, books, backpacks, pens, and school supplies to prepare the children for school has cost over 2 million VND. That is not to mention the miscellaneous contributions at the beginning of the new school year. This year, the boarding school fee for the son has also increased, the tuition fee for the youngest daughter has also increased 1.5 times because she is in the category of semi-public kindergartens that have converted to high-quality public models. I am worried about how to manage...".

The worries of Mr. Tuan and his wife are also a hot topic of discussion among nearly a dozen families of civil servants renting accommodation in the Tan Tien Collective Housing Area (Hung Dung Ward). Ms. Thanh, a Math teacher at a junior high school in Nam Dan who rents accommodation in the same building as my family in the collective housing area, could not hide her worries: “A teacher’s salary is meager, and her husband is a bulldozer driver, so he has work in the dry season, but in the rainy season, he has some work and some not. While prices are skyrocketing, there are many expenses for two children entering the new school year, and then there are the increased rents, electricity, and water bills, thinking about it gives me a headache…”

Shopping for children for the new school year is a concern for many parents.
Photo TH



First day of school. Photo: GH

For those who are well-off, these expenses are not worth much, but for those who are poor and have low incomes, their hearts are filled with hundreds of worries because of the burden of expenses at the beginning of the school year for their children. The more children a family has, the more miserable it is. I have a friend named P who lives in Nghi Phu. Both he and his wife are civil servants, with a monthly salary of nearly 5 million VND. They have 3 daughters, the eldest is in 3rd grade and the twin girls are in kindergarten. The salary is not enough to cover living expenses, so he has to work hard outside, but life is still difficult. "Normally, even if we are very frugal, the cost of food, tuition, clothes, and milk for 3 children each month must be at least 4 million VND. At the beginning of the new school year, with all the big and small expenses, it has to double. In addition, buying everything has to be 3 of the same things, for example 3 bags, 3 pairs of shoes, 3 dresses... makes my husband and I sweat." Mr. P shared.

Passing by the shops selling books, stationery, school uniforms... before the new school year, it is not difficult to recognize the eyes filled with anxiety, the hesitant gestures of many parents when standing in front of the stalls. But that is not all, after "straining" to take care of their children's luggage to enter the new school year, parents are "nervous" with the worry of overcharging the school. It is true that the Department of Education and Training has clearly regulated the fees at the beginning of the new school year, but the implementation of the public regulations and the management of revenue and expenditure at the beginning of the year in some schools are still confusing and unclear. Many parents said that they are often very hesitant about "negotiated" and "voluntary" fees.

Also because of the difficult life, income only depends on rice grains, potatoes, chickens, pigs are not enough to pay for their children's education, many families in the countryside have children admitted to prestigious universities and colleges but have to sadly let their children learn a trade to earn a living or choose a school near home to reduce costs. Although the government has had support policies such as tuition exemption or loan programs for poor students, the loan is nothing compared to the many expenses that a student away from home has to worry about, from food, accommodation, tuition to books, documents, extra classes and other fees... especially in the current period of skyrocketing prices. To support poor students before the new school year, many bookstores have discount promotions for children of families with preferential policies, excellent students, many organizations, individuals, units, agencies, unions inside and outside the province have launched programs to donate books, notebooks, paper and pens, and grant scholarships to students in difficult circumstances. These are practical actions that create motivation for students to go to school. The attention, support, and sharing dedicated to poor students in remote, isolated, and disadvantaged areas and the reduction of "unofficial" income... will lessen the burden of worries on the shoulders of poor, low-income working families before the new school year and the joy of going to school for students will be more complete and meaningful.

Gia Huy