The school does not charge any extra fees.

In the 2017-2018 school year, Thi Tran 2 Primary School (Vinh Thuan district, Kien Giang province) has a policy of not collecting any additional fees from students other than health insurance and comprehensive insurance.

Students of Thi Tran 2 Primary School during class on the morning of September 7. Photo: Thuy Trang

Speaking with Tuoi Tre, Ms. Nguyen Hoai Thu - the school's principal, said the policy was issued after the school's pedagogical council held its first meeting at the beginning of the new school year.

Parents are very happy

* Madam, where did the school decide not to charge any extra fees?

- On August 31, I was transferred from Town 1 Primary School to work at Town 2 Primary School. When handing over from the former principal, the amount of money allocated for "other expenses" of the unit in 2017 was over 461 million VND.

In the first and second quarters of 2017, the former principal directed the spending of 348 million VND for purchases and repairs... The remaining amount handed over to me for management is 113 million. With the remaining budget after the detailed estimate for the last four months of 2017, I think it is enough to ensure the unit's operational needs.

I myself have also mobilized support from generous donors for upgrading and repairing the school's toilets and supporting student movement activities. Therefore, I have a policy of not collecting other contributions from students.

When the information was released, parents were very excited and happy.

* No additional fees, does the school have financial difficulties in operations and expertise?

- Our ancestors have a saying "Measure your coat according to your cloth". Whatever you do and whatever your position, you must obey the law and do things permitted by law.

Arbitrarily charging unreasonable and illegal fees to justify "collecting fees from parents to ensure teaching quality" is something I personally cannot do.

If the facilities are not guaranteed, the responsibility of the school management staff is to advise and propose in detail and specifically to the governing unit, the Department of Education and Training, to regulate and allocate to appropriate schools.

When allocated properly, the school's spending needs will certainly be met. Then, there will be no need to "look" into the pockets of students' parents and then create all kinds of fees to force students to pay.

Every year the school has a budget to spend the above amounts. Specifically, this school year the budget has allocated to the school more than 500 million VND.

No surcharge

* How will the school spend that 500 million VND?

- Actually, in 10 years as principal, the unit I managed has never had an "other expenses" budget of up to 500 million.

With a total staff of more than 50 people and over 1,000 students, they were only given 170-180 million VND. That amount of money is used to cover all school activities such as: electricity, water; stationery, business expenses; professional movements...

Always lacking, and like other schools, I had to write a proposal to the People's Committee of the commune or town to allow the parents' representative committee to mobilize other sources of income from parents.

Specifically, collecting sanitation fees to hire cleaners; collecting reward funds for students... Although said to be voluntary, these revenues are "divided equally" among student contributions. Based on legal documents, this collection is against regulations.

This school year we have budgeted enough and used it meticulously for each month, prioritizing electricity, water and stationery for teachers. In addition, we have mobilized generous donors to support student movement activities.

* Does the school's policy have the support of the management agency?

- After the opening ceremony, I quickly reported this policy to the District People's Committee. If this policy was incorrect, I think the district would have issued another directive. There is none at the moment. But I believe this policy is highly supported by the people whose children are studying at my school.

* According to you, how should operating budget be allocated to schools to be effective?

- Budget allocation must be public and there must be no "head of mouse, tail of elephant" situation. That is, as far as I know, at the beginning of the year the "other expenses" budget allocated to schools is relatively equal.

However, during the year, with the reason of "supplementing" for selected schools to "build points, build standards", the additional funding source is only known to the Department of Education and Training and that school. Therefore, there is a situation where at the beginning of the year, 170 million is publicly allocated, and at the end of the year, 700 million is settled.

If the Department of Education and Training only maintains the allocation level for "other expenses" as I have been informed of in previous years, it will ensure the quality of teaching and learning without the need for "surcharges".

Mr. Duong Nghia Hon(teacher of Town 2 Primary School):

Teachers are in a good mood

I am excited to have this new regulation. The additional fees such as scholarship fund, sanitation fund... each year, calculated, each student does not pay much. But this is a poor residential area. A few hundred thousand is a big problem for students' families while the budget allocated to the school board is enough.

In previous years, at the beginning of the school year, teachers were struggling with money. At the end of the day, they had to spend 5 or 10 minutes reminding students to pay. But now, teachers are in a relaxed mood, focusing only on teaching their subjects.

Ms. Tran Thi Kim Tuyen(parents of students in Vinh Thuan town):

"I'm happy inside"

In previous school years, after the harvest season, I always saved up 200,000-400,000 VND at the beginning of the year to pay for my child. I didn’t think much about it, just paid in full so that my child could study well. This year, I was a bit surprised when I heard that I didn’t have to pay anymore, I was happy inside.

Let students clean their classrooms themselves

Ms. Nguyen Hoai Thu. Photo: Thuy Trang

"The school will save money by teaching students to clean their classrooms, take care of plants, and preserve desks and chairs to limit damage. In the first days of the school year, teachers have instructed students to do this well. So charging for cleaning is unnecessary and not recommended.

In addition, the school only organizes competitions of the right nature so as not to chase after achievements and give out awards indiscriminately. The school regulates the color of the uniform. Families buy their own because it is good to have uniform colors and keep them clean..." - Ms. Nguyen Hoai Thu said.

According to Tuoi Tre