Parents in Cua Lo town are upset because kindergartens charge excessive fees.

Many illegal revenues

Binh Minh Kindergarten is considered a school with a long history of educational achievements in Cua Lo town and is considered by many parents to be the best public school. However, there are still many issues that make parents worried when sending their children to study here.

Ms. BL has a 5-year-old child in school. When she recently came home from a parent-teacher meeting, the homeroom teacher informed her that there were 11 contributions to be paid for her child, totaling more than 3 million VND. In addition to the tuition fee of 1,000,000 VND/5 months and the health insurance fee, the other fees are mostly negotiated. These are class fund: 300,000 VND, janitorial fee: 70,000 VND, pillow and slippers fee: 50,000 VND, uniform: 110,000 VND, boarding care: 810,000 VND/year, association fund: 100,000 VND/year, drinking water: 135,000 VND, sponsorship: 600,000 VND and learning materials: 350,000 VND.

Binh Minh Kindergarten. Photo: MH

Regarding these fees, she also said: They say they are voluntary and agreed upon, but in fact the school announces them and parents have to pay. I myself also see that among these fees, there are many unreasonable fees. For example, the janitor's fee, pillow fee, slippers fee and water fee because the children are boarding students who have already paid for monthly meals and boarding services, so why do they have to pay this extra fee? Another thing is the fee for learning materials. I don't understand what preschool students are learning that the fee for learning materials is up to 350,000 VND/child, which is more money than a set of textbooks for primary school students.

Present at Binh Minh Kindergarten at the end of the school day, when asked about the school's revenue and expenditure, many parents were upset. A parent with a child in grade 4 said: Every year, the school collects drinking water and sanitation fees, and also encourages parents to let their children learn English after school. This year, I saw the announcement that the English fee is 550,000 VND/year. For 4-year-old students, the cost of learning materials is 290,000 VND/month, even though it is not in the regulations. Another parent said: This year, the school collects 600,000 VND/child in sponsorship. As for me, I have two twins, so I get a 1,000,000 VND discount for each child. Many families are in difficult circumstances, but collecting the same amount is very difficult.

Avoid answering

Regarding the fees that parents were concerned about, Nghe An Newspaper reporters contacted Ms. Le Thi Ngoc - the school's principal. However, on the morning of October 3, citing the reason that the school was preparing for the Conference of cadres, civil servants, public employees, workers and the Party cell meeting, the principal moved the appointment to 3 pm. That afternoon, when reporters went to the school and contacted the principal, the principal did not answer the phone and then assigned the vice principal to work. However, the meeting could not be held because in reality, the vice principal could not speak without the school principal's opinion.

Contributions from a 5-year-old student at Binh Minh Kindergarten. Photo: MH

Through discussions about the revenues that parents have reported, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung, Deputy Head of the Town's Department of Education and Training, said: Since the beginning of the school year, the Town's Department of Education and Training has issued documents guiding the implementation of revenues and expenditures at secondary schools, primary schools, and kindergartens in the town.

Accordingly, for preschool students, there is a mandatory fee for tuition. In addition, the agreed fees are: childcare and boarding fees, educational funding, and operating expenses for the Parents' Association. The Department has also requested that educational institutions absolutely not impose any additional fees other than those prescribed.

Many illegal fees such as textbooks and cleaning fees. Photo: MH

Regarding some of the reported contents, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung said: If the school collects money for learning materials from parents, it is against the regulations. Because the Department requires schools to publicize the list of materials that need to be purchased and guide parents to reputable addresses to buy learning materials, schools are not allowed to arbitrarily buy on behalf of students. In addition, other fees (if any) must also be considered because they are not included in the list of fees that can be collected according to the industry's instructions.

Regarding this issue, after receiving information about the lack of cooperation from the Principal of Binh Minh Kindergarten, Mr. Phung Duc Nhan - Head of the Town's Department of Education and Training also said: The Department will issue a document to conduct an inspection of the revenue and expenditure of Binh Minh Kindergarten early next week to ensure all rights for students studying at the school and to ensure compliance with the regulations.

It is known that Binh Minh Kindergarten currently has about 300 students. Last school year, the school was recognized as a National Standard School at Level 2 for the second time and the Education Quality Assessment reached Level 3.