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

Many illegal revenues

Binh Minh Kindergarten is considered to have 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 studying at school. When she recently returned from the 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 mainly negotiated. These are class fund: 300,000 VND, janitor's 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: It is said to be voluntary and agreed upon, but in fact, the school announces it 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, so why do they have to pay this extra fee? Secondly, the fee for learning materials, I do not understand what preschool students learn that the fee for learning materials is up to 350,000 VND/child, more money than a set of textbooks for primary school students.

Present at Binh Minh Kindergarten during school hours, 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 money for drinking water, sanitation, 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 learning materials fee 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. For many families in difficult circumstances, it is very difficult to collect the same amount.

Avoid answering

Regarding the fees that parents were concerned about, Nghe An Newspaper reporters contacted Ms. Le Thi Ngoc - Principal of the school. 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 same 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 cannot speak without the opinion of the school principal.

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

Through discussing 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 a document 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 which is tuition. In addition, the agreed fees are: childcare, boarding childcare, education funding, and operating expenses of the Parents' Association. The Department has also requested that educational institutions absolutely not impose any additional fees other than the prescribed fees.

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

Regarding some of the reported contents, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung said: If the school collects tuition fees from parents, it is against the regulations. Because the Department requires schools to publicize the list of items that need to be purchased and guide parents to reputable addresses to buy tuition materials, the school cannot arbitrarily buy on behalf of students. In addition, other fees (if any) must also be considered because they are not on 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 guiding 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.