Controversy between parents and school over image of boarding meals 'only white rice and tofu'

On October 22, Mr. Nguyen Van Thong - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Nghi Loc district said that after receiving feedback from parents on social networks about the boarding meals at Nghi Thai Primary School, the unit sent staff to the school to check and verify.

"Initial inspection results show that the photo was taken in class 5B. Through inspection, the school cooked according to the menu that day. We have now sealed it," said Mr. Thong.

According to parent Tran Van Tien, at noon on October 19, he went to visit his children at school right at lunchtime. There, he witnessed the children eating from a bowl, without a tray. Inside the bowl was only white rice and tofu.

"Next to that, some children were scooping up noodle soup. At that time, I stopped by to see if there was anything in the noodles but didn't see anything," said Mr. Tien. Thinking that the meal was not safe, Mr. Tien used his phone to record the image and then shared it on social media. According to the parents, this lunch cost 17,000 VND.

Ms. Phan Thi Van Anh - Principal of Nghi Thai Primary School said that this school year the school has more than 900 students, of which 638 students registered for boarding meals.

"Immediately after receiving information from parents on social media, the school's Board of Directors held a meeting with all teachers and the nurse to find out the cause of the incident. After verification, the photos posted on Facebook were from class 5B. The teacher on duty at noon in this class said that when she finished dividing the food for the children, some children had almost finished eating when a parent came into the class twice to ask to bring milk for their children. After that, there were photos of the class posted on social media that caused public outrage, but she did not know when they were taken," said Ms. Van Anh.

The principal also said that the pictures were not taken from the beginning when the food was divided into portions, so they do not accurately reflect the students' food portions as quantified according to the menu. "The school affirms that the students' food portions are guaranteed according to the menu, guaranteed quality and changed daily. However, the shortcomings in the service work of the teachers on duty need to be promptly overcome. The school's Board of Directors has seriously reviewed the teachers on duty and promptly corrected the shortcomings so that the boarding service work in the school can be better," Ms. Van Anh added.

However, many parents still do not agree with this explanation from the school.

The Head of the Department of Education and Training of Nghi Loc district said that the school's menu that day included: minced chicken soup with shallots, tofu with tomato sauce, vermicelli soup with chicken bones, cabbage stir-fried with lean pork and white rice.

"After checking, grades 4 and 5 at this school do not have rice trays, they have to use bowls. The school said it was due to lack of funds. We have reminded the school to buy trays for all the students," Mr. Thong said, adding that after this incident, the unit will conduct an inspection of the organization of primary school boarding in the entire district.