Graduation: Last-Minute Expensive Learning

Graduation ceremonies mark important milestones in everyone’s life. When leaving each level of education, along with the joy of the students is the worry of the parents at home, because everything is converted into money.

The clamor about increasingly flashy, lavish, and wasteful graduation ceremonies can now be heard everywhere, from Asia to Europe, from elementary school to graduate school.

At the end of January, Malaysian actress Adrea Abdul took to TikTok to speak for many parents about a worrying trend she observed: primary schools holding graduation ceremonies at 5-star hotels, students had to pay a fee of RM200 (more than VND1 million).

Parents who want to attend the ceremony must pay an additional 150 RM/person, or nearly 800,000 VND. 500 RM for parents and children, converted to Vietnamese currency is nearly 2.7 million.

"I can accept it if it only costs RM15 or RM20," Adrea Abdul was quoted as saying by Malaysia's The Sun newspaper. She said the expense of a lavish graduation ceremony was "completely unnecessary".

I say "grand" because many schools rent luxurious 4-5 star hotels as the venue for their graduation ceremonies.

Parents were added to WhatsApp groups and constantly updated on their donations, putting them under pressure to pay even if they didn't want to.

The video sparked a heated debate about the cost of graduation ceremonies, eventually prompting Malaysia's education ministry to speak out.

According to the Malay Mail, during a Lunar New Year celebration in Selangor in early February, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek mentioned the issue and encouraged schools to hold graduation ceremonies that were "simple but lively and full of emotion".

The minister stressed that there must be consensus between parents, parent associations and teachers. If there is disagreement, the graduation ceremony will not be held.

Following the statement of the head of the industry, the education department of some localities, typically in Melaka state, issued guidelines for organizing graduation ceremonies for students at the school level to reduce the financial burden on parents as well as to appease public opinion.

In February, many graduating students at the University of East Anglia (UK) spoke out on BBC, accusing the school of extorting money from students during graduation ceremonies.

In the past, students could attend graduation for free, but now they have to buy tickets for 20 pounds (about 635,000 VND).

Luke Johnson, a student union leader, said the cost of hiring a graduation gown was £45, while many students complained that their parents could afford to eat at home for a week for just £40.

Many students called the school's actions "extortion" and "exploitation"...

Such cases of students suing their schools are not uncommon. In 2022, when he was about to graduate from Cardiff University (UK), Jared Evitts wrote an article for the BBC because he was shocked to see how much money was spent on his graduation ceremony.

Surveying her friends, Evitts found that the burden of graduation fees was not unique to her. Serenity Davis, 25, who was about to graduate from Cardiff University, decided not to attend because she did not have the money.

"I have to pay the electricity and water bills and rent every month. My family is low income so there is no support. My parents cannot afford to go to Cardiff for just one day. If they want to go, they have to take time off work and spend more money on petrol," said Serenity.

Sian Billington and Rhys Churchill, both 23, have skipped all their undergraduate and master's graduation ceremonies at Bangor University (UK), citing the high cost of the ceremony. Churchill believes that the four years of hard work and hardships he has put in for his degree, not the ceremony. Billington believes that the graduation ceremony does not bring them the value they deserve for what students put in.

In the US, The Prospector - a student information site at the University of Texas, El Paso - lists the cost of an expensive college graduation ceremony.

Brittany Brockenbrough, an adjunct professor of art and design at Virginia State University (USA), was unable to attend her graduation ceremony in 2015 because she could not afford the $125 cap and gown fee and $160 other fees.

According to Brockenbrough, many school leaders believe that the graduation fee divided among each student is not too large, they can completely balance it.

However, Brockenbrough found that the reality is not easy for everyone - many students are completely broke after paying for food, housing, utilities, books, etc.

Laura Guy, coordinator of the clinical mental health program at Fordham University (USA), said missing important events such as graduation ceremonies can have a profound impact on students.

Is there a way out? In a statement after the student backlash, the University of East Anglia insisted that the graduation ceremony was entirely "non-profit".

The BBC reports the school explained that the £20 ticket also includes access to a festival area with live music. The fee charged per person is to help organise the event at the right calibre.

"Charging guests to attend graduation ceremonies is standard practice at many universities, we believe our ceremony is worth the money and provides a wonderful celebration for students and guests," the school said.

In the United States, some educational institutions allow students to apply for graduation cost waivers, such as borrowing or funding for a cap and gown, but not all districts and schools have these programs.

Several social organizations have been established to help students attend graduation ceremonies. Just C, a nonprofit organization, has given away 210 caps and gowns since 2020 to high school students in Virginia.

The beneficiaries are students whose families cannot afford the cost of graduation uniforms.

Chenice Brown-Johnson, the organization's founder, told Business Insider that a system that operates on a "pay or miss" basis is harmful. "Financial hardship should not be the reason you are not eligible to attend graduation," she said.

Currently, universities in Vietnam are collecting graduation registration fees and graduation ceremony fees at different levels, ranging from several hundred thousand to several million Dong.

For example, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology charges a graduation ceremony fee of VND500,000, including gowns and graduation photos.

The University of Economics and Law (Ho Chi Minh City National University) collects 200,000 VND for diploma issuance and 200,000 VND for graduation ceremony participation. The Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages ​​and Information Technology collects 600,000 VND for graduation, including the cost of attending the ceremony.

Ngan thinks that for her, the graduation ceremony is the second most important ceremony after the wedding ceremony. "I think this is the common mentality of many young people and their parents.

So high graduation fees are not a problem, as long as the organization of the ceremony is commensurate with the amount spent.

If you pay attention, you will see that the students who protested the graduation ceremony were because what they received or would receive in the ceremony was not worth the money they spent, not because they had to pay money, even a lot of money" - Ngan said.

Nguyen Loc, who graduated 2 years ago from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University), said he did not attend the graduation ceremony but only went to school to get his diploma. Loc said he felt it was not worth attending a graduation ceremony.

"So a graduation ceremony for me is just a formality, so I decided not to attend the graduation ceremony. I think money is not a problem for those who also decided not to attend the graduation ceremony like me" - Loc said.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/le-tot-nghiep-su-hoc-ton-kem-toi-phut-cuoi-cung-20240505075903516.htm