Parents are upset about the collection of nearly 4 million VND, the kindergarten principal speaks up

Many parents whose children study at Ha Trung Kindergarten (Thanh Hoa) are upset because the school announced a series of fees totaling nearly 4 million VND at the beginning of the new school year.

According to the report, at the parent meeting on September 30, homeroom teachers of 4-5 year old classes informed parents of 13 contributions, with a total amount of nearly 4 million VND/student.

According to parents, the list of fees for the entire school year includes many "strange" items that are not included in the regulations such as: Air conditioner fee 200,000 VND, electricity fee 100,000 VND, cleaning fee 180,000 VND, hiring a gardener 150,000 VND, making school nameplate 250,000 VND, school supplies 510,000 VND...

Ha Trung Commune Kindergarten. Photo: Le Duong

“We are very upset because every year there are extra fees, but this year the amount is too large, nearly 4 million VND. Many parents in rural areas have difficult economic conditions, so having to contribute like this is a huge burden,” said one parent.

In response to the people's complaints, the leader of the People's Committee of Ha Trung commune said that on October 1, the commune received information about the implementation of the collection of fees at the beginning of the school year at the local kindergarten. Immediately after that, the People's Committee of the commune requested the school to stop all collection, and at the same time report and explain specifically about the contents of the parents' complaints.

Speaking to VietNamNet , Ms. Dao Thi Vien, Principal of Ha Trung Kindergarten, confirmed that the school had held a parent meeting and announced the fees at the beginning of the school year. However, some fees were not as reported by parents.

According to Ms. Vien, on September 26, the school held a meeting to approve the commune's collection, with no major changes compared to previous years. On September 28, the school held a meeting with the Parents' Representative Committee to announce the implementation of the contents, and on September 30, a school-wide parents' meeting was held.

List of income provided by parents.

“At the meeting, we implemented the collection fees according to regulations. The voluntary fees are not mandatory, parents can participate or not. However, because some parents took notes everywhere, then added all the fees together, they misunderstood that the school collected nearly 4 million VND,” Ms. Vien said.

The principal also admitted that "the school made a mistake" in providing information, causing parents to misunderstand between mandatory and voluntary fees.

“We have submitted an explanatory report to the Commune People's Committee. Some parents have not clearly distinguished between the regulated fees and the voluntary socialized fees, leading to frustration and misunderstanding that 'the school is required to collect the above fees, which is nearly 4 million VND/year'. We will review and organize a parent meeting to re-implement, pledging not to collect fees outside the regulations of the Department of Education and Training,” said Ms. Vien.

The principal publicly announced his phone number to receive complaints about overcharging, to avoid classes secretly collecting money. The principal of a middle school in Ho Chi Minh City publicly announced his phone number so that parents could report on fees, restroom and boarding issues... He said this was to prevent classes from secretly collecting money and for him to directly handle the situation when there were complaints.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/phu-huynh-buc-xuc-ve-khoan-thu-gan-4-trieu-dong-hieu-truong-mam-non-len-tieng-2449669.html