Collecting money from parents, principal must answer 'what did their children learn'

Every year at the beginning of the school year, the issue of school fees becomes a hot topic. After the school’s annual meeting, when the school announced the contributions, many parents expressed their concerns and frustrations on social media.

Some people covered the school name, others posted the full notice. Each post quickly received dozens of comments: some strongly opposed, others thought some of the fees were reasonable.

For example, a parent has made public the entire collection list of a primary school in Ben Thanh ward. Accordingly, there are many monthly payments under the school program, including: Classes according to the capacity improvement project 150,000 VND; Foreign language for foreigners 200,000 VND; Foreign language integrated with Math - Science 550,000 VND; Digital citizenship education 90,000 VND; Digital capacity education, artificial intelligence 120,000 VND; Gifted club, optional physical education 120,000 VND; Life skills 80,000 VND; STEM education 90,000 VND.

In addition, there are many other estimated expenses such as: Installing wifi for digital classrooms (total 9.6 million VND, each student contributes 330,000 VND); scholarship fund (7.25 million VND, each student 250,000 VND); graduation ceremony expenses (30.45 million VND, each student 1.05 million VND); gratitude activities (700,000 VND/student, voluntary)...

These detailed lists, when appearing on social networks, have created many debates.

Parents and students in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Nguyen Hue

How is school fees in Ho Chi Minh City regulated?

Ho Chi Minh City has more than 2.6 million students and 3,541 schools from kindergarten to high school, the largest in the country. Before the opening day of September 5, the Department of Education and Training announced 9 mandatory monthly fees, stipulating ceilings divided into two groups: students in wards and communes.

9 revenues include: Boarding management and cleaning; Breakfast service; After-hours care before and after school; After-hours care on holidays; Initial health check-up; Electricity and air conditioning (for rented and equipped classes); Information technology application and digital transformation; Car pick-up and drop-off; Dormitory.

The Department emphasized that this is the maximum fee. Depending on the actual situation and student needs, the school will agree with parents on a specific fee, but it will not exceed the ceiling and will not increase by more than 15% compared to the 2024-2025 school year.

The basic contents and fees are inherited from the previous school year. If the school wants to add new services, it must survey and get parents' opinions before implementing. The principal needs to make a revenue and expenditure estimate, ensuring that the costs are within the range prescribed by the People's Council. The fee must be commensurate with the quality of the service and comply with the law on prices.

Parents' first-year income posted on social media. Screenshot

With the goal of moving towards 100% of schools organizing 2 sessions/day, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City also clearly stipulates the fees that can and cannot be collected for this model. The fees that parents need to pay include: Career guidance, experience, STEM/STEAM, life skills, digital skills, AI, foreign languages, sports , culture - arts, career counseling... and activities implemented according to the project and plan of the city and the education sector.

Clearly answer "what does my child get?", parents will not react negatively

Speaking to VietNamNet , Mr. Ho Tan Minh, Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, said that at the end of August, the Department issued Document 1888 guiding the collection and use of tuition fees and other fees for the 2025-2026 school year for public educational institutions. This document specifically stipulates the list of fees that are allowed to be collected.

Accordingly, schools are only allowed to collect fees within the scope of the list specified in Document 1888. For any fees that are not on the list, the principal must be responsible (for high schools). For kindergartens, primary schools, and secondary schools, the responsibility for review, inspection, and supervision belongs to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the ward/commune where the school is located.

Mr. Minh emphasized that when deciding to collect any fees, the school must clearly explain to parents: What is the fee for, what will the students learn, what will be the results, what is the specific budget, how many students are expected to participate, and the calculated costs. Everything must be public and transparent for parents to understand, and cannot just show the fee schedule and assume that parents will understand it themselves.

“Parents need to clearly understand the collection items and what their children get when they contribute. If the principal only shows the collection list without explaining, that is wrong.” This also means that the principal has not done a good job of communicating to the homeroom teacher, so that the teacher can explain to the parents. Therefore, it is certain that parents will react like the public opinion. The primary responsibility belongs to the principal,” said Mr. Minh.

Specifically, some parents questioned why the regulation on boarding hygiene fee is no more than 300,000 VND, but some schools charge 200,000 VND, others 150,000 VND, and others 120,000 VND. This shows that the school has not clarified the cost basis and number of students, leading to parents not understanding and not agreeing. The principal and accountant have not properly performed their functions and duties.

For socialized programs, the principal must explain to parents why their children study this content and this class. Parents have the right to choose and agree before paying. For example, a native English class with 35 students will have a different budget and specific costs compared to a class with only 30 students, so the revenue will definitely be higher. The school needs to explain clearly to parents, and cannot just ask them to "pay" without answering the question "What will my child get during the learning process?". When parents understand clearly, they will certainly not react.

The Department of Education and Training emphasized that it will continue to thoroughly educate school principals to firmly grasp the spirit: Just because the Department allows a maximum fee to be collected, schools cannot default to collecting that amount.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/thu-tien-phu-huynh-hieu-truong-phai-tra-loi-con-ho-duoc-hoc-gi-2443511.html