Vietnam - Schools turning into markets, goods and services penetrate schools

VietNamNet Bridge – A lot of services and goods have appeared at general schools. The areas reserved for schooling now serve the trade.

Bui Xuan My, a parent who has a son going to a secondary school in Hanoi, suggested at a parents’ meeting that the parents should ask the school’s management board to remove the shops set up in front of the school.

My’s idea was applauded by many other parents, who said that the existence of the shops, especially food shops, has badly affected the schooling environment.

However, a parent said no one would be able to remove the shops, because the shops’ owners all have pay money to school to have the right to do business here.

Ngoc, whose son has finished the third grade of a primary school in Hanoi, related that some months ago, her son repeatedly urged his mother to pay in money to buy textbooks for the fourth grade, even though he had not attended the year-end semester yet.

“Why did the school urge students to buy textbooks for the next grades, even though the academic year still had not finished?” Ngoc said.

In fact, Ngoc knows well what the answer is. The school can get commission from the sales of textbooks to students.

A mini survey conducted by VietNamNet has found out that the majority of parents do not advocate the “cooperation between manufacturers and schools”. Bringing products to schools to sell directly to students and parents is the way many food producers are following to boost sales.

This marketing method has been favored most by dairy producers. A parent said that her daughter asked her to buy milk every day, just because the seller offered toy gifts. The girl only wanted to drink the milk sold at school, while she refused the products bought by the mother.

Besides dairy products, books, newspapers and journals have also been put on sale at school, leaving parents in awkward situation.

“Parents and students are told that they can decide themselves whether to buy textbooks, while the purchase is not compulsory. However, parents cannot refuse to buy the books once the teachers “advise” them to buy,” a parent said.

Newspapers or journals are considered “luxury items” for poor parents. If they agree to buy newspapers and journals, this would be a finance burden on them. Meanwhile, if they refuse to buy, the teachers may become unpleased.

Parents and students have also been advised to book tours and use other services.

Teachers advise their students to attend live skill training courses, buy stationary products, go to foreign language classes and attend overseas summer camps.

Bui Thi Mai, a parent, related that four months ago, her daughter asked for the permission to attend a summer camp in Malaysia at the total fee of over 3000 dollars.

3000 dollars was a big sum of money for every Vietnamese family. However, Mai refused to allow the daughter to make the trip not because she did not have money, but because the trip was organized just 20 days before the second semester exams began.

The daughter then said she would feel ashamed if she was the only student who did not attend the trip.

Mai finally found out that the school organized the trip at that time because it was the low travel season and the school would get higher commissions if bringing students abroad at that time.

Hoang Thu

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