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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