National excellent students are the best students of the nations who deserve to be gloried. However, in many cases, students have to pay a too “heavy price” for their achievements.

Excellent students also… have to pay money

In principle, the members of the teams to join national competitions for excellent students are the best ones selected from schools and localities. However, in many cases, excellent students cannot become the members of the teams just because they do not have money.

The information that L, who won the first prize in the Hai Phong city’s competition for excellent students in literature, was excluded from the city’s team of students to join the national competition, surprised many people. A teacher of L admitted that L was an excellent student, but she did not join the team because she was very poor. 

The answer of the teacher could not clarify the issue, because in principle, whether to become a member of the team does not depend on the financial capability of students.

L told reporters that she anticipated that once becoming a member of the team, she would have to pay a lot of money which is unaffordable for her family. 

L’s parents were very poor, who lived in a cramped rent room, while L and her brother had to live with grandparents. Everyday, after the school hours, L had to help her mother sell boiled shell-fish. The lunches and dinners of L’s family usually take place right on the pavement of the street.

H, a former member of the literature selected team of Hai Phong City, revealed that every member of the team had to pay 7 million dong which was spent on many things, including the pay to teachers.

H also said that she knew a student, who once had to quit the team because she did not have money to pay for the training. Money has been the biggest worry for many excellent students in the city.

CPI up, expenses up accordingly

Tien phong newspaper has quoted its sources as saying that in order to support the training for excellent students; Hai Phong spent 330 million dong for 11 teams to join the national competitions. In general, each of the team got 30 million dong.

According to Pham Tuan Hung, Head of the Secondary Education Division of the Hai Phong Education and Training Department, the sum of money is transferred to the Tran Phu High School for the Gifted, which can take initiative in spending money.

However, Bui Van Phu, Headmaster of Tran Phu School, said that the sum of money is too small, which is not enough to cover the expenses on the training. Therefore, the school has to ask students to pay money to make contribution to the training.

Phu said that right after the members of the teams are selected, students’ parents would be gathered in the meetings, where they were informed about the money they have to pay.

Phu declined to give information about how much a student has to pay when he becomes a member of the selected teams. However, he said that in 2010, every team collected 10-15 million dong from every student. Meanwhile, teachers all said that the sums of money students have to pay this year would be much higher due to the high inflation rate.

The same situation is occurring with the students in Hanoi – members of the teams to join national competitions for excellent students. Hanoi’s students have some big advantages in geographical position; therefore, the sums of money they have to pay are smaller than students from other provinces and cities. M, a mother, said that she has to pay 4 million dong to fund her study for one month.

In Ha Nam, though the provincial authorities give money to support the teams, every student still has to pay 20 million dong.

Source: Tien phong/ VNN