The seats at “star schools” are getting more and more expensive, since the demand is too high, while the supply is limited. Brokers now offer to sell seats at the schools at 3000 dollars (60 million dong) for each.

How much is a seat at star school?

Tuyet Lan, a mother in Cau Giay district, said that she has been moving heaven and earth to register a seat at TH Primary School for her son, Nguyen Duc. However, to date, she is still not sure if the boy can enroll in the school.

Lan has been told that in order to be able to enroll in the school, she needs to pay about 1000 dollars (20 million dong). Lan accepts that price, provided that the son can study at a prestigious school.

However, she still is not sure, if the sum of money can help, because the headmaster of the school has told her that the school needs to prioritize the students who live in some certain areas as requested by the local education department, and it will only consider other cases later.

Lan is not the only mother who feels anxious about their children’s seats at star schools. Phuong, a mother in Ba Dinh district, also complained that choosing school for the daughter has caused a headache to all members of her family.

According to Phuong, several months ago, she met a broker, who promised to arrange a seat for her daughter at KD Primary School, a prestigious school in the district, if she agreed to pay 1000 dollars. However, after that, in March, the broker said the “seat price” rose to 1300 dollars. The price once again was raised to 1500 dollars in May.

Phuong accepted to pay 1500 dollars, because she thought the price was not too high if her daughter can study at a good school and with good teachers. However, in late May, the broker demanded 1700 dollars which is really unaffordable for her. Phuong said now she has to register a seat at a middle school for the child.

Education forums these days are full of the entries about choosing primary schools for children. On webtretho, a well-known forum, there have been more than 300 comments of parents, who share experiences about how to choose schools and teachers. A member with the nick “Thienlam23” asked for help from other members, as she wants to obtain a seat at Dang Tran Con A Primary School in Thanh Xuan district. Especially, the member wants her child to study with teachers Huyen or Hoa.

Viet, a father in Ba Dinh District, said that he has luckily obtained a seat at TA Primary School for his daughter after paying 1000 dollars worth of the “underground fee”. He said that the sum of money is “reasonable” and acceptable, if comparing with the sums of tuitions students of non-state owned primary schools have to pay. A friend of Viet’s told him that he has to pay 3000 dollars for a seat at another school in Ba Dinh district.

Parents’ race causes chaos in the society

Former Minister of Education and Training Pham Minh Hac, now Chair of the Vietnam Psychological Education Science Society, said that the children, who can study at good schools and with good teachers, will have better conditions to develop. Therefore, it is understandable why parents try to choose the best schools for their children. However, he said, choosing schools with money, thus causing chaos in the society must be unacceptable.

A poll conducted recently by the Vietnam Society of Study Encouragement showed that 62 percent of polled parents admitted that they used close relations with VIP, or money to register study for their children at star schools.

A lot of parents, who do have enough patience and money, have to give up the race for star schools. In this case, they have to let their children go to middle schools. However, they still try to send the children to the classes run by prestigious teachers.

Hang Phuong, a mother in Long Bien district, said that after a lot of thoughts, she has decided to send the child to a school near her house, but she will have to ask a prestigious teacher to give tutoring lessons to the child, because she fears the child may lag behind other classmates.

Source: NLD