The HCM City Education and Training has sent dispatches to schools requesting them to tighten security measures. The document was released after cases of children being kidnapped for ransom were reported in local newspapers.

The headmaster of a nursery school in district 3 said the school could not employ any security guard last academic year and the school’s teachers had to unwillingly work as security guards in shifts. 

They had to be on duty in front of the school to receive children in the morning and to give their children back to their parents in the afternoon.

Chung Bich Phuong, deputy head of the Tan Phu district’s education sub-department, said every security guard can get VND1 million a month because they are considered ‘untrained workers’. The amount of money is just enough to cover basic needs for 10 days.

Under the current regulations set by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), state-owned schools can employ no more than three security guards and the workers must finish high school.

However, it is difficult to find enough security guards who have a high education level as required. And it is nearly impossible to compete with restaurants, cafes and karaoke shops because of the modest pay schools can offer.

Phuong pointed out that though schools can only offer modest pay, they set high requirements, because schools are a special environment. Security guards at schools not only have to protect facilities, but also ensure safety for children.

The schools in districts 4 and 8, which are the ‘hot spots’ in HCM City, said they have to sign contracts with the local police night watchmen to protect the schools because the internal force is not enough to ensure safety for teachers and children.

The headmaster of a secondary school in district 4 said it was not an easy job to protect schools with thousands of students. Many schools are located in areas with bad security conditions as they are surrounded by unwholesome entertainment venues.

“In principle, the schools under bad security conditions need more security guards than other schools. However, they cannot recruit more than three security guards because of the limited budgets.”

Pham Thuy Ha, headmaster of Nguyen Van Troi Primary School, said she employs six security guards. However, only three of them receive salary from the state budget.

“We have extra income from day-boarding services and from leasing classrooms to foreign language evening classes,” she explained.

NLD