VietNamNet Bridge – There are two types of state owned schools – the first one is reserved for popular students with the reasonable tuitions set up by the State, and the second one for the rich.

The VIP classes of state owned schools

In the minds of Hanoians, international schools are the best and the most luxurious choice for the rich to bring their children to. However, they have to change their mind now.

More splendidly decorated than any other classrooms, located within the campus of a state owned school, classes 1A and 1B of the Nguyen Trai Primary School in Thanh Xuan district of Hanoi are the typical examples for the so called “VIP classes of state owned schools.”

The classrooms have floorboards which had been installed before the new academic year started. All the chairs and tables for students and teachers have been replaced with brand new products. Especially, a lot of cute pictures and images have been hung on the wall of the rooms, making the classrooms colorful and friendly like the classrooms of nursery school children.

The teaching and learning facilities here are also high-grade products, which include computers, overhead projectors, multiple choice equipments, lesson plan writing software and many others. It is estimated that the total equipments are valued at over 100 million dong, while it would cost 300 million dong to build up such a classroom.

The sum of 300 million dong, according to an education expert, goes far beyond the imagination of people and is even higher than the investment capital spent by international schools.

VIP classes also exist at Le Van Tam and Hai Ba Trung schools. A parent whose daughter goes to the former school, said every student has to pay 4 million dong for the facilities of the classes, which means that the total income would be hundreds of millions of dong, if noting that there are 50 students in every class.

The VIP classes fit the rich people

A manager of the Nguyen Trai Primary School said the VIP classes have been set up after considering the demand from parents from well off families. The parents always demand best conditions for their learning environment, and they would spend big money to send their children to the best classes.

The manager also said that these interaction classes enroll students on the voluntary basis, while this is not compulsory to everyone. A parents’ committee exists in every class which would decide how to use the parents’ fund. Meanwhile, the money collected from parents does not go to the school’s pocket.

To Uyen, a parent, said that she would rather spend more money to send her child to the special class, rather than another normal class, where the material facilities are too bad to serve the teaching and learning.

According to Uyen, she has to pay over 10 million dong since the beginning of the academic year. Besides the sum of money paid when admitting into the class, parents would have to pay 3-4 million dong more a month for meals and class cleansing.

At the Nam Trung Primary School, besides the modern equipments such as air conditioners or overhead projectors, there is also a DVD player in every class, bought with the money contributed spontaneously by parents.

Despite the sky high tuitions, the demand for interaction classes has been increasing rapidly. Nguyen Trai School, for example, has set up two classes of this type instead of one, to satisfy the higher demand.

Chau Giang