Principal resigns after student eats instant noodles with rice

On December 22, the Bac Ha district government sent a report to the Lao Cai Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee about information reflecting that the boarding meals at Hoang Thu Pho 1 School showed signs of being cut, forcing 11 students to eat white rice with two packs of instant noodles.

The report stated that the information reflected above was accurate. The school had many violations such as not having a list of payments for leftover meals for students, the principal had not signed many food import and export records. In addition, the cash payment vouchers did not have numbers or signatures of the principal or the person receiving the money. The daily food purchase table did not match the monthly food table.

Every day, food is brought from the supplier to the warehouse, but the recipient does not check the quantity and quality of the goods, and does not sign any books. There is a difference between the quantity of food and the actual payment amount.

The information that people do not receive leftover boarding money or 150,000 VND in support money to buy books and school supplies according to government regulations is well-founded.

The People's Committee of Bac Ha district said that Mr. Tran Ngoc Ha, Principal of Hoang Thu Pho 1 School, submitted his resignation yesterday, "taking personal responsibility for his leadership and direction, leading to bad public opinion in society."

The case file was transferred to the police for further investigation, as it involved many people, at many times and was complex in nature.

In the first semester of this school year, Hoang Thu Pho 1 School has 174 boarding students who are receiving support from the Government. Of which, the cost of meals is over 501 million VND for 4 months. In addition, the cost for 5 cooks is 54 million VND (2.7 million VND/person/month). By the end of October, this school had settled nearly 250 million VND through the Treasury.

Previously, a VTV report showed that breakfast for more than a dozen students consisted of only rice and two packs of instant noodles, while the public menu stated that each student had one noodle and one egg. Lunch was also short of the menu. The cooking staff said that the amount of food they received to cook was only one-third of the public quantity.

Bac Ha district authorities then suspended Mr. Tran Ngoc Ha from work for 15 days to serve the verification. The students' meals then had meat, with the quantity as publicly announced.

According to regulations, at least 50% of students in primary boarding schools for ethnic minorities must be ethnic minorities. Boarding students must be eligible for government support because they cannot go to school and return home during the day.

The monthly boarding allowance for students in extremely disadvantaged communes and villages is currently equal to 40% of the basic salary, equivalent to VND720,000. In addition to food expenses, students are supported with VND1.35 million per year for books, blankets, and 15 kg of rice per month. Students and their families will receive the remaining amount if they do not use up the above allowance.