Struggling to take care of children studying "off-campus"

A week ago, a colleague of mine in Hai Duong City ran back and forth to take care of his child’s “outside school” education. He had a hard time getting a “child permit” to live permanently at a relative’s house in a residential area according to the city’s enrollment zoning regulations.

My acquaintance used many connections and was willing to spend a sum of money to "run". My sister's friend asked an acquaintance to speak to the school leaders...

Indeed, there are many types of children who study "outside the school zone". To be able to enter the "right school zone", one must first have a household registration in the school's enrollment area. Many families in other areas have to find a way to register their children's household registration in the place they want to study. They rely on their relationships to have their children's names in another family's household registration. Not only do they have to ask their relatives to send their children to that family's household registration, but they also have to ask many places to do this quickly and conveniently. People with "far-sightedness" have done this for a long time.

But applying for household registration at someone else's house is just a "trick" of people who don't know each other well.

There are many reasons for choosing a school or class for your child: wanting your child to study in a good environment, convenient for parents to pick up and drop off... There are also many people who follow the trend, just to make their children "equal to their friends", and for parents to "stay proud". To try to do something, not only does it cost money, but it also requires running around, asking for help...

In reality, no primary school is recognized in writing as a “key school”… Some people who send their children to “outside school districts” only hear many people say that the school is famous, but they do not necessarily understand the specifics of the school.

Parents should carefully consider that sending their children to school in the right area will be more convenient, especially for daily pick-up and drop-off; carefully research the quality of education at schools in the right area. It is not certain that the teaching staff of "key schools" are better than teachers in other schools. A good learning environment is a school with good teachers, dedicated to their profession, devoted to students; a green, clean and beautiful school space, and adequate and rich facilities and equipment for teaching and learning.

Don’t think that only by studying at a good school will your child study well. Many generations of students in the past had to study in poor conditions and difficult circumstances, but there were still people who became famous and useful to society. Parents need to pay attention to working with teachers in educating their children, not being too busy “running for schools” for their children.

The Ministry of Education and Training has issued a document strictly prohibiting running schools, running classes, and studying outside the designated area, especially in urban and densely populated areas, putting pressure on parents, creating resentment in society, and making it difficult for the industry to manage.

In the 2024-2025 school year, Hai Duong City will continue to divide the first grade enrollment zones to maintain stable enrollment areas, suitable for the size of schools and teachers, and create convenience for learners. This is a measure to limit the situation of parents concentrating on submitting many applications to a few schools. The city's Department of Education and Training will continue to divide classes on computer software to limit the situation of choosing classes and teachers.

The tightening of primary school admission management in Hai Duong City has generally brought about positive effects, but not thoroughly. The race to get into the desired “key school” is still “hot”. Where there is “demand”, there must be “supply”. And from there, there is a situation of running around to get temporary residence papers, permanent residence papers or relationships to study “outside the district”.

In the long term, localities need to think about a mechanism for schools to compete equally, meeting the learning needs of the people.