Cao Ba Quat Secondary School during snack break

All accused worked at Cao Ba Quat Secondary School in Chi Lang Township, Tinh Bien District. The principle, deputy principle, accountant and cashier were all arrested under charges of having taken more than VND1.3 billion in money meant to go to students.

Truong Chinh Van, head of the district Office of Education and Training, said that there is a programme meant to benefit  students from ethnic minorities, equivalent to 80% of the minimum wage, while outstanding recipients are rewarded with yearly bonus of up to VND800,000 (USD38.16). This case of fraud in the programme was caught as a result of an audit of the school in May of last year.

The initial investigation seemed to reveal that the accused parties had created phony lists of student records in order to receive more funds, keeping it for themselves.

Nguyen Van Con, Secretary of the district party committee, said that the investigative agency was working on an ongoing investigation.

Ho Viet Hiep, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee said, "If these allegations turn out to be true, the actions of these individuals is unacceptable."

One student commented, “After finishing the first term of last school year I had to quit my studies in order to work and earn money for my family. A week later some of my teachers came and persuaded me to go back to school. But, even though I had very high marks, I didn't get any financial bonuses. When I asked the school cashier about it I was told that I was ineligible for the scholarships because i had not attended school for two months. I still have not got the money."

Many other students have also claimed that, after the district Office of Training and Education's investigation into the case, the scholarship money they receive is much higher than in previous years.

Ngo Hong Yen, Chair of the district People’s Committee, said the misconducts were difficult to detect because they involved the managers of the school, adding that it appeared that teachers had no knowledge of the violations.