Education
Survey: bribes given for access to prestigious schools
  • By Hong Hanh | dtinews.vn | October 04, 2013 02:56 PM

Many parents are ready to spend bribes of up to  USD3,000 so that their children are admitted to well-known primary schools.

 

Around 80% of mothers play decisive roles in choosing their children’s schools 

The information was released in a recently survey on educational corruption, conducted by Towards Transparency Organisation in Vietnam.

According to the survey, these "black fees" are normal for many good primary schools, and is between USD300 and USD800. This problem is mostly seen in the big cities of Hanoi, HCM City and Danang.

The survey showed that 67% of interviewed parents said that they think it is normal to pay extra fees so their children can study in a good environment. They said that fees of USD1,000 for a good school is acceptable, and so are willing to make the payments.

“Over recent years, the Vietnamese public education system has achieved remarkable progress in terms of the rate of children sent to school and the rate of literacy. However, the rising demand for high-quality education along with limited awareness of educational standards has triggered a boom in off-the-book fees to send their children to prestigious schools. The situation is the most popular at primary and secondary school level, threatening some people’s ability to get access to public education,” the survey indicated.

An online survey conducted by DTiNews in June 2011 also showed that 62% of parents admitted to having used their personal relationships to find a good school for their children.

A survey of 1,500 young people and elderly people in 11 cities and provinces implemented by Towards Transparency Organisation also revealed that the rate of interviewees who chose to pay extra fees to pass an exam or get a license was double that of those who do so through proper channels.

Many of the respondents said studying at a good school is even more important than finance in having an impact on their future.

Towards Transparency Organisation said it is necessary to educate people that spending extra fees for being admitted to a school is a kind of corruption.

Around 80% of mothers play decisive roles in choosing their children’s schools. Raising parents’ awareness of corruption is essential, but this also has to do with settling other kinds of corruption in education such as illegal fee collection and holding extra classes.

According to the Towards Transparency, the Ministry of Education and Training’s documents and instructions will only work in the short-term, and that the most important thing is improving teachers’ salary.

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