text: Public preschool prioritises children of officials | DTiNews - Dan Tri International, the news gateway of Vietnam
  Public preschool prioritises children of officials
  By Ha Van Long | dtinews.vn | October 11, 2012 02:10 PM
  Parents in Hanoi's Quoc Oai District were outraged to learn that a local public preschool only accepted children of district and local officials.
  School's enrollment policy criticised
  The school's policy has been approved by head of district steering committee for enrollment, which is directed by Deputy Head of the district's Office of Education.
  Parents who live in Quoc Oai Township said they lived nearby Quoc Oai district preschool but are forced to send their children to a school that is farther away.
  A woman in Ngo Sai Hamlet, of the same township, said she has tried to get her kids in the school for two years because it has good facilities and high quality of education. However her efforts have been unsuccessful.
  "What I can't understand is how a school built with State funding can apply such an unfair policy. All children who live in the area have a right to study at a school that was paid for with tax payers' money," she said.
  Do Lai Binh, Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee, told DTiNews that the school's policy is inappropriate, since the directive by the Hanoi Department of Education and Training mandates that local preschools, primary schools and secondary schools equally serve children living within their areas.
  "Quoc Oai District Preschool was formerly known as Lien Co Preschool, a prestigious school that district officials used their status to get their children into. However, the status of the school was also changed after its expansion, making it necessary for them to open their doors to all local children," Binh noted.
  Nguyen Thi Hoc, the school's principle, has claimed that their enrollment process is in accordance with the mandates set out by the district Office of Education.
  Hoc admitted that over the past years the school has accepted only children of officials, and that if the enrollment quotas are not met with officials' children, second priority is given to the children of teachers and commune-level officials.
  She added that the policy is unfair and unreasonable.
  According to an investigative journalist, Do Lai Binh acts as head of the steering committee for enrollment at preschools, primary and secondary schools, while Nguyen Van Phuong, head of the district Office of Education works as the committee's deputy head.
  Phuong told DTiNews that he was unaware of any discrimination at the school. He confirmed that students have right to study at a school located in an area where they are registered as permanent residents.
  His surprise at the accusations of enrollment discrimination for the 2012-2013 school year seemed to indicate that a solution to the problem has not been considered.