Billions in rewards for students winning international prizes

Recently, to reward students who won high prizes in international Olympiads, the People's Committee of Hai Phong City announced a decision to award a bonus of up to 2.7 billion VND. In particular, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Hai Phong City awarded a certificate of merit and a bonus of 500 million VND to Nguyen Si Hieu, a 12th grade student majoring in Biology at Tran Phu High School for the Gifted, for winning a gold medal in the International Biology Olympiad.

Nguyen Thanh Duy (a 12th grade Physics major student) won a Silver medal at the International Physics Olympiad and a Bronze medal at the Asian Physics Olympiad and also received 500 million VND (of which 400 million VND was for the Silver medal and 100 million VND was for the Bronze medal).

It is known that the total bonus money that Hai Phong city alone spent to reward the 4 students who won international and regional prizes this year is 1.5 billion VND and 1.2 billion VND to reward the school board, teachers who directly taught, and teachers who taught the prize-winning students.

Previously, in 2023, Bac Ninh province also spent a "huge" amount of money to reward teachers who trained excellent students and excellent students who won prizes in regional and international competitions in the 2022-2023 school year with an amount of more than 3.4 billion VND. Of which, each student who won a gold medal at the International Olympic Games was awarded 500 million VND.

Meanwhile, Hanoi, one of the localities with many national and international awards, does not have a mechanism to set a bonus level beyond the framework like the above provinces.

"This year, Hanoi has 2 students from Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted and Chu Van An High School winning the International Gold Medal in Chemistry and Biology. This is a very proud achievement as it has been 3 years since Hanoi has had its medals changed in color. This requires outstanding efforts from both the students and the team of teachers who guide and tutor them.

To be worthy of the efforts of teachers and students, and also to motivate them to make more efforts, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training has proposed that the City People's Committee approve a special reward framework for this achievement, although it may not be equal to the level that other provinces have given to students with similar achievements," said Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training Tran The Cuong.

Competitive educational institutions "retain" good students

To "retain" and create resources for key achievements in teaching and learning, provinces and cities are introducing reward mechanisms worth up to billions of dong. As for educational institutions, the "race" to attract talent is no less exciting and there are many reflections on the unfairness in this "race".

According to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, specialized schools under provinces and cities are not allowed to give priority to students who have won prizes in provincial and city-level excellent student competitions. However, specialized high schools under universities do not have to comply with this regulation and all set about 10% of the quota for direct admission of students who have won prizes in provincial and city-level excellent student competitions.

"Every year, our school loses a significant number of students who achieved high scores in the city-level excellent student competition to specialized schools affiliated with universities, while the school is the place that invests in training for all 4 years of middle school," the principal of a specialized high school in Hanoi shared.

Not to mention, many private high schools, international schools, and self-financed public high schools have many good treatment policies, rolling out the red carpet to invite excellent students.

This is a practical issue that has caused teachers, students, and parents in a number of localities, including Hanoi, to repeatedly petition the Ministry of Education and Training about the need for a fair mechanism for students who achieve high scores in provincial and city-level excellent student competitions in the first-grade entrance exam to motivate and encourage them as well as educational institutions of all types.

It is known that the Ministry of Education and Training has received, researched, and specifically evaluated, taking into account factors to record students' results in a sustainable and comprehensive manner, helping them learn for real, form real abilities, and at the same time meet the practical requirements of the current educational environment.