Worry about poor quality meals

On February 14, an article with photos posted anonymously on social media appeared, "accusing" the boarding meals at Phu Dong Primary School (Hai Chau District, Da Nang City). Specifically, the article expressed the concerns of parents after monitoring their children's boarding meals at Phu Dong Primary School.

"After reading the article from Nui Thanh Primary School (the article reflecting the poor quality of the previous meal - PV), we parents were suddenly startled by our children's meals, the image of the meal I recorded. Currently, I feel quite worried, so I want to share it so that other parents in the school can pay attention to their children's lunches," the anonymous parent wrote.

Along with the content expressing concern, the writer also attached some pictures of the "poor" meal consisting of only rice, a few slices of kidney beans, "ocean" soup, a slice of watermelon, and half a banana for dessert.

PHOTO: SCREEN CAPTURE

After the article was posted, many social media accounts in Da Nang City expressed their outrage, with many accounts even commenting that the school had "cut off" the students' meals, but could not provide evidence.

"I knew it would be small, because there was no one to pick me up, so I had to accept it. But I never thought the quality would be this bad," said Dung Dang.

In addition to the angry comments that the school cut back on lunch, there are still some cautious opinions. A parent whose child is studying at Phu Dong Primary School (Thu Suong account) asked: "Are you sure? My child is studying at Phu Dong, I don't know if it's clean, but why is the food so terrible?"

PHOTO: SCREEN CAPTURE

Speaking to Thanh Nien reporter, Ms. Truong Thi Nha Truc, Principal of Phu Dong Primary School, said that the photo that the parent used to post about the poor quality meal was determined by the school to have been taken in October 2024.

"The image that the parent posted reflects that the meals have not been divided yet. For the stuffed okra dish, although it looks like there are only 2 okra, the amount of minced meat is still enough to provide nutrition for the children," Ms. Truc explained.

PHOTO: HUY DAT

According to the Principal of Phu Dong Primary School, the boarding meal for students is 31,000 VND/student/day. Of which, 28,000 VND is for lunch and snacks, and 3,000 VND is for additional fees.

"The kitchen at the school is strictly inspected for ingredients. On Monday mornings, the school will send the daily menu to the parent-student association with pictures of the meals for parents to monitor and supervise... The school has not received any feedback from the parent-student association for a long time," Ms. Truc informed.

Police investigate

Having received continuous feedback on poor quality of boarding meals at primary schools in the area, at noon on April 14, Mr. Truong Thanh Dung, Vice Chairman of Hai Chau District People's Committee, together with leaders of Hai Chau District Department of Education and Training, inspected the boarding meals at Phu Dong Primary School.

PHOTO: HUY DAT

Speaking to Thanh Nien reporters, Mr. Dung said that recently, the People's Committee of Hai Chau District has set up teams to conduct surprise inspections of boarding kitchens at primary schools and kindergartens in the area regarding food safety and hygiene and the quality of students' meals. Through inspections, it was found that all schools have made their meal menus public to the pedagogical council as well as parents.

"We found that the female supervisors cook very well, deliciously, to the taste... the quality of the meals is exactly as per the menu provided. However, through the incident, we noticed that there were some situations where the female supervisor did not scoop out enough food or the children found a dish too delicious and to their taste, so they ate it all. At that time, taking pictures and posting them on social media to claim that the school was dishonest in the boarding meals is not correct," said Mr. Dung.

PHOTO: HUY DAT

Mr. Dung also encouraged parents to go directly to the school to check and monitor the quality of the boarding meals so that they can closely coordinate with the school and local authorities in providing nutritious meals for students.

Mr. Dung also said that, in response to the information reflected on social networks by parents in anonymous mode, the People's Committee of Hai Chau District has requested the Da Nang City Police to investigate and clarify the owner of the reflected post.

"After the police investigate the person who posted the complaint, we will invite the parent to come in to work to find out the purpose and have a clear confrontation," said Mr. Dung.

According to Mr. Dung, if the error is determined to be the school's, the school will be responsible. If the writer reflects the truth incorrectly, that citizen must be held responsible before the law.