The parents of students at a high school in Thua Thien-Hue Province were angry at the school following an announcement that teachers and students who do not participate in the school’s field trip to a tourist site would have to scrape moss off the school’s fence.

The Thua Thien-Hue Province Department of Education and Training said on Wednesday that it had requested that the administration of Dang Tran Con High School clarify the case.

The school had reportedly issued an announcement that it would organize a field trip on Thursday and Friday to celebrate the establishment of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (March 26) to the Ve Nguon tourist site in Hue City, Thua Thien-Hue Province.

The fee for attending the trip was VND350,000 (US$14.1) per student, including VND180,000 ($7.3) for the entrance ticket cost and VND170,000 ($6.8) to cover the cost of food for two days.

Some 100 students did not register to attend the trip, while 920 did.

The school announced that teachers and students who choose to not take part in the trip will have to clear moss from the school’s fence on Thursday and Friday.

If the fence is not clean, students who do not go on the trip will be expected to continue cleaning the fence after Friday.  

The school asked the head teachers of classes to inform parents of the announcement, saying this was an educational activity.

Many parents were angry, saying that the school had discriminated against students who do not take part in the field trip and had created an unfair educational environment.  

Forcing these students to scrape moss is definitely a punishment for them, a parent told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Tuoi Tre has repeatedly contacted Nguyen Ngoc Hien, principal of Dang Tran Con High School, but its efforts were in vain.

Nguyen Tan, director of the Thua Thien-Hue Department of Education and Training, said the school’s act was not in line with education objectives.

The department has criticized the school’s administration, and required the school to review its policy and education plans, Tan said.  

The department has also requested that the school to adjust its plan for the field trip. It also warned other education establishments to avoid making similar announcements.

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