The news about Nguyen Thi Tuyet Linh, an 11th grader in HCM City who was expelled from school because she did not attend a school music performance as promised, remains a hot topic on education forum.

Dang Dinh Dai, headmaster of Wellspring School in Hanoi, noted that the Pham Ngu Lao School’s decision to expel Linh from school was too stiff for such a simple mistake.

He noted that in this case Pham Ngu Lao School showed shortcomings which not only have discouraged the student but also upset society.

Regarding the explanation from Pham Ngu Lao School’s headmaster that the decision was just a “threat” to Linh, Dai commented that the explanation is “unconvincing”.
 

“It would be not a big problem if you pay lip service. But things will be different if you release a decision in a written document,” he said, adding that a legal document must be brought into enforcement.

“The school (Pham Ngu Lao High School) has made a simple problem become more serious,” he commented. “This will badly affect students’ psychological state.”

Dai said he was shocked when hearing about the punishment, because he could not imagine that a student would be expelled from school because of a simple mistake.

Dai, in an interview given to a local newspaper, said Pham Ngu Lao High School made a “hasty and thoughtless decision”.

Other educators have also voiced their disagreement with the punishment imposed by the Pham Ngu Lao High School’s Board of Management on its student.

Professor Van Nhu Cuong, headmaster of Luong The Vinh High School, while commenting that disciplining student is a necessary educational method, emphasized that this should not be the solution to all cases.

A teacher at a high school in Hanoi warned that any unreasonable punishment on students may cause immeasurable consequences.

He recalled a story about a secondary school student, who committed suicide after she was wrongly accused of stealing her classmate’s money.

“Flexible policy has proven to be the best solution in education,” he noted.

“The purpose of schools is to educate students, not punish them,” he added.

Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam, headmaster of Dinh Tien Hoang High School, who is famous for educating disobedient students, noted that “naughty students” as described in society should be considered as “students with strong character”, who need suitable education methods.