Education minister calls for authorities to look into violence at HCMC school

The campus of International School Hồ Chí Minh City – American Academy (ISHCMC-AA). — Photo courtesy of the school

HCM CITY — The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has sent an official document calling for local authorities to look into violence at a secondary school in HCM City.  

According to initial reports, a fight broke out between students from the International School Hồ Chí Minh City – American Academy (ISHCMC-AA) on Thursday, two blocks away from the campus and after school hours. 

The case went viral on the internet when T., the mother of a girl involved in the fight, live-streamed herself going to the campus and demanding the school look into the case. She later published another live video on social media that attracted more than 100,000 viewers. 

According to T., the conflict started during a school trip the previous week, when her seventh-grade daughter was keeping a chair for a friend during lunch, and refused the seat to an eighth-grade student.

T.’s daughter was involved in the school fight on Thursday. Security camera footage showed a group of female students hitting each other before being stopped by adults nearby. 

The girls were later taken to the school’s medical room and met with the school’s board. 

The academy on Sunday published an official announcement on its Facebook page, stating that the case is being displayed in the media and public domain “in a way that is damaging to children involved, especially as there are a number of inaccuracies circulating which do not truly represent the facts of the matter.”

“We urge anyone publishing or engaging in sharing material relating to this matter to cease because it is damaging to children,” said the notice. 

Nguyễn Thái Vĩnh Nguyên, head of Thủ Đức City’s division of education and training, said that the school sent a report on Sunday, which the department is processing, to submit to Thủ Đức City People’s Committee and HCM City’s education and training department. 

Nguyên said: “From the perspective of educational management when students are involved in physical violence with one another, the school must handle the case according to regulations.

He added that the school should deal with the case in an educational manner with the students’ well-being in mind. It is important that the academy cooperates with parents to avoid the situation that has been seen on social media in recent days. 

An official report is expected to be sent to the MoET by Tuesday. — VNS