Teacher in Vietnam disciplined after fining students who sleep after 9 pm

The teacher, homeroom instructor of an eighth-grade class at Tran Van Dang Junior High School, allegedly imposed the rules on the entire class and ordered the class monitor to check compliance in a group chat. Students who did not follow the schedule were fined VND100,000 (US$4) each time, parents said.

Hoai, whose child is in the class, said many students felt unfairly treated but were afraid to speak up.

“The children were upset but did not dare protest because they feared harsher punishment. Some were fined more than VND200,000. When parents raised concerns, the teacher refused to work with us,” she said.

Parents also complained that the teacher repeatedly assigned homework without grading it, and that students who did not understand lessons were made to stand at the back of the classroom for multiple periods.

School principal Duong Tan Phuoc on Dec. 22 confirmed the incident, saying the teacher had acknowledged that his approach was inappropriate. However, Phuoc said the actual amounts collected were smaller than initially reported, with some students fined only VND10,000 to several tens of thousands of dong. All money has since been returned.

“This method was wrong, even if the intention was to help students develop discipline,” the principal said.

According to Phuoc, the school and parents have agreed to change the homeroom teacher of the class starting in the second semester to ensure students feel comfortable continuing their studies. The teacher involved has been downgraded in performance evaluation, affecting his additional income for the fourth quarter, and the school is considering further disciplinary measures.

The principal added that the teacher had been suspended nine years ago for verbally abusing students and forcing them to kneel, an incident that will be treated as an aggravating factor in the current disciplinary review.