Minister of Education: Non-public tuition fees will be supported through learners

Estimated at 30,600 billion VND

On the afternoon of April 25, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave opinions on the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on exempting tuition fees for public preschool and primary school students from the 2025-2026 school year.

Presenting the proposal, Ministerof Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that the draft clearly states that tuition fees are exempted for students at public educational institutions and tuition fees are supported for students at private educational institutions.

Accordingly, the Provincial People's Council decides on the level of tuition support paid by the state budget through educational institutions.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son.

Statistics for the 2023-2024 school year show that the country has 23.2 million students divided by level: 4.8 million preschool children; 8.8 million primary school students, 6.5 million secondary school students, and 2.99 million high school students.

The Ministry of Education and Training bases on the minimum tuition fees for 3 regions as prescribed in Decree 81/2021 and Decree 97/2023 of the Government to estimate as follows:

The total state budget expenditure required to exempt tuition fees for preschool children and public primary school students and support tuition fees for preschool children and private primary school students is estimated at about 30,600 billion VND.

Of which, the public sector is 28,700 billion VND, the private sector is 1,900 billion VND. The budget level to be ensured will depend on the specific tuition fee level of each province/city under the central government under the authority of the provincial People's Council.

The total state budget for tuition exemption for 5-year-old preschool children, primary school students, and secondary school students from the 2025-2026 school year is 22,400 billion VND.

Thus, the additional state budget that must be ensured when implementing the policy according to the National Assembly's resolution is 8,200 billion VND (of which, the public sector is 6,900 billion VND; the private sector is 1,300 billion VND).

Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Social Affairs Nguyen Dac Vinh. Photo: QH

Carefully assess the ability to balance the budget

During the review, Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Society Nguyen Dac Vinh stated that the Standing Committee of the Committee basically agreed with the policy of exempting and supporting tuition fees for preschool children and public, private and public secondary school students of the draft resolution.

The review agency requested the drafting unit to supplement regulations on implementation, including assigning the Government to guide the method of paying tuition support for students in non-public educational institutions.

Regarding funding, the auditing agency also recommended carefully assessing the budget balancing capacity of localities, especially localities with difficult socio-economic conditions.

Explaining later, Minister Nguyen Kim Son said that tuition support for the public sector will be provided to the unit. As for tuition for the non-public sector, it will be supported through the learner.

"At first, there were two methods: support at the grassroots level or direct support for learners. Through discussions with the Committee for Culture and Society, we found that support through learners was also reasonable," said Mr. Son.

The Minister explained that in the non-public sector, parents and guardians have actually paid tuition fees to private schools, and this amount is a subsidy, a compensation. Therefore, support through learners is feasible and there is no problem. The Government will also ensure the most convenient implementation.

Concluding this content, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Quang Phuong stated that the National Assembly Standing Committee requested the drafting and reviewing agencies to coordinate with other agencies to complete the draft resolution dossier and submit it to the National Assembly at the 9th session.

Regarding the tuition support policy for non-public students, the Government needs to review the beneficiaries, clarify the basis for expansion to supplement the proposal, and design appropriate provisions.

The resolution will be submitted to the National Assembly at the 9th session and will apply the policy from the 2025-2026 school year.

Luan Dung

Source: https://tienphong.vn/bo-truong-giao-duc-hoc-phi-ngoai-cong-lap-se-ho-tro-thong-qua-nguoi-hoc-post1737080.tpo