Minister Nguyen Kim Son: Tuition support levels for public and private schools are equivalent.

Clarify levels of support between student groups

Continuing the program of the 9th Session of the 15th National Assembly, on the afternoon of May 22, National Assembly deputies discussed in groups two draft resolutions on universalizing preschooleducation for children aged 3-5; exempting and supporting tuition fees for students from the 2025-2026 school year.

Many National Assembly Deputies and the National Assembly Delegation of Hanoi City expressed their agreement and high support for the contents of the two draft resolutions.

Delegate Nguyen Anh Tri, National Assembly Delegation of Hanoi City.

In response to the opinion of Delegate Nguyen Anh Tri on the 5-year implementation period of the resolution and the allocation of appropriate funding for tuition exemption and support, Minister Nguyen Kim Son said that these resolutions were built with the spirit of decentralization between the National Assembly and the Government. Therefore, in the resolution on universalizing preschool education for children aged 3-5, it is stated that the Government is assigned to develop a specific project for implementation. Because the plan lasts for 5 years, some years have more, some years have less, and different regions, it needs to be detailed. This detail cannot be shown in the resolution or appendix but needs a project. The Government will carefully evaluate this project for promulgation.

Regarding funding, the total budget will be reported to the National Assembly and the National Assembly will give its opinion. This is decentralization, the National Assembly will pass resolutions, orientations, goals, and policies. For specific implementation, the Government will develop a detailed project.

Of these two resolutions, the resolution on universal preschool education will be implemented in 5 years. Therefore, the head of the education sector said that the delegates' concerns are reasonable because the implementation process will be very elaborate and full of challenges, not only in terms of resources but also many other factors.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Lan.

In response to Professor Nguyen Thi Lan's concern about whether private school students would rush to public schools, Minister Nguyen Kim Son said that in the public-private system, our public schools still make up the majority. Non-public schools in the capital are also invested in and are very prestigious.

Many schools have a lot of applications lined up during their annual enrollment process. Since the 2024 school year, the Hanoi education sector has been recruiting online, eliminating the need to line up to submit applications. This is progress.

“According to the figures, the number of students enrolling in private schools is still under no less pressure than public schools. The concerns of the delegates are of course worth considering, but they should not be too worrying, because private schools in Hanoi have affirmed their position, brand and are making great efforts. The reality of enrollment in recent years shows that this concern is not too great,” said Minister Nguyen Kim Son.

Minister Nguyen Kim Son said that our desire is that public school enrollment will no longer be too stressful. The arrangement and allocation of good quality schools in the public system needs to be strengthened in some suburban and densely populated areas.

For schools in the special education sector (specialized schools, gifted schools, schools of units), the Education Law (Articles 61, 62, 63) has regulations for subjects in specialized schools, specialized schools, gifted schools. The State considers these as schools to nurture talents, prepare high-quality human resources, the State will have investment according to separate regulations. This has been regulated.

Minister Nguyen Kim Son emphasized: "For students studying general education programs at other types of educational institutions such as continuing education centers, or studying general education programs at colleges, if they study general education programs there, they will be exempted from tuition fees like other students. That is, students studying general education programs at other subjects will also be considered for tuition exemption."

“Regarding tuition support for non-public schools, the resolution clearly states that the People's Councils of provinces and cities will determine the tuition support level for public schools and will support students in non-public schools at the same level. That's all, if it is higher, parents and guardians will have to pay more,” said the Minister.

In terms of form, through discussions at the National Assembly Standing Committee, the payment method for public schools is that the State directly provides funds to the school based on the number of students, similar to before. However, for non-public educational institutions, the State does not provide tuition fees or pay tuition fees for private school students, but the State partially supports them. Parents and guardians still pay tuition fees according to the agreement with the educational institution and the State partially supports them. The form of direct funding for students is appropriate. According to the Minister, with the current digital transformation, this funding is also very convenient, there is nothing difficult.

The issue of extra teaching and learning is being questioned.

In response to the concerns of the Delegate about the inability of localities to balance their budgets, Minister Nguyen Kim Son said that currently, there are 10 provinces, cities and localities nationwide that are exempting tuition fees. For localities that are not yet able to balance their budgets, the central budget will provide compensation and support. In order to implement this soon, after these decrees are signed and take effect immediately, they will serve as a basis, even if they are implemented from the beginning of the school year in September 2025.

The People's Councils of provinces and cities must have a basis to decide on the support levels before they can implement them. Therefore, when the resolution comes into effect, the People's Councils will have a basis to consider the support levels. According to Minister Nguyen Kim Son, the principle of tuition exemption and tuition calculation is based on technical and economic standards to calculate enough costs for students.

The Ministry of Education and Training is urgently submitting to the Prime Minister a decree to replace Decree 81 and Decree 97. It is expected that this decree will be completed this June. After the National Assembly's resolution is issued, the decrees will also be issued immediately to have a basis for implementation in practice.

Delegate Truong Xuan Cu (Hanoi National Assembly Delegation) said that tuition fee exemption and support must be accompanied by regulations, no additional tuition fees will be collected, or if there are any, they will be very limited.

Answering this question, Minister Nguyen Kim Son said that regarding the issue of extra teaching and learning, which will certainly be included in the upcoming questioning, these are issues that delegates are very interested in.

In the three subjects that schools organize extra classes (called extra classes in schools), including: weak students, students preparing to foster excellent students, and students preparing for graduation exams, as clearly stated in Circular 29, no tuition fees are collected. The school must organize this, this is the school's responsibility. Consideration of support for schools and teachers depends on local conditions.

In the General Secretary's concluding notice to the education sector (Document No. 177), there is a directive to develop a plan to organize the second class for students in schools. Minister Nguyen Kim Son said that the Ministry of Education and Training will prepare a plan to organize the second class in schools with the spirit of not collecting any fees from students. The Ministry of Education and Training is implementing this policy starting from the new school year. With such regulations, the education sector is aiming for a public general education system without tuition fees.

Source: News and People Newspaper

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