Delay in providing billions of dong in tuition compensation for vocational students

PARENTS ARE TIRED OF WAITING TO RECEIVE TUITION FEES BACK.

Ms. Le Thi Bao Tran (Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City) decided to enroll her child in the nursing program at Vien Dong College because of the tuition fee exemption under the government policy for junior high school graduates pursuing vocational training. However, even though her child has graduated, she has yet to receive the tuition fee reimbursement for the second year, amounting to approximately 10 million VND.

According to regulations, the Departments of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs will be responsible for paying and settling the tuition fee exemptions and reductions for students graduating from lower secondary school and enrolling in vocational schools.

Ms. Tran recounted: "I submitted the application, supplemented it fully according to regulations, and went back and forth several times, but each time the District Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs told me to wait for the district to disburse the funds, then promised it would be available soon. But it's been over a year now and I still haven't received it."

Students who graduate from lower secondary school and pursue vocational training are exempt from tuition fees, but they face a long waiting period for reimbursement of tuition fees.

Similarly, Ms. Le Thi Ba (District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) and many other parents in this district are anxiously waiting for the tuition fee subsidy, nearly 10 million VND per student, from the District 12 Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs. Recently, due to the long wait, Ms. Ba and a group of parents went to the District 12 Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to inquire, only to be told that the budget had not yet arrived.

Ms. Phan Thi Le Thu, Deputy Principal of Vien Dong College, who is directly responsible for completing the paperwork for students to receive tuition refunds from local Departments of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, said: "Since October 2021, Decree 81, which replaced the previous Decree 86, has been in effect, giving localities more autonomy, resulting in significant delays in tuition refunds for students. The school completed the paperwork for about 400 students at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, but it wasn't until March 2023 that the district's Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs received the applications, and only about 100 have been processed so far. 300 students are still waiting, totaling nearly 3 billion VND."

Students from many other schools such as Ho Chi Minh City Polytechnic College, Khoi Viet International College, Nguyen Tat Thanh College, etc., are also facing similar difficulties in receiving tuition fee reimbursement under Decree 81. Many students have graduated but are still in debt because they borrowed money to study and have not yet received their money back.

Public schools are also experiencing delays.

For public colleges and vocational schools, students do not have to pay tuition fees in advance. Instead, the school will compile a list and prepare the necessary documents according to regulations, then submit them to the directly managing agency. The state will then allocate funds for implementation within the annual budget.

Mr. Nguyen Khanh Cuong, Principal of Lilama 2 International College of Technology, said: "The school is under the Ministry of Construction , so the tuition fee subsidy for students graduating from junior high school to study vocational courses at the school is provided annually by the Ministry of Construction. However, every year the school does not receive the full amount of funding despite having complete documentation. In 2021, the school was short 4 billion VND, in 2022 it was short 5 billion VND, and this year, the school was supposed to receive 12.3 billion VND but has only received 4.8 billion VND so far, leaving a shortfall of 7.5 billion VND."

According to Master Cuong, this budget is allocated annually by the Ministry, so only students currently enrolled at the school are eligible. If the allocation is insufficient, the school will lose that funding the following year when a number of students graduate.

Junior high school graduates pursue vocational training at Lilama 2 International College of Technology.

IMPACT ON ADMISSIONS

Dr. Phan Thi Hai Van, Vice Principal of Ho Chi Minh City College of Technology, commented that since the government has a policy to encourage junior high school graduates to pursue vocational training by waiving or reducing tuition fees, localities should implement this policy synchronously and reduce unnecessary administrative procedures.

"However, students from public schools affiliated with businesses, such as Ho Chi Minh City College of Technology or private schools, who have to go to local Departments of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to receive their tuition refunds are facing many difficulties, and the procedures are complicated," Dr. Van said.

From another perspective, Master Phan Thi Le Thu argues that the procedures for tuition fee reimbursement in localities are too cumbersome and involve long waiting times, leading many students to drop out of school midway.

"Because we saw that the majority of students attending vocational schools came from disadvantaged backgrounds, the school initially supported them by only collecting 50% of the tuition upfront. However, the delayed reimbursement of funds made it impossible for the school to cope any longer, forcing them to collect 100%. The delayed implementation of government policies has directly affected parents, students, and the training and enrollment activities of schools, especially private schools," said Ms. Thu.

Based on these existing issues, Mr. Tran Thanh Duc, Principal of Khoi Viet International Vocational School, proposed that the government should have a mechanism for allocating funding per student. "All schools, whether public or private, only need to submit a list to the competent authority for assessment to receive funding. Then the money will be disbursed directly to the school and students, and parents will no longer need to go to the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to submit applications and wait. Only then will the policy of attracting junior high school graduates to vocational training be effective," Mr. Duc stated.

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