Tuition fees are allowed to increase but many schools do not charge extra.

In which, there are schools with fees lower than the maximum ceiling by tens of millions of dong.

How much can be increased?

According to the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 81/2021 regulating the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees (HP) for educational institutions in the national education system and policies on tuition exemption, reduction, support for learning costs; service prices in the education sector (Decree 97), HP of public universities will start to increase from the 2023-2024 school year.

Accordingly, public universities that have not yet covered their regular expenses (not yet autonomous) have a ceiling of 1.2 million VND to 2.45 million VND/month (equivalent to 12 - 24.5 million VND/10-month school year). This means that compared to the previous school year, this school year's stipend has increased by 2.2 - 10.2 million VND depending on the major.

Many public universities decided not to collect additional tuition fees in the 2023-2024 school year.

For public universities that are self-sufficient in regular expenses, the maximum allowance is 24 - 49 million VND/year (10 months). The maximum allowance for public universities that are self-sufficient in regular expenses and investment expenses is

30 - 61.25 million VND/year. Thus, the HP at autonomous schools for regular and investment expenditures also increased by 9.5 - 10.75 million VND compared to the 2022 - 2023 school year.

The Decree was issued at a time when universities had completed collecting the first semester's tuition fees and were collecting or were collecting the second semester's tuition fees. The temporary collection by the schools was based on the previous school year's tuition fees or on the policy of the Ministry of Education and Training at the beginning of the school year. Therefore, the amount collected from students was mostly equal to or lower than the maximum ceiling in Decree 97.

For schools that have temporarily collected tuition fees equal to the 2022-2023 school year level, the additional HP can be in the range of over 2-10 million VND depending on the level of autonomy and training sector.

NO MORE COLLECTION EVEN THOUGH IT IS LACK MORE THAN TEN MILLION VND

Immediately after Decree 97 was issued by the Government , many universities proposed not adjusting the tuition fees collected from students for the 2023-2024 school year. Notably, among them, there are schools whose tuition fees are much lower than the maximum ceiling allowed by the state.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hoan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, said that in the 2023-2024 school year, the school collected HP at an average of over 23.7 million VND/year (equivalent to 785,000 VND/credit). The collected amount is currently much lower than the maximum ceiling allowed to be applied to autonomous schools in regular and investment expenditures in Decree 97. Specifically, according to the V major group (mathematics, statistics, computers, information technology, engineering technology, engineering, production and processing, architecture and construction, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, veterinary medicine), the school can collect HP at over 36.2 million VND. If adjusted to the maximum allowed level, the amount of money students still owe is over 12.5 million VND.

"However, the school decided not to collect more from students. Because right before enrollment, the school announced the HP level, so it will fulfill its commitment and keep HP stable throughout the course," said Mr. Hoan.

The International University (Ho Chi Minh City National University) also said that it would not adjust the tuition fee for the 2023-2024 school year. According to Dr. Dinh Duc Anh Vu, Vice Principal in charge of the school, the tuition fee for the training program that the school grants degrees is currently about 48 million VND/year and this fee has been kept stable for the past 5 years. However, the school decided not to collect more from students even though this fee is currently much lower than the technical and economic standards that the school submitted and was approved by Ho Chi Minh City National University 2 years ago.

Regarding next year's orientation, Dr. Anh Vu said: "From the 2024 enrollment period, the school will adjust the HP to ensure the school's activities. However, the school will not immediately apply the approved technical and economic standards but will increase according to the roadmap of Decree 97 applied to the group of schools that self-guarantee regular and investment expenses, that is, under 10%/year".

Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport also has a similar view. Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Vice Principal of the school, said that since August 2023, the school has announced to keep the HP stable at the level of the previous 3 years. To ensure social justice and access to university for children in disadvantaged areas, up to this point, the school has decided not to adjust the announced HP level.

HP HAS COLLECTED CORRECTLY WITH REGULATIONS

Meanwhile, some universities have now collected HP at the level allowed by Decree 97. The basis for the schools to collect this level is the Ministry of Education and Training's guidance notice on implementing collections in the field of education and training for the 2023-2024 school year, issued in early October 2023. In particular, regarding HP of public universities, the HP roadmap is delayed by 1 year compared to the regulations in Decree 81.

According to Dr. Phan Hong Hai, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, in the 2023-2024 school year, the school has implemented the policy of Document No. 5459 of the Ministry of Education and Training, in the direction of postponing the HP roadmap by 1 year compared to Decree 81. Therefore, the HP level the school has collected is equal to or lower than the regulations of Decree 97. Specifically, the average collection level of the school for the technical sector is 32 million

VND/year, economic sector is 30 million VND/year. Compared to Decree 97, the school's HP is lower in the technical sector (this sector has a maximum ceiling of 36 million VND/year).

"However, the school will not charge any additional fees this school year. Next year, the school plans to adjust tuition fees but is considering not increasing them too much. With the policy of maintaining a moderate tuition fee, the school hopes to create favorable conditions for students, especially excellent students," said Dr. Hong Hai.

Dr. Quach Thanh Hai, Head of Training Department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, also said that in September 2023, the school issued a notice of HP collection for this school year. Accordingly, for students of the 2023 course, the school applies a collection rate of 13 - 16.25 million VND/semester (equivalent to 773,000 - 944,000 VND/credit). HP for the school year is from 26 - 32.5 million VND/student depending on the major. The above collection rate is lower than the level allowed by Decree 97, so the school does not need to adjust.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/cho-phep-tang-hoc-phi-nhung-nhieu-truong-khong-thu-them-18524010322513865.htm