Not yet admitted to university but already worried about tuition increase

Many universities have planned to increase tuition fees in the upcoming 2023-2024 school year, causing concern for many candidates and parents.

Parents bring their children to participate in the university entrance exam organized by Ho Chi Minh City National University in March at Lac Hong University. Photo: C.NGHIA

Continuing to increase tuition fees may have a certain impact on parents’ psychology and university admissions. However, if tuition fees are not increased, schools will have difficulty improving the quality of training.

Concerns over rising college tuition fees

The increase in tuition fees is based on Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP of the Government. Specifically, this Decree clearly stipulates the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees for educational institutions in the national education system and policies on tuition exemption, reduction, support for learning costs; service prices in the field of education and training. The tuition fee ceiling for educational institutions that are not financially autonomous ranges from 13.5 to 27.6 million VND/school year (10 months). For educational institutions that are financially autonomous, the ceiling ranges from 27 to 69 million VND/school year.

Urgently amend and supplement Decree No. 81

The Government Office has requested the Ministry of Education and Training to coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and relevant agencies to urgently amend and supplement Decree No. 81 dated August 27, 2021 on the mechanism for collecting, managing and exempting tuition fees. The amendment and supplement of Decree 81 must be completed before May 30, serving as a basis for schools to set tuition fees for the 2023-2024 school year. The spirit of amendment and supplement must be consistent with people's ability to pay, tuition fees must be increased gradually, not suddenly.

One of the training groups with the highest tuition increase is the health sector. Specifically, the Faculty of Medicine of Ho Chi Minh City National University has a tuition fee of 55 million VND/year, the nursing major is 40 million VND/year (an increase of 3-6 million VND compared to 2022). As for Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, many training majors have increased tuition fees by 3-8 million VND/year. The dental - maxillofacial - facial major has the highest tuition fee, about 77 million VND/school year.

On May 28, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine (HCMC) announced two tuition fees for first- and second-year full-time students. Of which, the tuition fees for medical, pharmaceutical and dental majors are 55.2 million VND/year, while the undergraduate majors (nursing, nutrition, medical laboratory technology) are 31.64 million VND/year. The joint training program between the school and Johannes Gutenberg Mainz University of Medicine in the Federal Republic of Germany has the highest tuition fee of 209 million VND/year.

Meanwhile, in the group of private universities, the expected tuition increase may make many parents and students feel "dizzy". For example, Van Lang University (HCMC) has an expected tuition fee of about 200 million VND/year for the dental - maxillofacial - facial major, and 170-196 million VND/year for the medical major. The remaining health majors such as nursing, pharmacy, and medical laboratory technology will have tuition fees per credit from 1.3-2.1 million VND/credit. The tuition fee for the following years may change but will not increase by more than 8% compared to the standard tuition fee.

For training majors in engineering, economics, law, and social sciences at many universities, there have been upward adjustments. For example, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law has an increase of nearly 18 million VND/school year (from 18 million VND to over 35 million VND); Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology has an expected tuition increase of 2.5 million VND (from 27.5 to 30 million VND/school year).

Will schools in Dong Nai increase tuition fees?

In Dong Nai, there are two groups of universities, including the group with full financial autonomy and the group with no autonomy. The schools with no autonomy all said that they would not increase tuition fees for the 2023 school year. Accordingly, the Principal of Dong Nai University, Dr. Le Anh Duc, said that the school will not increase tuition fees for the upcoming school year to share difficulties with students and parents. Currently, the school's tuition fees are only 1/3 compared to many other schools. For example, the highest tuition fee for the economic major is only 9 million VND, while the highest tuition fee for the technical major is 12 million VND/school year.

Representatives of Ho Chi Minh City National University advise students of Long Khanh High School (Long Khanh City) on tuition fees of member universities and many contents related to choosing schools and majors. Photo: C.NGHIA

Dr. Mai Hai Chau, Deputy Director of the Forestry University Branch (in Trang Bom District) said: “For the past 3 years, although we really want to increase tuition fees, due to difficulties with the epidemic situation, the school has not dared to increase. By not increasing tuition fees, the school will “bear” the difficulties for students and parents. In 2023, the school plans to increase slightly by about 1-1.5 million VND/school year, but we are still waiting for the opinion of the governing body to decide whether to allow the increase or not.”

In the group of private universities, all schools have adjusted their tuition fees, but the increase rates are different. For example, Eastern University of Technology (Thong Nhat District) has an expected increase of about 10% compared to the previous school year, the highest tuition fee for the next school year is 35 million VND (technical majors), the lowest is 30 million VND/school year (economics, languages, health majors).

Vice Principal of Lac Hong University, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Vu Quynh said that the average tuition fee for the school's training programs is 32 million VND/school year. Next year, the school will only slightly increase the tuition fee by 1-2 million VND. Students will enjoy a tuition policy, meaning that this tuition fee will be applied until they graduate without any increase. In addition, the school has a scholarship policy for new students and students with good and excellent academic performance. Specifically, in 2023, the school will spend 22 billion VND to support scholarships for students.

Dr. Phan Ngoc Son, Chairman of the Board of Dong Nai University of Technology, said that in 2022, the school increased tuition by 10% and in 2023, it will continue to increase tuition by 10%, at 40 million VND/school year. Dr. Son said: "To have quality training, we must increase tuition fees to invest in training equipment and attract high-quality lecturers. Students will enjoy training quality commensurate with the tuition fees they spend to study."

The fact that many universities have simultaneously increased tuition fees for the upcoming school year is making many parents with children preparing to enter university, especially those who are still struggling. Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Loan (Trang Dai Ward, Bien Hoa City) confided: “My child got high scores in the competency assessment exam organized by Ho Chi Minh City National University and is expected to be admitted to Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy. However, with the information that the tuition fees are already high and are still increasing, I have to advise my child to recalculate to suit the family's conditions.”

Justice

Dr. LE ANH DUC, President of Dong Nai University:

Difficult problem for higher education institutions

Not increasing tuition fees is a difficulty for higher education institutions in improving the quality of training. However, in the current difficult economic conditions, the government is forced to keep tuition fees unchanged to share the difficulties with students.

Associate Professor, Dr. NGUYEN VU QUYNH, Vice Principal of Lac Hong University:

You should carefully research tuition fees and the increase schedule before applying.

In addition to choosing the right school and major, candidates must carefully research whether the tuition fees of each school are suitable for their family's conditions or not. Candidates should pay special attention, some schools do not clearly announce the tuition increase roadmap, but each year the tuition fees increase compared to the previous year. This can exceed the ability to pay, putting students in a "fait accompli", leading to a high possibility that students will drop out of school halfway.

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