National Assembly delegates worry about 'free tuition but high surcharges'

The above content was expressed by many delegates at the group discussion this afternoon (May 22) on the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on exemption and support of tuition fees for preschool children, general education students, and people studying generaleducation programs at educational institutions in the national education system.

Delegate Truong Xuan Cu ( Hanoi ) proposed that relevant agencies should consider that in addition to exempting tuition fees for students, schools should limit the collection of other fees.

"How can public schools minimize the amount of other fees, especially since Hanoi schools currently collect many types of fees?", Mr. Cu raised the issue.

Delegate Truong Xuan Cu spoke and contributed his opinions.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Minh Trang ( Vinh Long Delegation) said that exempting tuition fees does not mean that students do not have to pay other learning costs such as uniforms, soft skills, boarding, etc. If the collection of fees other than tuition fees is not well controlled, the policy will lose its effectiveness.

She suggested that the resolution drafting unit should establish a control mechanism, transparency and supervision by parents and People's Councils at all levels, to avoid the situation of "free tuition but increasing other additional fees". If not controlled, the tuition exemption policy could be "diluted" in effectiveness.

In addition, a comprehensive support package including tuition fees and part of the learning costs such as textbooks and essential learning equipment can be considered for poor students and students in disadvantaged areas.

Regarding the implementation mechanism, delegate Minh Trang emphasized the need to clarify the responsibilities between the central and local budgets to avoid the situation where policies are issued but there are not enough resources.

In addition to free tuition, the female delegate emphasized the need to improve the quality of education, increase investment in facilities, and provide incentives for teachers in remote areas. "If schools are degraded and there is a shortage of teachers, then free tuition will not bring real value to learners," she said.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Lan (Hanoi Delegation) expressed concern that exempting tuition fees at public schools could cause a sharp increase in the number of students transferring from private schools to public schools, leading to the risk of overloading the public school system. Therefore, it is necessary to supplement regulations or assign the Government to develop a synchronous investment plan for facilities and teacher staffing to ensure truly uniform training quality.

Besides, the female delegate said that in reality, there are currently several types of high-quality public educational institutions, gifted schools, experimental practice schools, and private schools.

"So how is the tuition exemption policy implemented?", the delegate raised the issue and said that the resolution did not clearly state the regulations for the above types, the delegate suggested that the drafting committee clarify this content further.

Clarifying the opinions of delegates, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that a detailed project will be developed and carefully evaluated to implement the resolutions of the National Assembly.

Regarding tuition support, the Minister of Education and Training shared that the People's Councils of provinces and cities will determine the specific support level for non-public schools equivalent to public schools in the form of direct provision to learners. This option is suitable in the current digital transformation conditions.

Regarding the proposal to limit the collection of other fees in schools, Mr. Son said that extra teaching and learning in schools only applies to three groups of students, including weak students, cases of nurturing excellent students and students preparing for graduation exams. According to regulations, schools do not collect tuition fees for extra teaching and learning from these three groups. In principle, this is the responsibility of the school.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son.

Regarding concerns that students will switch from private schools to public schools when tuition is exempted, Mr. Son analyzed that the proportion of public schools is very high, but the number of students entering private schools in Hanoi is also under no less pressure than public schools.

However, there is no need to worry too much about students transferring from private schools to public schools, because private schools in Hanoi have also affirmed their position and brand and are also making great efforts. "The reality of enrollment in recent years shows that this concern is not too big," Mr. Son added.

Ha Cuong

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/national-congress-delegates-pay-school-fees-but-the-fees-increase-ar944628.html