Proposal to abolish university admission based on academic records and reduce tuition fees

Information from the Ministry of Education and Training said that the Ministry has received a petition from voters of Thanh Hoa province sent before the 4th session of the 15th National Assembly, transferred by the People's Petition Committee.

In particular, voters in Thanh Hoa province proposed to study the removal of university admission based on academic records, as there are currently many negative aspects arising from the "beautification" of academic records and "scoring" of schools.

Proposal for admission by merit to reduce university tuition fees, figure 1 — Currently, university tuition fees are increasing in the direction of correct and adequate calculation (photo source: National University).

Voters also requested attention to the fact that many universities, especially those in engineering, medicine, and pharmacy, have increased their tuition fees very high, affecting the wishes and needs of many families and not matching the actual average income of the people;

It is necessary to adjust the tuition fee collection roadmap in the direction of gradually increasing according to the ceiling and specifying specific regulations on time to complete the tuition fee increase.

Regarding the proposal to study the removal of university admission based on academic records, there are currently many negative aspects arising in the "beautification" of academic records and "scoring" of schools, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) believes that Clause 2, Article 34 of the Law on Higher Education 2012;

The Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the 2018 Law on Higher Education stipulates the organization of enrollment of training institutions as follows: “Admission methods include: entrance exams, admission selection or a combination of entrance exams and admission selection; Higher education institutions autonomously decide on the enrollment methods and are responsible for enrollment work.”

Thus, the Law on Higher Education stipulates that higher education institutions have autonomy in deciding on admission methods.

The regulations on university and college admissions for Preschool Education issued together with Circular No. 08/2022/TT-BGDDT dated June 6, 2022 of the Ministry of Education and Training (Article 6 regulating admission methods) have specified the provisions of the Law on Higher Education.

The circular stipulates principles to ensure publicity, transparency and equality among training institutions, and at the same time, for higher education institutions to unify implementation in enrollment and stipulates that the Ministry of Education and Training directs the organization of inspections and checks on the implementation of the Regulations.

Whether or not transcripts are used for university admissions, it is the responsibility of schools to take measures to ensure reliability, fairness, and accurate assessment of students' learning outcomes.

Regarding the opinion that many universities, especially engineering, medical and pharmaceutical majors, have increased their tuition fees very high, affecting the wishes and needs of many families and not matching the actual average income of the people;

Adjusting the tuition fee collection roadmap towards a gradual increase according to the ceiling and specific regulations on time to complete the tuition fee increase, the Ministry of Education and Training said that the Government has issued Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP dated August 27, 2021, stipulating the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees for educational institutions in the national education system and policies on tuition exemption, reduction, and support for learning costs;

Service prices in the field of education and training to be applied from the 2021 - 2022 school year.

Accordingly, tuition fees of public universities for the 2021-2022 school year remain stable, not increasing compared to the 2020-2021 school year to share difficulties with parents, students and people due to the impact of the Covid epidemic.

From the 2022-2023 school year, the tuition fee ceiling will be adjusted based on the country's socio-economic conditions and inflation indexes, annual economic growth rate, and is expected to fully cover training costs by 2025.

Pursuant to Resolution No. 77/NQ-CP dated June 8, 2022 of the Government on the regular Government meeting in May 2022 and the opinions of the Government leaders, the Ministry of Education and Training has advised the Government to issue Resolution No. 165/NQ-CP dated December 20, 2022 on tuition fees for public educational and training institutions for the 2022 school year -

2023.

Accordingly, the tuition fees for the 2022-2023 school year of public educational institutions will be kept stable at the same level as the tuition fees for the 2021-2022 school year to help control inflation, support students and their families to reduce the burden, and stabilize their lives.

Circular No. 28/2020/TT-BGDDT and Circular No. 32/2020/TT-BGDDT stipulate the charter of general schools. 5 Official dispatch No. 4096/BGDDT-CNTT dated August 31, 2022 on guidance on implementing tasks of applying IT, digital transformation and educational statistics for the 2022-2023 school year.

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