Proposal to waive tuition fees for medical students.

Currently, the healthcare sector is facing a shortage of personnel in many localities, especially at the grassroots level. The question of whether or not to waive tuition fees for medical students continues to attract strong attention not only from students but also from medical schools, policy experts, and others.

School health care. Photo: T. Xuan

The burden of tuition fees and the pressure of extended study time.

With a training period of 6-8 years, the medical field is considered one of the most expensive areas of study. At many medical universities, tuition fees range from 24 to over 60 million VND per year for regular programs, and can even reach 150-200 million VND per year for high-quality programs.

Mr. Dao Ngoc Cuong, who holds the record for the most invited speaker on the topic of character education for students and is a career counseling expert, shared his own story. He spent over 10 years as a doctor, treating and saving lives, before a tragic event forced him to abandon his passion and become an inspirational speaker.

“I earnestly hope that the State will have policies to support young people studying medicine. Medicine is about health and human life, and it needs truly excellent people. These people must also be courageous, hardworking, and able to endure hardship because the study time is very long, twice as long as other professions, while working night shifts is strenuous, low-paying, and now they also have to face danger,” Mr. Cuong said.

Specifically, this former diagnostic imaging doctor proposed waiving tuition fees for students attending regular medical schools, while private schools would require students to pay their own tuition. Furthermore, medical students would receive additional subsidies, unlike the current policy for teacher training students. This would help attract more talented students to the medical field, especially those from less affluent families who previously hesitated to pursue medicine due to concerns about the cost of six years of study plus three years of residency.

Currently, students belonging to disadvantaged groups (ethnic minorities, poor/near-poor households) or studying specialized fields (psychiatry, forensic medicine, pathology, infectious diseases, emergency resuscitation, preventive medicine) are exempt from tuition fees according to regulations. However, many opinions suggest considering tuition fee exemption for medical students in other specialties as well, so that financial pressure is no longer a barrier to choosing a medical career. It would be regrettable if some students had to abandon their dream of becoming doctors due to extreme financial difficulties.

A comprehensive solution to attract healthcare professionals.

This proposal is actually not new and has repeatedly heated up parliamentary debates. Most recently, during discussions on the draft Resolution of the National Assembly concerning breakthrough mechanisms for the protection, care, and improvement of people's health, Representative Tran Khanh Thu (from Hung Yen province) proposed amending the regulations to ensure that the state budget guarantees funding for the training of medical doctors with a commitment to work according to state assignments after graduation. With this approach, the representative believes that students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, will have the opportunity to achieve their aspirations of becoming doctors, while simultaneously addressing the issue of medical personnel shortages in remote and rural areas.

Previously, the Ministry of Health also proposed that the Government study the possibility of providing state support for tuition fees for medical and pharmaceutical students, equivalent to the fees charged by the training institutions, and providing living expenses during their studies, similar to the support policy for teacher training students. This aims to attract human resources, as the medical sector is currently lacking in both quantity and quality, and there is an imbalance in the distribution and structure of medical personnel.

Associate Professor Ngo Thanh Binh (Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy), while supportive, expressed concerns about the feasibility of this proposal. The reason is that it would put pressure on the state budget and affect the financial autonomy of higher education institutions. This expert suggested considering tuition fee support for students in their 5th and 6th years to encourage them to continue their studies. Simultaneously, it is necessary to ensure that students receive appropriate benefits after graduation, securing suitable jobs and appropriate compensation.

Regarding this issue, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan stated that, in terms of human resource training and development, the Ministry of Health will focus on investing in the development of several high-quality health training facilities on par with regional standards. At the same time, it will expand policies supporting tuition fees and scholarships for medical students, especially those committed to serving at the grassroots level, in disadvantaged areas, border regions, and islands.

Regarding incentive policies, to attract a high-quality workforce, creating policies that encourage healthcare professionals to commit to their work long-term and wholeheartedly is crucial. Therefore, strong and practical incentive and support policies are needed for those working in preventive medicine and primary healthcare. The Ministry of Health will closely coordinate with other ministries and agencies to institutionalize these solutions for early implementation.

"Outstanding incentive policies in training and employment will also help strongly attract and improve the quality of medical personnel at the grassroots level, creating conditions for medical staff to work with peace of mind and serve the people," Minister Dao Hong Lan emphasized.

Thu Huong

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/de-xuat-mien-hoc-phi-cho-sinh-vien-nganh-y.html