Adjust for the learner

Decree 81 was issued to replace Decree 86 (issued in 2015), in line with the directives of Resolution No. 19-NQ/TW (issued in 2017), which required "by 2021, to complete the roadmap for calculating the price of public service fees (including salaries, direct costs, management costs, and asset depreciation) for some basic sectors such as healthcare, education and training, and vocational education ." However, in Decree 81, the chosen solution was to allocate a "transition" school year, meaning that tuition fees for the 2021-2022 school year did not increase compared to 2020-2021, even though tuition fees had increased by 10% each year in previous years. Starting from the 2022-2023 academic year, according to the roadmap outlined in Decree 81, university tuition fees will increase sharply, especially for medical and pharmaceutical fields, which will see a 71% increase; the rate of increase will then slow down to approximately 13-25% from the following academic year. This "slowness" is reasonable, as the 2021-2022 academic year coincided with the widespread outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

By the time the 2022-2023 academic year began, the Covid-19 pandemic was somewhat under control, and socio-economic activities had returned to normal. Universities were eager to implement Decree 81 to ensure revenue for essential activities, including salaries for staff and lecturers. However, the Government once again demonstrated its priority for the people's interests by issuing Resolution 165/2022/NQ-CP in December 2022, requesting public educational institutions to maintain tuition fees for the 2022-2023 academic year at the same level as the 2021-2022 academic year. Thus, tuition fees for public educational institutions remained stable for three academic years (2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023).

According to economic experts, although Vietnam did not meet its economic growth target, achieving 5.05% instead of 6.5%, this is still a positive result, placing Vietnam among the fastest-growing economies in the region and the world . Normally, in 2023, public universities would have the right to revert to Decree 81, applying it to the 2023-2024 academic year. However, the universities themselves recognize that strictly adhering to Decree 81 would create instability and generate resentment among students and their parents (tuition fees for most majors would increase by 38% to around 50%, with medical and pharmaceutical majors seeing a 93% increase).

Up until now, since Decree 97 was issued during the period when all universities had temporarily collected tuition fees, many universities were collecting fees at levels more than ten million dong lower than the maximum ceiling stipulated by the state, but still decided not to collect additional fees to ensure the rights of students.

The Government's issuance of Decree 97 has harmoniously resolved the interests of learners and educational institutions. In particular, the spirit of prioritizing the interests of learners is clearly demonstrated in Decree 97, especially for primary and preschool students. According to the old requirements in Decree 81, for these levels of education, from the 2023-2024 school year onwards, the People's Councils of provinces/cities were allowed to adjust tuition fees by no more than 7.5% per year. However, with Decree 97, the Government requires that tuition fees for primary and preschool education remain stable from the 2023-2024 school year onwards, at the same level as the 2021-2022 school year.

Source link