Public school students are completely exempt from tuition fees.

(To Quoc) - On February 28, the Politburo agreed with the proposal of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) to waive tuition fees for students from preschool to general education.

Tuition fees will be waived for preschool children (from 3 months to 4 years old) and primary and secondary school students.

Based on Resolution No. 29 and Conclusion No. 91-KL/TW dated August 12, 2024, of the Politburo on continuing to implement Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW and Resolution 42-NQ/TW dated November 24, 2023, of the 8th Conference of the Central Committee of the 13th Party Congress on continuing to innovate and improve the quality of social policies to meet the requirements of national construction and defense in the new period, and to demonstrate the superiority of the system and the principle of ensuring fairness in access to education, "leaving no one behind," the Ministry of Education and Training has proposed to the Politburo and the Party Committee of the Government to consider a policy of tuition fee exemption for students from preschool to general education.

Currently, the government has issued regulations waiving tuition fees for students. According to current regulations, from September 1st, 2025, the state will waive tuition fees for all public school students from 5-year-old kindergarten to lower secondary school (up to grade 9). In addition, the government has also stipulated a policy of reducing tuition fees by 50%-70% and providing financial assistance for various groups of students, including poor students, students from disadvantaged backgrounds, students from social policy groups, and ethnic minority students (attending public and private schools).

In addition to the tuition-free categories stipulated above, the Ministry of Education and Training proposed, and the Politburo agreed, to add tuition-free education for preschool children aged 3 months to 4 years and general education students. Accordingly, all preschool, primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary school students in public schools will be exempt from tuition fees. Students in private schools will receive tuition fee subsidies equivalent to the tuition fees of public schools as stipulated by law; the difference in tuition fees between public and private schools will be paid by the students' families.

According to statistics, there are currently 23.2 million students nationwide (excluding students attending vocational and continuing education centers), including: 3.1 million preschool students under 5 years old; 1.7 million preschool students aged 5; 8.9 million primary school students; 6.5 million lower secondary school students; and 3 million upper secondary school students.

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  Funding for implementing the policy of waiving tuition fees for students.

Based on reports from 46 provinces/cities under the central government to date and recent documents and reports, the Ministry of Education and Training, using the minimum tuition fees stipulated in Government Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP and Decree No. 97/2023/ND-CP, estimates the state budget funds required to implement tuition fee exemption for all students from preschool to high school.

Accordingly, the amount of state budget funds required to implement the policy of waiving tuition fees for the aforementioned groups is approximately 30 trillion VND (if the local budgets of provinces/cities that have already implemented tuition fee waivers are excluded, the central budget will have to allocate less than this amount). In reality, the required budget will depend on the specific tuition fees of each province/city under the central government, as decided by the provincial People's Council based on the minimum and maximum tuition fee rates stipulated by the Government.

Expected impact of the policy when implemented

Tuition fees affect most families and are a matter of public concern at the beginning of each school year. Expanding the scope of tuition fee exemptions impacts the balance of the state budget. Furthermore, waiving tuition fees for high school students (grades 10 to 12) could affect the career path of students after lower secondary school, influencing their choices between continuing education in upper secondary school or vocational training. However, implementing a policy of tuition fee exemption for all children from preschool to upper secondary school nationwide would significantly contribute to improving the quality of education, enjoy high social consensus, align with the advantages of the system and the Party and State's policies on education, and be consistent with the general trend of developed countries.