Today (October 19), the leadership of Thu Dau Mot University (Binh Duong) announced that the institution is petitioning the competent authorities of Binh Duong province to return 37 billion VND in tuition fees that were collected illegally from students.

This is the amount that the State Audit Office concluded Thu Dau Mot University illegally collected from students for practical training credits during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years.

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Thu Dau Mot University has requested the return of 37 billion VND in incorrectly collected tuition fees to students. (Photo: TT)

Accordingly, Thu Dau Mot University proposed to return the 37 billion VND that was wrongly collected to the students. However, since the entire amount had already been deposited into the state budget before March 31, 2023, as requested by the State Audit Office, the university is seeking guidance from the Department of Finance and the People's Committee of Binh Duong province (the governing body) on how to return the money to the students.

Speaking with a VietNamNet reporter , Dr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Thu Dau Mot University, said that due to the short timeframe for resolving the incorrectly collected funds as requested by the auditors (before March 2023), and the fact that the university has nearly 20,000 students, returning the money is difficult and not feasible in time. Therefore, the immediate measure is for the university to deposit the money into the state budget within the stipulated timeframe.

According to Dr. Cuong, in response to public opinion, the school is developing a plan to refund the incorrectly collected tuition fees to students. Currently, the school's specialized departments are conducting a review and compiling statistics.

"The entire amount of incorrectly collected tuition fees for practical courses, as concluded by the audit, will be returned to the affected students by the university. However, this process will take time and require careful consideration to ensure the rights of students are protected and that all legal regulations are followed," the Chairman of the University Council affirmed.

Meanwhile, a leader of the Binh Duong Provincial People's Committee said that, after receiving information about this incident, the Provincial People's Committee has also directed Thu Dau Mot University and relevant departments to coordinate in resolving the issue and ensuring the rights of students.

Misunderstanding about tuition fee collection methods.

Regarding the reason for the incorrect tuition fee collection, Dr. Cuong explained that the school misunderstood the method of collecting tuition fees for the practical credit portion, while the fee for the theoretical credit portion was in accordance with the State's regulations.

Specifically, during the 2020-2022 period, the school was not yet financially autonomous; therefore, tuition fees were collected according to the regulations of Decree No. 86/2015/ND-CP and Decision No. 28/2016/QD-UBND of Binh Duong province. Accordingly, the fee for social science and economics majors was 327,000 VND/credit, and the fee for natural science and engineering majors was 390,000 VND/credit. The school understood this unit price as a general price for theoretical credits with a class size of 40 students/group or for political theory courses with larger class sizes.

In addition, the school designs its training program to emphasize practical skills, ensuring students acquire the professional competencies required by the labor market. Furthermore, the implementation of practical credits results in smaller class sizes (an average of 10-25 students per class).

Based on the above reality, the cost of implementing practical credit-based courses is much higher than that of theoretical courses. Therefore, the Board of Directors reported and proposed to the School Council that the fee for practical credits be 1.5 times higher than that for theoretical credits.

Specifically, the fee for social sciences and economics is 490,500 VND/credit, and for natural sciences and engineering it is 585,000 VND. These fees are inconsistent with Decree 86/2015/ND-CP.

The school identified the cause as a lack of uniformity in understanding and applying state regulations to the calculation of tuition fees for credits.

Thu Dau Mot University is a public institution under the direct management of the People's Committee of Binh Duong province. It has the largest student body in the province, with approximately 20,000 students, offering a wide range of disciplines. Since 2022, the university has become financially independent in covering its operating expenses.

Why did the university collect 37 billion VND in tuition fees illegally but not return the money to the students?

Why did the university collect 37 billion VND in tuition fees illegally but not return the money to the students?

Thu Dau Mot University has been found to have collected tuition fees incorrectly amounting to 37 billion VND; however, instead of returning the money to students, the university chose to deposit it into the state budget.
Khanh Hoa province spends over 75 billion VND to support tuition fees at all levels of education.

Khanh Hoa province spends over 75 billion VND to support tuition fees at all levels of education.

In order to share the burden with parents and reduce the rate of student dropouts, Khanh Hoa province plans to spend more than 75 billion VND to support tuition fees at all levels.

"Seeing teachers refuse to waive tuition fees for our children makes school staff even more disheartened."

"In schools, it's not just teachers; we—the administrative staff, accountants, etc.—also contribute, sometimes juggling several tasks at once, earning meager salaries with no allowances, yet we're 'forgotten' in the Ministry of Education and Training's proposal for tuition fee exemption," one reader expressed.