Free tuition for students: Preventing dropouts, improving education quality

According to the program, this afternoon, June 26, the National Assembly will consider and pass two important resolutions related to the education sector.

A physics lesson of a 12A6 class teacher and student at Vo Van Kiet High School, District 8, Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: NHU HUNG

Specifically, it includes a resolution on tuition exemption and tuition support for preschool children, general education students, and people studying generaleducation programs at educational institutions in the national education system, and a resolution on universalizing preschool education for preschool children from 3 to 5 years old.

About 30,000 billion VND/year

According to the Department of Planning and Finance (Ministry of Education and Training), when exempting tuition fees for preschool children, high school students at all levels, and those studying general education programs, the cost to compensate for tuition fees is estimated at about 30,000 billion VND/year.

Currently, the country has over 23 million students (not including those studying at vocational education and continuing education centers). In recent years, 10 provinces and cities have applied the tuition-free policy for preschool and primary school students, including Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Yen Bai, Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa, Da Nang, Ba Ria - Vung Tau , Binh Duong and Long An.

Other provinces and cities have only applied free tuition for primary school students. Among these are many disadvantaged localities with high rates of poor and near-poor households with children in preschool and primary school.

Mr. Tran Thanh Dam, Director of the Department of Planning and Finance (Ministry of Education and Training), said that the State has paid about 14,000 billion VND/year for policy subjects eligible for tuition exemption. Therefore, allocating more funds to exempt all tuition fees for students from kindergarten to high school can be done. The significance of the tuition exemption policy is very great.

People expect

The National Assembly 's approval of a tuition-free policy for preschool, primary and secondary school students is something that many people are looking forward to.

"The exemption of tuition fees is very meaningful for students in new rural areas but with difficult lives. Especially middle and high school students - those who have to work in their families and are at high risk of dropping out of school - will have more motivation to continue studying. The policy is also a driving force to improve the quality of education" - said teacher Nguyen Van Tang, principal of Tham Duong Primary School (Van Ban, Lao Cai).

Ms. Duong Thi Minh Tuoi, a teacher at Ba Vi Secondary School (Hanoi), also shared: "Students at my school currently pay tuition fees based on mountainous areas, which is much lower than tuition fees in urban areas of Hanoi, but there are still many students in difficult circumstances whose families cannot easily arrange enough tuition fees on time.

Exemption from tuition fees is not only something that parents expect, but also something that we, the teachers, are happy about. Even in cases where parents still have money to pay for their children's education, exemption from tuition fees is also a great encouragement for them to care for and look after their children more."

Ms. Nguyen Minh Nguyet, a parent in Hoang Mai district (Hanoi), has two children in secondary school and kindergarten, shared: "I work in the parent representative committee of both children, so I understand the difficulties of poor families.

In my child’s class, there was a student who did not have money to pay tuition but the child himself was not eligible for a reduction. When the student’s father was hospitalized and his mother was an environmental worker, the parents’ representative committee decided to use the fund to support the child’s tuition.

Looking at cases like that, we can see that the tuition-free policy is very humane. That also contributes to bringing confidence to the people."

Clarifying budget allocation

Mr. Nguyen Tung Lam - Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Educational Psychology - expressed his joy at a policy that he also assessed as "humane and meaningful" when the education sector is implementing innovation with many difficulties and shortages. However, he also wondered because it was unclear how to allocate the budget to compensate for tuition fees among localities.

"Currently, preschool and general education tuition fees in each province are decided by the People's Council and vary between localities. Tuition compensation needs to be balanced to ensure it is suitable for reality but also fair between learners in localities and types of schools (public schools, private schools)."

Mr. Nguyen Tung Lam expressed his hope that when the State balances the budget to compensate for tuition exemption, priority should be given to disadvantaged areas and disadvantaged students who have not yet received support policies from other regulations. Particularly for students of private schools, Mr. Lam supports the tuition exemption policy to ensure fairness between students of public and private schools.

He believes that this is a progressive view, in line with what many countries have done. "Students in public or private schools need to be treated equally. Of course, if they enjoy better quality education services, they have to pay more money," Mr. Lam said.

On the other hand, some educators worry that the tuition-free policy could put more pressure on public schools. And more or less, it could cause obstacles to the goal of education streaming after secondary school.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Binh, principal of Luong The Vinh Secondary and High School (Hanoi), said that currently the pressure in each entrance exam for public schools in the cities is very high because public schools do not have enough places to study, especially at the high school level.

"When implementing tuition exemption, this pressure may be greater. Because although private school students may also enjoy the policy, they cannot be completely exempted from tuition fees.

Besides, the division of students after junior high school so that some of them can switch to vocational training may also be affected when the majority of parents will only want their children to finish high school instead of considering vocational training," said Mr. Binh.

Free tuition, no extra fees

Another concern from parents is that "free tuition may increase additional fees". While in reality, for many years, additional fees have been a real burden.

Some opinions from education managers in Hanoi also said that when implementing tuition exemption, there should be a legal corridor to encourage the participation of businesses and the community to support and share with the State the financial resources to compensate for tuition fees and improve the quality of education.

Along with that, it is necessary to implement well policies for teachers such as the Law on Teachers recently issued so that teachers have a stable income and a favorable working environment. That is also a solution to prevent negative things that may arise such as worries about "free tuition but increased surcharges".

Delegate NGUYEN THI VIET NGA (Hai Duong):

Social security policy has profound humanistic significance.

Students of Y Jut Primary School (Krong Pak District, Dak Lak) in a class - Photo: M.PHUONG

Today, the National Assembly will consider and pass a resolution on tuition exemption and support for preschool and primary school students. This is a social security policy of profound humanitarian significance, receiving the attention, expectation and support of a large number of voters as well as people nationwide.

This policy clearly demonstrates the consistent viewpoint and direction of the Party and State in considering education as the top national policy, the foundation for building high-quality human resources to serve the country's development, especially in the current context when science, engineering and technology are developing strongly.

Regarding the policy of universalizing preschool education for children from 3 to 5 years old of the Party and State of Vietnam, it aims to ensure that all children in this age group have equal and effective access to preschool education.

However, it is recommended that there should be more comprehensive solutions, especially paying attention to policies to attract and retain preschool teachers through many solutions such as improving income, reducing work pressure, expanding training subjects, and having preferential policies for students studying preschool education...

A big step forward in building a fair and humane education

Speaking with Tuoi Tre, Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Education Nguyen Dac Vinh stated that the resolution to universalize preschool education for preschool children from 2-5 years old and exempt and support tuition fees for preschool children and primary school students is the institutionalization of the policy of the Party Central Committee and the Politburo.

Exemption and support of tuition fees is a policy of profound human significance of the Party and State, demonstrating Vietnam's great progress in building a fair, humane and sustainable education system.

Exempting tuition fees will bring huge benefits, not only helping to reduce the financial burden on millions of families, especially those in difficult circumstances, but also making an important contribution to ensuring the right to education for all children, regardless of economic circumstances.

This is a solid foundation for improving people's knowledge and developing high-quality human resources for the country in the era of national development. Free tuition also demonstrates the Party and State's deep concern for future generations and strategic investment in people - the central factor of all development.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mien-hoc-phi-cho-hoc-sinh-ngan-bo-hoc-nang-chat-luong-giao-duc-20250626091157212.htm