With tuition fees waived, teachers are freed from the hassle of 'collecting debts' from students.

Many teachers are delighted that from the 2025-2026 school year onwards, they will be free from the burden of collecting tuition fees from parents and students, following the policy of waiving tuition fees for all students at all levels.

At the end of February, the Politburo decided to waive all tuition fees for students from preschool to high school in public schools nationwide, starting from the 2025-2026 school year. This information is significant not only for parents and students, but also for teachers, who are overjoyed.

Mr. Nguyen Hai Phong, Principal of Co To High School (Co To district, Quang Ninh province), feels more at ease now that the tuition fee waiver policy has been implemented. Poor students on the island can attend school without worrying about tuition fees, and none of them face the risk of dropping out.

Furthermore, teachers will be significantly relieved of the burden of paperwork, record-keeping, and financial management, allowing them to focus more on their professional work. In particular, teachers will no longer feel pressured to urge students and parents to complete tuition payment.

Teachers are relieved to be free from the hassle of collecting outstanding tuition fees. (Illustrative image: ND)

With over 15 years of experience as a homeroom teacher, Ms. Hoang Thu Le (42 years old, a secondary school teacher in Tuyen Quang ) felt a great weight lifted off her shoulders upon learning that the Politburo had completely waived tuition fees for all students. Partly, she was happy because students would receive better and fairer treatment at school, and partly because from now on she wouldn't have to constantly nag or relentlessly pursue students and parents to collect tuition fees.

Over the years, in addition to her duties as a homeroom teacher with all sorts of administrative paperwork and reports to complete, teachers have been responsible for collecting all fees from parents annually and monthly. "Not all parents proactively pay the full amount as soon as I send the first notice. Some parents frequently pay late, sometimes by a month, or even an entire semester, only fulfilling this obligation near the end of the school year," she said.

In order to have enough money to pay the school and meet their targets, homeroom teachers are often forced into the situation of becoming "debt collectors."

"Money matters have always been a sensitive issue. Sometimes, if not handled carefully, it can create discomfort for parents. Those who lack empathy might think that teachers are getting some kind of benefit by constantly urging them to collect the money," Ms. Le confided. Her colleagues even announced the list of students who hadn't paid their tuition fees to the class so the children could tell their parents. But she didn't do that because she was afraid the students would be embarrassed in front of their friends.

She also confided that the school administration isn't always sympathetic to the difficulties homeroom teachers face in collecting fees. In some cases, the school accepts a loss of revenue. However, in other cases, teachers have their salaries deducted or have to proactively make up the difference when they don't collect enough.

Mr. Tran Duc Manh (40 years old, a high school teacher in Vinh Phuc) shares the same headache every time he urges parents to pay fees. Some parents know that the school will not expel students for not paying fees, so they often procrastinate and refuse to pay.

It would be manageable if it were just a few people, but many parents imitate each other; if one doesn't pay, others will follow suit. And so it goes, teachers have to do work unrelated to their profession. In a year, a school with several hundred students may have dozens of parents who refuse to pay.

While there are mandatory fees such as health insurance, lunch money (for boarding schools), tuition fees, etc., if schools don't collect enough, they won't be able to properly manage insurance and provide adequate meals for students. When some schools shift the responsibility of collecting debts and fees onto teachers, the problem of revenue loss in schools is significantly reduced, with some schools eliminating revenue loss for many years.

This is the main reason why many principals know that assigning teachers the task of collecting money or "debt collection" is inappropriate, but still don't want to do otherwise.

"The complete waiver of tuition fees for students is also very significant for teachers, ending the days of chasing after parents demanding money like creditors. From now on, teachers can work with more peace of mind, focusing on their expertise without worrying about collecting student fees," this teacher said.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training, there are 23.2 million students nationwide (excluding students studying at vocational and continuing education centers).

To implement a policy of completely waiving tuition fees for students at all levels, the entire country would need 30,000 billion VND per school year (calculated based on the current tuition fees for the 2024-2025 school year as stipulated in Government Decree 81/2021). In reality, this budget amount will depend on the specific tuition fees of each province and city, as decided annually by the Provincial People's Council.

For private schools, students 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 student's family.

Khanh Huyen

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/mien-hoc-phi-thay-co-thoat-canh-doi-no-hoc-sinh-ar930811.html