Morning news 12-5: Proposal for new points to amend the Education Law, including provisions for tuition exemption

Luật Giáo dục - Ảnh 1. — Students in Hai Duong province listen to teachers from the Banking Academy advising on enrollment in 2025. Exemption from public tuition fees and support for private tuition fees are very new points that parents and students are interested in - Illustration photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

Proposing new points to amend theEducation Law

The Ministry of Education and Training has just announced the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Education to solicit public comments from organizations and individuals. The time for collecting comments is from now until July 9, 2025.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the Education Law No. 43/2019 was passed by the 14th National Assembly on June 14, 2019, consisting of 9 chapters and 115 articles, effective from 2020. Practice shows that there are some shortcomings and limitations that need to be further reviewed, revised and supplemented. Some articles proposed by the Ministry of Education and Training to be revised and supplemented in the draft have a direct impact on learners.

A new point is to add vocational secondary school as an educational level, without secondary school (changed to vocational secondary school: integrated program of high school knowledge). No secondary school diploma is granted (replaced by vocational secondary school diploma); define higher education to ensure consistency in the system.

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The draft also proposes to abolish the junior high school diploma and assign authority to the principal of the junior high school and the head of the educational institution implementing the junior high school education program to confirm the completion of the program, instead of the head of the district-level education and training department granting the junior high school diploma;

Delegating authority to high school principals and heads of educational institutions to implement high school education programs and award graduation certificates instead of the director of the Department of Education and Training awarding certificates, in compliance with the principle of "where training is provided, where certificates are awarded", in accordance with international practice.

In the draft, the Ministry of Education and Training proposed to amend and supplement regulations on tuition exemption for preschool children and high school students in public schools, and tuition support for preschool children and high school students in private educational institutions (Article 99).

With the policy of universalizing preschool education for children aged 3-5, the Government ensures financial resources for implementation, including additional state budget in addition to 20% of total expenditure on education and training according to the Law on Education; socialized education capital and other legally mobilized capital sources.

Ho Chi Minh City honors those who "silently" serve people's health

In response to International Nurses Day (May 12) 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health sends congratulations and sincere gratitude to the entire nursing team - those who "silently" serve people's health.

The Ho Chi Minh City health sector expressed its deep gratitude for the silent but great contributions of the nursing team in the cause of caring for and protecting people's health - especially in the context of recent years, the city's health sector has had to continuously adapt to challenges such as epidemics, overload, urbanization and population fluctuations.

Nursing continues to be recognized as a key force in the health system. The theme of the International Council of Nurses 2025 highlights caring for nurses themselves - because a healthy health workforce is the foundation of a strong health system and a driving force for socio-economic development.

Improving working conditions, enhancing mental health and enhancing professional training will help nurses maximize their capacity and creativity, achieving high quality results in their work.

Complete the removal of temporary and dilapidated houses before October 31, "finishing" 2 months early

Luật Giáo dục - Ảnh 2. — Police and provincial authorities support the demolition of temporary houses in Gia Lai province - Illustrative photo

According to the Steering Committee of the campaign, since its launch, the country has eliminated nearly 209,000 temporary and dilapidated houses; 15 provinces and cities have completed the elimination of temporary and dilapidated houses. Currently, the country still has about 61,000 temporary and dilapidated houses that need to be eliminated to make way for new ones.

At the conference held on May 11, localities reported that some localities were slow to receive funding to support the elimination of temporary and dilapidated houses for policy families and 3 national target programs; in particular, many households still have difficulties in housing land.

Concluding the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that in 2025, the country will have many major anniversaries; especially after 80 years of national independence, people cannot live in temporary or dilapidated houses.

Implementing the direction of the Central Committee, directly by General Secretary To Lam, the entire political system has taken action to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses for people with housing difficulties, and has received support from the whole society, the people, and businesses. The Prime Minister requested to strive to basically complete the goal of eliminating temporary and dilapidated houses nationwide before October 31, 2025, completing it 2 months ahead of the previous deadline.

Diversify resources to implement the program in a comprehensive, widespread, and inclusive manner. Prioritize resource allocation to support housing for families of martyrs, completed before July 27; for people with revolutionary contributions, completed before September 2.

"Despite unpredictable tariff policies, Vietnam's macro-economy still grows well"

A newly released report by Hathaway Policy shows that Vietnam's economy continues to grow positively in the first four months of 2025, despite facing many risks from international tariff policies and unpredictable developments in the global economy.

Accordingly, state investment played a key role, increasing sharply by 17.7%. Public investment capital was quickly disbursed into infrastructure projects, and foreign-invested sectors attracted a record amount of registered capital. Total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue are estimated to have increased by more than 11% over the same period, thanks to high demand during Tet and other holidays.

Industrial production was boosted, leading to an 8.4% increase in the industrial production index (IIP) for the first four months compared to the same period in 2024. However, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) in April dropped to 45.6 points. Thus, managers have a cautious view in the following months.

Notably, the number of newly established and re-opened businesses reached nearly 90,000, but the number of businesses withdrawing from the market also reached 96,500 and is on an increasing trend.

Total import-export turnover reached over 276 billion USD, up 15.7% over the same period last year. Vietnam continued to have a trade surplus of nearly 3.8 billion USD. However, this index in April decreased by 1.4% compared to the previous month, mainly due to the impact of unstable tariff policies from the US.

Hathaway Policy forecasts that Vietnam's merchandise exports will continue to fluctuate in the coming months. Exporters' ability to prepare and respond is assessed to be limited due to unclear policy intentions from the US and other trading partners.