Ho Chi Minh City will provide meals and uniforms for students from disadvantaged backgrounds starting in 2026.

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Council has passed a resolution to support meals, educational services, and uniforms for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, effective from 2026.

At an educational institution in Ho Chi Minh City - Illustration photo: BE HIEU

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, 10th term, passed a resolution on specific policies to support preschool children, primary and secondary school students, and continuing education learners with special circumstances in the city, at its 6th session held on December 10th.

The policy will be implemented starting from the 2025-2026 school year and payments will begin on January 1, 2026.

According to the resolution, the groups of children eligible for the policy include orphans who have lost both parents or one parent and have been abandoned; children living with grandparents or caregivers who have passed away; students with disabilities; and students from poor or near-poor households according to local poverty standards.

The resolution stipulates four main support groups. First, children's lunches will be subsidized based on the actual expenditure at each educational institution, up to a maximum of 40,000 VND per day.

In addition, the city subsidizes the costs of services that support educational activities, such as daycare, sanitation, shared learning materials, or expenses related to organizing teaching.

The level of support is based on actual costs but does not exceed the ceiling set out in the appendix of the resolution.

Extracurricular educational programs, experiential activities, skill-building exercises, or content aligned with the school's educational plan are also eligible for budget support if they meet the needs of each educational level.

Another important aspect is financial support for purchasing school uniforms. Preschool children receive 300,000 VND per school year; primary school students 400,000 VND; junior high school students 450,000 VND; and high school students 500,000 VND.

For the 2025-2026 school year specifically, Ho Chi Minh City will provide support equivalent to 50% of the above amount.

The resolution states that financial support will only be disbursed if the school organizes the corresponding activities.

Funding will be provided by the Ho Chi Minh City budget according to the current decentralization regulations.

Ho Chi Minh City provides financial support for tuition fees for ethnic minority students.

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Council has just passed a resolution to support tuition fees and textbooks for students, graduate students, and doctoral candidates from ethnic minority groups residing in the city.

The target group includes Cham, Cho Ro, and Khmer ethnic minorities; and other ethnic minorities from newly lifted-out-of-poverty households, poor and near-poor households, who are studying at vocational schools, colleges, universities, academies, or research institutes nationwide.

Accordingly, ethnic minority students will receive support for textbooks and school supplies up to a maximum of 400,000 VND/year (primary school), 500,000 VND/year (junior high school), and 600,000 VND/year (high school). Approximately 72,784 students are eligible.

In addition, students, including undergraduates, graduate students, and doctoral candidates, will receive financial support of 1.5 million VND per person per month for the duration of their studies. Approximately 1,100 people are expected to benefit from this support.

This policy does not apply to cases that have already received support under central government policies, the scholarship program, pre-university programs, or international joint training programs.

Ho Chi Minh City currently has over 509,000 ethnic minority people, many of whom are students facing difficulties in their studies. The new policy is considered necessary to promote comprehensive and equitable education in the city.

PHUONG NHI - BA SON

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tp-hcm-ho-tro-bua-an-dong-phuc-cho-hoc-sinh-co-hoan-canh-dac-biet-tu-nam-2026-2025121021200647.htm