Giving real value back to public schools

No more worries about tuition fees from preschool to general education (public schools), starting from the 2025-2026 school year is good news for all students and parents nationwide. What the public is interested in is whether students at private schools will be exempted from tuition fees like public students?

Accordingly, in addition to the subjects exempted from tuition fees according to current regulations, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) proposed and was approved by the Politburo to supplement tuition exemption for all preschool students, primary school students, secondary school students and public high school students from the 2025-2026 school year. Students of private schools will be subsidized tuition fees equal to the tuition fees of public schools according to the law; the difference in tuition fees between public and private schools will be paid by the student's family. Tuition support is implemented based on the time the child actually studies at school and does not exceed 9 months/school year.

In parallel with the application of current regulations, the Government has also stipulated a policy of reducing 50-70% of tuition fees and supporting study costs for many poor students, students in difficult circumstances, students belonging to social policy beneficiaries, and ethnic minority students (studying at public and private schools).

Although they are very happy with the news that their children will be exempted from tuition fees, many parents also wonder why in localities that have exempted tuition fees for students, every month, parents of primary or secondary school students still have to pay millions for their children? In fact, when students go to school, depending on the registration and choice from the beginning of the school year of each family, parents will pay for boarding school and boarding meals; intensive English classes; gifted classes, drinking water, Team newspaper fees; photocopying of review questions, health insurance, voluntary body insurance, etc. However, according to many parents, the current contribution level of public schools is reasonable compared to the income of the majority of families. That is the reason why the competition for admission to public schools in Hanoi is always "hot".

According to education experts, free tuition means eliminating compulsory fees and returning real value to public schools. This is a strong message about teaching and learning activities in schools moving towards being free of fees, a popular decision. However, one of the issues that needs to be carefully considered is the impact of this policy on the private school system. When tuition fees at public schools are completely free, some parents may switch their children to public schools instead of private schools. This could cause a decline in the number of students at private schools, forcing them to adjust their tuition policies or improve the quality of education to compete.

Many parents asked expressed their wish that free tuition should go hand in hand with improving the quality of education, so that students can study in the best environment. Because ensuring the quality of teaching when the number of students increases dramatically, the management of extra teaching is tightened is an issue that needs to be solved, and needs to be considered satisfactorily and thoroughly. "Free tuition" and "free learning" are two different concepts. The school only does not collect the tuition fee that has always been collected, while there are still countless other fees as mentioned above. And those fees are not always agreed upon by all parents.

Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam - Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Educational Psychology said that exempting tuition fees for students is a humane policy, contributing to the development of education, bringing happiness to all people. This policy is also suitable for the development of the country in the era of development. However, it is necessary to pay more attention to the investment mechanism for educational development in accordance with the international market economy, creating conditions for schools to be autonomous. Along with that, the State needs to have a reasonable policy of recruiting, training and rewarding teachers to attract talented people and maintain the quality of education.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/tra-lai-gia-tri-that-cho-truong-cong-10300860.html