The trend is towards universities becoming more autonomous.

Earlier, in early 2024, the Ministry of Interior issued a document regarding the restructuring of public non-profit organizations under the Ministry of Education and Training. Accordingly, the Ministry of Interior requested the Ministry of Education and Training to develop a plan for the network of higher education institutions and submit it to the Prime Minister as prescribed. This plan should include a strategy for restructuring and increasing the level of financial autonomy for public non-profit organizations. Specifically, the Ministry of Interior requested the Ministry of Education and Training to direct public non-profit organizations to develop and implement a roadmap for financial autonomy.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics , one of the universities implementing financial autonomy.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

According to the plan for restructuring public non-profit organizations under the Ministry of Education and Training, by the end of 2025, 24 higher education institutions will need to implement a roadmap to increase their financial autonomy, from a level that covers recurrent expenditures or higher. Also under the Ministry of Education and Training, 11 other higher education institutions will continue to maintain their autonomous status. According to this plan, by the end of 2025, all higher education institutions under the Ministry of Education and Training will simultaneously implement the roadmap to increase their financial autonomy.

The transition to an autonomous model has had a profound impact on all university activities. Notably, along with the increased autonomy comes a reduction in dependence on state budget funding. For example, by 2024, the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City will have 24 out of 36 units in Group 2 financial autonomy (accounting for 66%) and 12 out of 36 units in Group 3 financial autonomy (accounting for 34%); reducing recurrent expenditures from the state budget by 27% (178 billion VND) compared to 2021. Considering only the number of staff receiving salaries from the state budget, by 2024 this university will only have 1,154 people (out of a total of 6,400 staff, representing 18%). This rate has decreased sharply compared to 2015, when the number of civil servants receiving salaries from the state budget reached 3,502 out of 5,603 people (accounting for 62.5%).

From the students' perspective, the biggest impact of universities transitioning to autonomy is the tuition fee policy. Currently, the Government Decree stipulates the tuition fee ceiling for public higher education institutions according to the following levels: universities that are not self-sufficient in covering recurrent expenses, universities that are self-sufficient in covering recurrent expenses, universities that are self-sufficient in covering both recurrent and investment expenses, and universities that determine tuition fees for programs that meet quality accreditation standards based on economic and technical norms issued by the university. Accordingly, tuition fees at autonomous universities are at least twice as high as those at non-autonomous universities within the same field of study. For example, within the same type of public university and the same health-related field, tuition fees in 2024 ranged from over 27 to over 80 million VND per year, depending on the major. While the tuition fee gap between programs in public universities is significant, the gap between public and private universities is narrowing.

With the trend of educational institutions increasingly ensuring financial autonomy for their operating expenses, university tuition fees will no longer be as low as they are currently. The issue of providing financial support for disadvantaged students to attend university needs to be addressed through policies such as scholarships and student loans.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/xu-huong-dai-hoc-day-manh-tu-chu-185241229230907873.htm