Lesson 2: Expanding the beneficiaries

Decree 66/2025/ND-CP has increased access to education for ethnic minority students in remote areas - Photo: VGP/Son Hao

From 2016 to the end of 2024, high school students in extremely disadvantaged communes and villages in mountainous ethnic minority areas, extremely disadvantaged communes in coastal and island areas will receive support for their studies according to Decree No. 116/2016/ND-CP of the Government.

In Decree No. 116/2016/ND-CP as well as previous decisions, one of the conditions to enjoy the policy is that the educational institution where the student is studying must be located in a commune in Region III (a commune with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions). This means that when the area where the educational institution is located is no longer on the list of poor communes according to the decision of the competent authority, the student will no longer enjoy the support policy.

In fact, with the investment and support resources of the State, the extremely difficult areas of ethnic minority and mountainous areas have gradually decreased over the years. According to the report of the Ethnic Committee (now the Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions) at the 4th Session of the 15th National Assembly (October 2022), in the period of 2021 - 2025, according to Decision No. 861/QD-TTg dated June 4, 2021, ethnic minority and mountainous areas have 1,551 communes in region III, a decrease of 406 communes compared to the period of 2016 - 2020.

This change has resulted in about 700,000 students in the 2021-2022 school year no longer enjoying education policies, including policies stipulated in Decree No. 116/2016/ND-CP. Many ethnic minority students from poor and near-poor households in remote areas have had to drop out of school due to "intermittent" support policies while their families do not have enough financial means.

A corner of A Mu Sung commune, Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province - Photo: VGP

A Minh's family, in Tung Sang village, A Mu Sung commune (Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province) has 6 siblings going to school from kindergarten to grade 7. Previously, A Minh and his siblings were assured of going to school because they enjoyed the boarding policy according to Decree No. 116/2016/ND-CP. However, after A Mu Sung commune achieved new rural standards (in 2020), they stopped enjoying the policy. In the 2021-2022 school year, A Minh (grade 6) and his younger brother A Tho (grade 4) had to drop out of school to stay home and help their family. Unfortunately, both brothers are excellent students at school.

Cases like A Minh and A Tho are not rare after Decision No. 861/QD-TTg. From the 2021-2022 school year to the end of 2024, the Petition Committee under the National Assembly Standing Committee (now the Petition and Supervision Committee) has received and compiled petitions from voters in localities related to this issue and sent them to the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). Most recently, voters in Bac Kan province proposed that the Government study and amend the regulations on students entitled to study support policies based only on the student's residential area and the distance from the student's home to the school, and should not specify which locality the school belongs to.

On December 17, 2024, in Official Dispatch No. 7989/BGDĐT-KHTC responding to voters of Bac Kan province, the Ministry of Education and Training said that the recommendations of voters of Bac Kan province in particular and of other localities in general have been accepted by the Ministry and specified in the draft decree (now Decree No. 66/2025/ND-CP) replacing Decree No. 116/2016/ND-CP. The new Decree does not stipulate that educational institutions must be located in extremely difficult areas for students to benefit from the policy, but only need to meet the conditions of distance, or difficult terrain, difficult transportation, having to cross the sea, lakes, rivers, streams, passes, high mountains, landslides, rocks to be eligible.

In addition, the new decree adds the target group of ethnic minority students from poor households in areas not classified as particularly difficult in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, meeting the distance conditions, to enjoy the boarding policy. In Submission No. 1573/TTr-BGDĐT dated October 25, 2024 submitted to the Government (for the third time) on the draft new decree, the Ministry of Education and Training explained that this addition aims to overcome difficulties and inadequacies in implementing the policy when the particularly difficult areas are reduced according to the decision of the competent authority in each period.

Fairness in policy

The difficulties and inadequacies in Decree No. 116/2016/ND-CP proposed by voters in ethnic minority and mountainous areas have been basically amended and supplemented in Decree No. 66/2025/ND-CP dated March 12, 2025 of the Government regulating policies for nursery children, students and trainees in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; coastal, island and island areas and educational institutions with nursery children and students enjoying policies. The Decree takes effect from May 1, 2025, replacing Decree No. 116/2016/ND-CP.

In addition to not basing on the locality to consider students eligible for the boarding policy, a notable point in Decree No. 66/2025/ND-CP is to add students studying the continuing education program (GDTX) at junior high school and high school levels to the list of students eligible for the boarding policy, if they meet the conditions of distance from home to school and permanent residence in a particularly difficult area (ethnic minority students from poor households in communes in region II and region I are also eligible for the boarding policy when their homes are far from school).

The Ministry of Education and Training explained that adding more beneficiaries of the boarding policy is: Currently, there are about 8,000 students studying general education programs at continuing education institutions. Although they meet all the conditions to benefit as high school students, they do not have access to the policy prescribed in Decree No. 116/2016/ND-CP.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, this does not ensure fairness in education between high school students and continuing education students. Therefore, adding continuing education students to the beneficiaries of the boarding policy in Decree No. 66/2025/ND-CP is necessary, meeting the wishes of voters in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, directly teachers and students at continuing education institutions.

Students of the Center for Vocational Education - Continuing Education in Quang Binh district, Ha Giang province - Photo: VGP

As shared by Ms. Hoang Thi Hue, Director of the Vocational Education Center - Continuing Education Center of Quang Binh District (Ha Giang), the training scale of the Center averages over 300 students per school year. In the 2023-2024 school year alone, the center has 340 students; of which 99% are ethnic minorities, the percentage of students with difficult circumstances accounts for 80%.

According to Decree No. 84/2020/ND-CP, in the first 2 years of vocational training, students are entitled to a policy scholarship, with a rate equal to 80% of the basic salary; but in the third year of cultural study, this support is no longer available. Therefore, many students have to drop out of school due to their homes being far from the center, their family's economic difficulties, and the lack of a boarding policy, which not only affects the students' future but also wastes resources from the policy scholarship paid to them in the previous 2 years of study.

This is also the situation occurring in many other continuing education institutions. According to a report by the Ministry of Education and Training, 19,391 continuing education institutions nationwide are currently training 5,724 students studying junior high school programs and nearly 430,000 students studying high school programs; of which about 8,000 students are eligible for the boarding school support policy but cannot access it. Therefore, with Decree No. 66/2025/ND-CP, students at continuing education institutions who meet the conditions to enjoy the boarding school policy will have more opportunities to complete their studies at continuing education institutions; creating a solid foundation for establishing themselves, starting a career, and contributing to the socio-economic development of the locality.

According to Decree No. 66/2025/ND-CP, students who are eligible for the boarding policy will receive a monthly support of VND 936,000 (not exceeding 9 months/school year). In the event that the educational institution cannot arrange a dormitory, each student will receive an additional support of VND 360,000/month (not exceeding 9 months/school year); and will also receive a monthly support of 15 kg of rice (not exceeding 9 months/school year).

Son Hao

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