Ministry of Education and Training submits to the Government amendments to regulations on living expenses for teacher training students

Admission scores for many pedagogical majors have increased in recent years thanks to the impact of the tuition and living expenses support policy of Decree 116.

The Ministry of Education and Training is submitting to the Government a draft amendment to Decree 116.

The Ministry of Education and Training has responded in writing to voters of Thanh Hoa province regarding the petition sent to the 8th session of the 15th National Assembly. One notable content is related to the policy of supporting tuition and living expenses for pedagogical students.

Specifically, voters of Thanh Hoa province proposed that the Government consider and amend Decree No. 116/2020/ND-CP of the Government regulating the policy of supporting tuition fees and living expenses for pedagogical students, at teacher training institutions under the Ministry and training institutions under the province to ensure consistency, uniformity and fairness. In addition, the study assigned the policy bank as the unit directly implementing the collection and refund of tuition fees and living expenses for cases that have registered to benefit from the policy of supporting tuition fees and living expenses after graduation but violated the commitment.

Responding to this content, the Ministry of Education and Training said that the Ministry is currently submitting to the Government a draft Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 116/2020/ND-CP of the Government regulating policies to support tuition fees and living expenses for pedagogical students and a draft Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 71/2020/ND-CP dated June 30, 2020 of the Government regulating the roadmap for improving the standard training level of teachers. In particular, the draft will amend a number of policies to limit shortcomings and difficulties in implementing the policy.

The proposal that the policy bank be the direct unit to collect and refund tuition fees and living expenses for cases requiring reimbursement is considered inappropriate by the Ministry of Education and Training. Because the support policy for teacher training students is supported by the state budget, there is no provision for funding through the policy bank.

Contents of the 3rd draft amending Decree 116

In 2020, the Government issued Decree 116 regulating policies to support tuition and living expenses for pedagogical students. The Decree takes effect from the 2021 enrollment period.

Accordingly, students majoring in education who commit to working in the education sector will enjoy tuition support policies and living expenses support of VND3.63 million/month from the State budget. The support period is calculated based on the actual number of months of study at school but not exceeding 10 months/school year.

Despite its many impacts, after many years of implementation, the process of implementing the decree has revealed difficulties. Notably, the situation of student teachers owing living expenses has occurred simultaneously in many schools and localities.

By 2023, the Ministry of Education and Training will announce a draft Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 116/2020/ND-CP regulating policies to support tuition fees and living expenses for pedagogical students.

According to the third draft published, teacher training students will receive 3.63 million VND/month from the state to cover living expenses during their time studying at school. From the second year and the following years, teacher training students with a poor average academic score or poor training score will not be considered for support to cover living expenses. Teacher training institutions will consider supporting living expenses for teacher training students according to the academic year.

Meanwhile, in Decree 116, this content only stipulates: "Pedagogy students are supported by the state with 3.63 million VND/month to cover living expenses during their time studying at school". Compared to current regulations, the draft adjusts the support regulations for students from the second year onwards, which are implemented based on academic results and reviewed by the training institution for each academic year.

In addition, the Ministry of Education and Training also revised and supplemented contents related to the mechanism for implementing support policies for pedagogical students, budget development and budget allocation, reimbursement of support funds and responsibilities of related units.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bo-gd-dt-trinh-chinh-phu-sua-doi-quy-dinh-sinh-hoat-phi-cho-sinh-vien-su-pham-185250203171017913.htm