Delay in compensating billions of dong in tuition fees for vocational students

PARENTS ARE TIRED OF WAITING TO RECEIVE THEIR TUITION FEES

Ms. Le Thi Bao Tran (Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City) decided to let her child study nursing at Vien Dong College because she was exempted from tuition fees according to the government's policy for junior high school graduates going to college. However, up to now, her child has graduated and she has not received the second year's compensation money, about 10 million VND.

According to regulations, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs will be responsible for paying and settling the tuition exemption and reduction costs for secondary school graduates studying at intermediate level.

Ms. Tran said: "I completed the application, then supplemented the application with all the required documents, went back and forth several times, but every time I went, the district's Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs replied that I was waiting for the district to disburse, then promised to have it soon, but it has been more than a year now and I still haven't received it."

Secondary school graduates who go to vocational school are exempted from tuition fees, but the wait to receive the tuition subsidy is very long.

Similarly, Ms. Le Thi Ba (District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) and many other parents in this district are also waiting for the tuition compensation, nearly 10 million VND per student, from the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of District 12. Recently, due to waiting too long, Ms. Ba and a group of parents went to the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of District 12 to ask but were told that the budget had not yet arrived.

As the person directly in charge of completing the documents for students to go to the local Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Department to receive the refund of the HP money, Master Phan Thi Le Thu, Vice Principal of Vien Dong College, said: "Since October 2021, Decree 81 has taken effect, replacing the previous Decree 86, the initiative has been given to the localities, so the HP compensation for students has been much delayed. The school has completed the documents for about 400 students since the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, but it was not until March 2023 that the district Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Department received the documents and so far has only processed about 100 documents. The remaining 300 students still have to wait, the total amount is also about 3 billion VND".

Students of many other schools such as Ho Chi Minh City Polytechnic College, Khoi Viet International College, Nguyen Tat Thanh College... also face similar difficulties in receiving the HP compensation money according to Decree 81. Many students have graduated but still have to bear debt because they previously borrowed money to go to school, and have not yet received the money back.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE ALSO DELAYS

For public colleges and secondary schools, students do not have to pay tuition in advance, but the school will make a list, prepare documents according to regulations and send them to the direct management agency, the state will provide funding for implementation in the annual budget estimate.

Master Nguyen Khanh Cuong, Principal of Lilama 2 International Technology College, said: "The school is under the Ministry of Construction, so the compensation for secondary school graduates to study at the school is provided by the Ministry of Construction every year. However, every year the school does not receive enough funding even though the application is complete. In 2021, the school's funding was 4 billion VND short, in 2022 it was 5 billion VND short, and this year the school was supposed to be granted 12.3 billion VND, but so far it has only received 4.8 billion VND, leaving a shortage of 7.5 billion VND."

According to Master Cuong, this budget is allocated annually by the Ministry, so only students currently studying at the school will receive it. If the budget is insufficient, the following year, when a number of students graduate, the school will lose that budget.

Secondary school graduates study vocational training at Lilama 2 International College of Technology

IMPACT ON ENROLLMENT

Dr. Phan Thi Hai Van, Vice Principal of Ho Chi Minh City College of Technology, commented that the government has a policy to encourage secondary school graduates to study vocational training by exempting and reducing tuition fees, so localities should implement it synchronously and reduce unnecessary administrative procedures.

"However, students from public schools affiliated with enterprises such as Ho Chi Minh City College of Technology or non-public schools have to go to local Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Departments to receive their certificates, which is very difficult and the procedures are complicated," said Dr. Van.

From another perspective, Master Phan Thi Le Thu said that the procedures for HP compensation in localities are too complicated and require a long wait, so many students have dropped out of school halfway.

"Because the majority of vocational students are in difficult circumstances, the school initially supported them by only collecting 50% of their tuition fees in advance, but the delay in the compensation money made the school unable to cope and had to collect 100%. The delay in implementing state policies has directly affected parents, students, and the training and enrollment activities of schools, especially non-public schools," said Master Thu.

From these shortcomings, Mr. Tran Thanh Duc, Principal of Khoi Viet International College, proposed that the state should have a mechanism to allocate funds per student. "All schools, whether public or non-public, only need to make a list and send it to the competent authority for appraisal to receive funds. At that time, the money will be allocated directly to the school and students, and parents will not have to go to the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to submit documents and wait. Only then will the policy of attracting junior high school graduates to study vocational training be effective," Mr. Duc commented.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/cham-cap-bu-hoc-phi-hang-ti-dong-cho-hoc-sinh-nghe-185231030183137551.htm