'Not increasing tuition fees is a big challenge for the education sector'

Deputy Minister Hoang Minh Son said not increasing tuition fees for the 2023-2024 school year will reduce the burden on parents but is a big challenge for the education sector.

On the afternoon of August 5, at the regular Government press conference, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son said that the Government's policy of not increasing tuition fees for the next school year aims to stabilize the macro economy, ensure social security, and stabilize people's lives.

"Not increasing tuition fees will reduce the burden on people with children going to school, but this is a big challenge for the education sector to perform its tasks well," said Mr. Son, adding that the Ministry of Education and Training is finalizing a draft amendment to Decree 81 on public tuition fees, and is seeking opinions from ministries and branches before submitting it to the Government.

According to Mr. Son, with general education having the nature of welfare and social security, the state mainly guarantees funding. The Ministry recommends that localities pay attention to ensuring the budget, stabilizing life so that teachers can work with peace of mind, ensuring conditions for implementing the 2018 general education program.

For higher education, tuition fees are the main source of finance at present. Schools whose mission is to implement one of the three strategic breakthroughs is to develop sustainable human resources, but have been greatly affected by the pandemic and have not increased tuition fees for the past three years.

Recently, the Government has had many solutions to help businesses overcome difficulties. Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Training will coordinate with units to propose support solutions so that schools, especially self-sufficient schools, can make up for the deficit and overcome difficulties to maintain training quality.

Mr. Son acknowledged that whether tuition fees are kept the same or adjusted, the total resources for education (including finance, staff, facilities, etc.) must also be maintained. This is the regulatory role of the State.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son answered at the Government press conference on the afternoon of August 5. Photo: Nhat Bac — Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son answered at the Government press conference on the afternoon of August 5. Photo: *Nhat Bac*

According to Decree 81, from the next school year, the tuition ceiling (the maximum amount that can be collected) for public universities that have not yet covered their regular expenses (not yet autonomous) is 1.41-2.76 million VND per month, twice the old level (0.98-1.43 million VND). Schools that have become autonomous, depending on the level, can collect a maximum of 2-2.5 times the above level (2.8-6.9 million VND per month). With training programs that have been accredited for quality, universities can determine their own tuition fees.

At the end of July, the Government Office announced the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requesting the Ministry of Education and Training to preside over amending this decree, in the direction of not increasing tuition fees for the 2023-2024 school year.

Many universities are worried because their budgets have been cut after becoming autonomous, some schools have had their budgets cut 100%, while tuition fees must remain the same, making it difficult to ensure quality, retain good lecturers and invest in facilities.

Viet Tuan

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