What did the leaders of Thu Dau Mot University say about the incorrect collection of over 37 billion VND?

On the afternoon of October 17, the leader of Thu Dau Mot University said that the school is reviewing and asking for guidance from professional agencies, auditing agencies and instructions from competent authorities to implement harmoniously, in accordance with regulations, ensuring the rights of students regarding the amount of 37 billion VND in excess of the prescribed amount.

Reason for excess revenue

Speaking with Thanh Nien reporter, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Chairman of Thu Dau Mot University Council, said that in 2022, the State Audit will conduct an audit of the school's operations and have a conclusion on the content of collecting tuition fees from students for practice credits.

Regarding this content, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong said that in the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years, the school is not financially autonomous, and operating expenses are subsidized by the budget, so it applies the collection according to the Government's regulations on the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees for educational institutions in the national education system and the policy of exempting and reducing tuition fees, and supporting learning costs from the 2015-2016 school year to the 2020-2021 school year.

As for tuition fees for practical credits, Thu Dau Mot University determines them to be 1.5 times higher than theoretical credits to offset training costs; because practical training costs are higher than theoretical training.

Dr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong explained that according to the circular of the Ministry of Education and Training (Circular 17 of 2021-PV) regulating the training program standards, 1 theoretical credit is equivalent to 15 teaching hours. Meanwhile, 1 practical credit is equivalent to 30 teaching hours. That means the cost of teaching and facilities for practical teaching is twice that of teaching theory.

In addition, to improve the quality of training, when teaching practice, the scale must be divided from 20 to 25 students/class, while the standard scale according to the circular of the Ministry of Education and Training is 40 students/class and this scale is only suitable for theoretical learning. In addition, practice credits consume practice materials, while the tuition fee according to Decree 86 of the Government is only general.

"Due to different understandings and applications of legal regulations on determining tuition fees for practice credits, the State Audit requires schools to refund this portion to students; if they cannot refund, they must pay it to the budget," said Dr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong.

Thu Dau Mot University leaders explain the incorrect collection of over 37 billion VND

Difficult to check the number of students who should pay the budget

Thanh Nien reporter asked why the school did not refund the money to students but chose to pay the money into the budget? Dr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong said that after the conclusion of the State Audit (December 22, 2022), the school organized a review, evaluation, discussed solutions to implement the audit conclusion and realized that this method of determining tuition fees only affects the tuition fees for practical courses.

In addition, the school trains in many majors and each training program and each subject has a different ratio of theoretical and practical credits; the number of practical credits for each student is different (due to the student's choice to register for the subject), so reviewing the refund amount for each student (about 18,000 - 20,000 students) is difficult to implement and cannot meet the time schedule according to the audit conclusion (must be done before March 31, 2023).

"Therefore, the school has submitted the budget according to the audit conclusion to ensure the correct schedule. After completing the conclusion, the school will have a written report to the audit agency and professional agencies," said Dr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong.

In addition, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong added that the school is continuing to review, seek guidance from professional agencies, auditing agencies and seek direction from competent authorities to implement harmoniously, in accordance with regulations, and ensure the rights of students.

Previously, Thanh Nien Newspaper received many comments from readers reflecting that Thu Dau Mot University illegally collected 37 billion VND from students, but the school chose to pay it into the budget instead of refunding it to students.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lanh-dao-truong-dh-thu-dau-mot-noi-gi-ve-khoan-thu-sai-tren-37-ti-dong-185241017123032098.htm