Filling the policy 'gap' seen from Decree 66/2025/ND-CP - Part 1: Supplementing policies for nursery children

Supplementing policies for nursery children - Photo: VGP/Son Hao

Covering all levels of education

The most notable new point of Decree No. 66/2025/ND-CP is that it has added children in semi-boarding kindergartens (from 3 months to 03 years old) to the list of beneficiaries of the learning support policy from the state budget. This addition not only contributes to the universalization of preschool education in ethnic minority and mountainous areas but also ensures fairness in the enjoyment of the State's support policies.

In fact, for many years now, policies to support the development of ethnic minority education have reached most students at all levels and students and postgraduates of ethnic minorities. However, children in boarding kindergartens are still excluded from the learning support policies developed and issued in recent years.

Kon Tuong Village Kindergarten, Ngoc Linh Commune, Dak Glei District, Kon Tum Province - Photo: VGP

Most recently, Decree 105/2020/ND-CP dated September 8, 2020 stipulates policies for developing preschool education, including a policy to support lunch for preschool children (from 3 to 6 years old). According to the assessment of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), the policies stipulated in Decree 105/2020/ND-CP have continued to contribute to improving the quality of preschool education for ethnic minority and mountainous areas, especially the universalization of preschool education for 5-year-old children.

In just the first two school years of implementation (2020-2021 and 2021-2022), according to the report of the Ministry of Education and Training, 995,821 preschool children nationwide have been supported with lunch with a budget of more than 1,170 billion VND. However, the group of children in semi-boarding kindergartens is not eligible for the policy.

In the Submission No. 1573/TTr-BGDĐT dated October 25, 2024, submitting to the Government the draft Decree stipulating policies for nursery children, students, and trainees in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, coastal and island areas, and educational institutions with nursery children and students enjoying policies (now Decree No. 66/2025/ND-CP), the Ministry of Education and Training also acknowledged that nursery children in preschools in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, and areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions have not yet enjoyed any educational support policies. This does not ensure fairness in access to education.

At recent sessions of the 15th National Assembly, the Petition Committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee (now the Petition and Supervision Committee) has compiled the opinions of voters in many provinces and cities across the country (Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Bac Kan, etc.) on the policy of supporting children in kindergartens to send to the Ministry of Education and Training. Most recently, after the 6th session, the Petition Committee of the National Assembly forwarded this petition of voters in Thua Thien Hue province (now Hue city) in Official Dispatch No. 70/BDN dated February 5, 2024. Voters hope that the Government will soon consider expanding the support beneficiaries at kindergarten age to create conditions to attract children to school, ensuring good preschool education.

The concerns of voters nationwide were relieved when the Government issued Decree No. 66/2025/ND-CP, including nursery school children as beneficiaries of the learning support policy. Along with the Politburo's decision to exempt all tuition fees for students from kindergarten to high school nationwide, starting from the 2025-2026 school year. This is good news for millions of families in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, areas with especially difficult socio-economic conditions with nursery school-age children. This Decree shows the Government's determination in its efforts to support the comprehensive development of ethnic education.

Child care from the first year of life

According to Decree 66/2025/ND-CP, children in semi-boarding kindergartens will be supported with 360,000 VND/month/child for lunch (not exceeding 9 months/school year). In addition, preschools with children in semi-boarding kindergartens will receive 700,000 VND/month/group of children in kindergartens (not exceeding 9 months/school year) to manage lunch for the group of children in kindergartens.

Thus, the lunch support rate for nursery children in Decree 66/2025/ND-CP is doubled compared to Decree 105/2020/ND-CP (preschool children from 3 to 6 years old are supported with 160,000 VND/month/child). The increase in the lunch support rate for nursery children shows the vision of policy making to develop people from the early years of life.

Students of Cao Phin Kindergarten - Then Chu Phin Kindergarten, Then Chu Phin Commune, Hoang Su Phi District, Ha Giang Province - Photo: VGP

According to Dr. Phan Bich Nga, National Institute of Nutrition (Ministry of Health), the first 1,000 days of life is the golden period for taking care of children in terms of nutrition and spirit, children will have the best health foundation, ensuring a healthy and easy-to-develop adult future. On the contrary, children in the first 1,000 days of life are not well cared for, have nutritional deficiencies, are prone to stunted growth, low weight, and poor intellectual development, greatly affecting the child's future.

It is also important to note that, due to difficult economic conditions, child care in the "golden period" of many ethnic minority families is still very limited. This is one of the reasons why the malnutrition rate among ethnic minority children is higher than the national average.

A report by the National Institute of Nutrition shows that the rate of stunting in ethnic minority children is 31.4%, twice as high as that of Kinh children (15.0%); the rate of underweight ethnic minority children is also 2.5 times higher (21% compared to 8.5%) than that of Kinh children.

The lunch support policy for children in daycare centers in Decree No. 66/2025/ND-CP not only contributes to taking care of children from the beginning of their lives, ensuring fairness in access to education, but is also consistent with the provisions of the current Law on Education and the Law on Children. In particular, the Law on Children clearly stipulates that the State has a policy to ensure child care (Article 43) and ensure education for children (Article 44) as well as the right to be cared for and nurtured for comprehensive development (Article 15).

The 2019 Law on Education also clearly stipulates that the State has a policy of investing in the development of preschool education; prioritizing the development of preschool education in mountainous areas, islands, ethnic minority areas, areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, and areas with industrial parks (Clause 1, Article 27). Clause 2, Article 85 of this law also stipulates that the State has a policy of subsidizing and exempting or reducing tuition fees for learners who are beneficiaries of social policies, ethnic minorities in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, orphans, homeless children, people with disabilities, people from poor and near-poor households.

In addition to investment and support policies according to Decree No. 105/2020/ND-CP, from the 2025-2026 school year, implementing Decree No. 66/2025/ND-CP, preschools will be supported with money to buy paper, comics, crayons, pencils, toys and other learning materials and supplies; blankets, mosquito nets and personal items for children in boarding kindergartens with a budget of VND 1,350,000/child in boarding kindergarten/school year; supported with electricity and water for the study and living of children in boarding kindergartens with a rate of 5KW of electricity/month/child in boarding kindergarten and 1m3 of water/month/child in boarding kindergarten according to the price prescribed by the locality and enjoyed for no more than 9 months/school year. In places where there are no conditions to provide electricity and water services or where there is a power or water outage, schools can use funds to buy lighting equipment and clean water for children.

Son Hao

(continued) - Lesson 2: Expanding the beneficiaries