Free tuition, towards a fair and quality education

Not allowing teachers to be on the payroll is... "sleeping soundly"

Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Psychology and Education, affirmed that exempting tuition fees for students is a humane policy of the Party, State and Government to care for the people's lives. This concern creates conditions for the young workforce (those with children in high school) to feel secure in working and contributing.

However, Mr. Lam, this is only the first step and Vietnam will need to do a lot to move towards a fair and quality education. Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam recommends paying attention to teachers and schools because this force creates the quality of human resources.

Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam suggested that in addition to exempting tuition fees, the education sector should also pay attention to teachers and schools. Photo: Nguyen Phuong.

"Schools must be autonomous, humane, creative, and integrated. Teachers must be trained and nurtured, and used selectively. Using teachers should avoid the situation of beating the drum and abandoning the drum, and those who are not qualified must be eliminated. It is not a case of just having the title of teacher, being on the payroll and then sleeping soundly, not innovating. We must not let the situation of innovation stagnate like in the past," said Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam.

Besides, according to Mr. Lam, after the economy, education is the sector that must be prioritized for investment to have high-quality human resources to develop the country. On the other hand, it is necessary to ensure school places for students in big cities.

To move towards a fair and quality education, Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam said that our country also needs to summarize and evaluate the implementation process of the 2018 General Education Program to recognize the limitations and from there, reform the curriculum and teaching methods in the education system.

Need a solution to the tuition problem between public and private schools

According to Professor Pham Tat Dong, advisor to the Vietnam Association for Promoting Education, in order to move towards a fair and quality education, our country will need to carefully research and soon have a policy to bring private school tuition fees as close to the free level as possible like public schools.

"We are still implementing universal education with a compulsory program. So why is this student welcomed for free while other students have to pay tuition to benefit? Public schools have implemented free tuition, I welcome it and hope that at some point, there will be a support policy so that private school students pay less tuition than they do now," Mr. Dong shared.

The advisor of the Vietnam Association for Promoting Education hopes that in the future, leaders can conduct more research to soon have new policies to create equality and fairness among all children.

Speaking to the press, Head of the Department of Planning and Finance, Ministry of Education and Training Tran Thanh Dam said that regarding private schools, the Ministry of Education and Training is coordinating with ministries and branches to work with localities, research and advise competent authorities to have specific regulations to ensure suitability to cover the tuition-free policy.

Currently, regulations on exemptions, reductions, and support for tuition and living expenses for students at private schools have been clearly stated in the 2019 Education Law and Government decrees.

Professor Pham Tat Dong said that it is necessary to carefully research and soon have a policy to bring private school tuition closer to the free level like public schools.

Specifically, according to the 2019 Education Law, non-public and private educational institutions are entitled to proactively set tuition fees and prices for educational and training services (except for services priced by the State). This fee must ensure cost recovery and reasonable accumulation, and educational institutions are responsible for transparency and accountability to learners and society.

Private educational institutions must also explain in detail the average educational cost per student, annual tuition fees, and tuition fees for all levels of education for preschool and general education. In addition, they must publicize the roadmap and tuition increase rate in the following years, ensuring no more than 10% per year for preschool and general education. This publicity must comply with legal regulations and be accountable to learners and society.

Students who are exempted from or have reduced tuition fees or are supported with tuition fees at private educational institutions will receive maximum support from the State equal to the tuition fees of public educational institutions that are not self-sufficient in regular expenses in the same area.

Implementing the direction of the Politburo, in the coming time, the Ministry of Education and Training will coordinate with ministries, branches and localities to research, review and decide on appropriate implementation plans. In the immediate future, it is necessary to ensure school conditions and fairness in students' access to education.

In addition, based on the practical development of the private education system, the Ministry of Education and Training will continue to research and advise on regulations related to tuition fees, compensation levels and appropriate support policies.

Raising the level of Vietnamese education

Mr. Bui Sy Loi, former Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Social Committee, assessed that the tuition exemption policy is a major policy of the Party and the State. This is not only an important step forward in realizing educational equity, but also clearly demonstrates the State's responsibility in caring for the future of the younger generation. "Every child has the right to education, and tuition exemption is the key to helping them get closer to their dreams," Mr. Loi emphasized.

Mr. Bui Sy Loi, former Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Social Committee, said that, besides many benefits, the tuition-free policy also entails many pressures.

In addition to many benefits, according to Mr. Bui Sy Loi, the tuition-free policy will also bring along pressures. One of them is the possibility that public schools will have to receive a sudden increase in the number of students when many students transfer from private schools. This requires careful preparation of facilities, teaching staff and teaching methods so that the public education system does not fall into a state of overload.

According to Mr. Loi, implementing this policy requires synchronous solutions to ensure that the quality of education is not different between regions. The most important thing is to ensure good learning conditions for all students, from infrastructure, teacher quality to appropriate support policies. If only tuition fees are exempted without comprehensive investment, it is still not possible to bring about true fairness in education.

To achieve this goal, according to Mr. Loi, our country needs to focus on investing in three factors. Firstly, regarding infrastructure, Mr. Loi said that building spacious schools and classrooms with adequate learning equipment is an urgent requirement, especially in localities with many difficulties.

The second is improving the quality of the teaching staff. Mr. Loi said that our country needs to have a policy of training, fostering and mobilizing teachers to difficult areas to improve the quality of teaching. "Teachers are the decisive factor in the success of education," Mr. Loi said.

Finally, regarding financial support and policies for disadvantaged areas, the former Vice Chairman of the Social Committee said that it is necessary to create conditions for poor localities to have resources to develop sustainable education, and not let any child drop out of school due to circumstances.

In addition, Mr. Loi also believes that in order for Vietnamese education to truly change, towards the goal of quality, it is necessary to eliminate the pursuit of achievements, shift from 'learning to take exams' to 'learning to do, to be creative', increase practicality, equip life skills; teachers play the role of inspiration, guidance - not readers for students to copy; students need to learn how to think, how to solve problems; the testing and evaluation system also needs to be more substantial, diverse, not creating heavy exam pressure on the whole society like it is now...

Around the world, many countries have also implemented different strategies to ensure that universal education, from pre-school to secondary level, is provided free of charge to all citizens. Thanks to adequate investment, some countries have made great strides in promoting education development.

Finland is considered a success story in education, emphasizing the important role of a well-rounded education in fostering critical thinking and creativity. Its tuition-free policy facilitates families, improved facilities, well-trained teachers, and a comprehensive curriculum.

Sweden is also a country that places a strong emphasis on providing free, high-quality, and accessible primary education to its citizens. The tuition-free policy ensures that education is accessible to everyone, regardless of background. Teachers in Sweden are required to have relevant teaching qualifications and are encouraged to participate in continuing professional development.

Germany has free tuition for both domestic and international students. This means that studying at public schools from primary to high school is free of charge. The government covers the costs involved, including teacher salaries, facilities and educational materials.

About half of Germany's universities are public and these universities offer free tuition to students. In 2014, Germany officially exempted tuition fees for most undergraduate and master's students, regardless of nationality.