Ho Chi Minh City temporarily collects tuition fees, maximum 200,000 VND/month

Public schools in Ho Chi Minh City are allowed to temporarily collect first semester tuition fees, ranging from 30,000-200,000 VND, equivalent to the level collected two years ago.

On October 25, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee announced that it will allow public schools to temporarily collect tuition fees for the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year. The temporary tuition fees will be applied according to the framework of the 2021-2022 school year, from 30,000 to 200,000 VND per student, per month, depending on the level of education, with primary schools being free.

Grade level	Group 1 (VND/student/month)	Group 2 (VND/student/month)
Nursery	200,000	120,000
Kindergarten	160,000	100,000
Elementary	No collection
Secondary School	60,000	30,000
High School	120,000	100,000

Group 1 (urban) includes Thu Duc city and districts in Ho Chi Minh City. Group 2 (rural) includes five districts: Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, Nha Be and Can Gio.

The city said this rate will apply until the Government issues a new rate. Since the beginning of the school year, Ho Chi Minh City has only allowed schools to collect support fees and educational services such as meals, boarding fees, etc., but not tuition fees because it is waiting for the Government to amend Decree 81 on this matter. However, to date, the amended decree has not been issued.

Students of Dinh Tien Hoang Primary School, Thu Duc City, during class on September 5. Photo: Quynh Tran — Students of Dinh Tien Hoang Primary School, Thu Duc City, during class on September 5. Photo: *Quynh Tran*

Decree 81 of 2021 of the Government stipulates the ceiling on public tuition fees until 2026. According to this decree, public tuition fees will increase 2-5 times compared to before.

Based on that, for the 2021-2022 school year, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council passed a resolution on new tuition fees, ranging from 100,000-300,000 VND per student, per month, with the sharpest increase at secondary school level. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the economic and social situation, so the Government requested that provinces keep the tuition fees as before.

At the end of August, the Ministry of Education and Training submitted to the Government a new roadmap for tuition increases for the 2023-2024 school year. At the public preschool and general education levels, the Ministry proposed a tuition ceiling for schools that have not yet covered their regular expenses ranging from VND30,000 to VND650,000 per month, depending on the level and region. Based on this ceiling, localities will set their own tuition fees in their areas.

Le Nguyen

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