Hanoi supports boarding meals for primary school students with 3,060 billion VND

(NLDO)- In the 2025-2026 school year, Hanoi will spend 3,063 billion VND to ensure that each primary school student is supported with a minimum meal allowance of 30,000 VND/day.

On the afternoon of July 9, with the majority of Hanoi People's Council delegates present in agreement, the Hanoi People's Council passed a Resolution regulating the mechanism for supporting meals for primary school students in Hanoi.

A classroom with a lunch box. Illustration photo

Accordingly, the total estimated budget to implement this policy in the 2025-2026 school year is more than VND 3,063 billion, to ensure that each primary school student is supported with a minimum meal allowance of VND 30,000/day.

According to the report of Hanoi People's Committee, the city currently has more than 763,000 primary school students, of which more than 502,000 are attending boarding school, accounting for about 65.8%. The financial support is expected to increase this rate to 99.17%, contributing to reducing the burden on parents, while improving the quality of student care during the two-session school day.

The resolution stipulates two levels of support: 30,000 VND/student/day for students in mountainous communes and communes in the middle of the Red River delta; 20,000 VND/student/day for students in the remaining areas of Hanoi. In case the actual meal fee is higher, the difference will be paid by the parents.

Statistics show that 703 out of 778 primary schools in Hanoi are providing boarding meals, reaching a rate of nearly 90.4%. This rate in mountainous areas and the Red River delta is 86.36%; in the remaining areas it is 90.48%. In terms of facilities, about 90% of schools have the conditions to provide boarding for all students.

Meals are currently organized in two forms: schools cook themselves or cooperate with catering units. For mountainous areas and communes in the Red River delta, all public schools cooperate with outside parties to provide meals. In inner-city areas, 90.58% of public schools use catering services, while private schools have a higher rate of self-cooking, up to 64.58%.

According to the Hanoi People's Committee, the current meal fee ranges from VND19,000-50,000/day at public schools and from VND25,000-125,000/day at private schools. The average fee is VND30,062 and VND50,827, respectively. The total cost of meals for boarding students in the 2024-2025 school year is estimated at VND3,074 billion, of which the public sector accounts for more than VND2,520 billion.

With the new support policy, Hanoi will support main meals for about 768,000 students, including more than 707,000 public students and more than 60,000 private students. The funding source will be paid by the city budget and communes and wards, of which the commune and ward level will take on the majority (about 3,055 billion VND).

The resolution does not apply to students studying at foreign-invested schools. Explaining this, the Hanoi People's Committee said that most students at these schools are foreigners or come from families with high economic conditions. Tuition and food fees are often many times higher than the average, and the number of students fluctuates greatly depending on the length of time their parents have lived, making it difficult to ensure a stable support policy.

The Hanoi People's Committee affirmed that the implementation of the policy of supporting meals at the primary level is urgent. This is the level with the largest number of students, forced to study 2 sessions/day, requiring high nutritional and energy needs. Full meals at school not only ensure health but also help reduce the pressure of transportation for parents, creating conditions for people to work and work with peace of mind.

After one year of implementation, the Departmentof Education and Training will summarize, evaluate the effectiveness and advise the City People's Committee to expand the support policy to other levels of education if budget conditions allow.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/hon-3060-ti-dong-ho-tro-bua-an-ban-tru-cho-hoc-sinh-tieu-hoc-o-ha-noi-196250709171812387.htm