Continue to complete the draft Decree on tuition fee exemption and reduction

GD&TĐ - On the afternoon of August 26, Deputy Minister Le Tan Dung chaired a meeting on the draft regulations on policies on tuition exemption/support, study costs and educational service prices.

Attending the meeting were leaders of the Department of Financial Planning, the Department of Vocational Education and Continuing Education under the Ministry of Education and Training ; also attending were representatives of the Government Office, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Explain the comments

Mr. Tran Thanh Dam - Director of the Department of Financial Planning said that the Ministry of Education and Training has submitted Document No. 1085/TTr-CP dated July 30 to the Government a draft Decree regulating tuition fee policies, exemption, reduction, tuition fee support, support for learning costs and service prices in the field of education and training.

This new Decree will replace Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP dated August 27, 2021 and Decree No. 97/2023/ND-CP dated December 31, 2023 of the Government (draft Decree) according to simplified processes and procedures.

Delegates attending the meeting listened to opinions from leaders of the Department of Financial Planning, Ministry of Education and Training. Photo: Dinh Tue.

On August 14, the Government Office issued Document No. 660/PLYK/2025 to ask for opinions from Government members on this draft Decree. Accordingly, 25/25 votes of Government members (TVCP) agreed to pass the draft Decree (100%), of which 3 TVCP members had additional opinions. Specifically:

According to the opinion of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Clause 1, Article 9 and Article 10 stipulate the ceiling tuition fee for the Arts group (Academic year 2025 - 2026: VND 1,360,000/month for intermediate training programs, VND 1,520,000/month for University education) may not be enough to cover actual training costs. Propose to add a support mechanism from the state budget for public educational institutions training in the Arts group.

Regarding this, the Ministry of Education and Training stated that the tuition fees stipulated in Articles 9 and 10 of the draft Decree for art majors at university, college and intermediate levels at public higher education and vocational institutions that are not self-sufficient in regular expenses (Group 3) for the 2025-2026 school year are VND 1,360,000/month for intermediate and college training programs and VND 1,520,000/month for university training programs; for Group 2 (self-sufficient in regular expenses), it is 2 times the above level and for Group 1 (self-sufficient in regular expenses and investment expenses), it is 2.5 times the above level.

Mr. Nguyen Van Quan - Deputy Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Training, Ministry of Health, exchanged opinions at the meeting. Photo: Dinh Tue.

The above tuition fees, according to the survey results, basically cover the training costs for each level of financial autonomy. Particularly for training institutions in Group 3, in addition to the above tuition fees, according to the autonomy mechanism of public service units prescribed in Decree No. 60/2021/ND-CP, the state budget will support the remaining amount to ensure regular operating expenses. Therefore, this draft Decree does not re-regulate the content of specialized laws that have been prescribed.

Currently, the Ministry of Education and Training is assigned to submit to the Politburo a Resolution on modernization and breakthrough in education and training development; develop amendments and supplements to the Law on Education, the Law on Vocational Education, and the Law on Higher Education according to the 2025 Legislative Program and will submit to the National Assembly for comments and approval at the 10th Session of the 15th National Assembly in October 2025.

Clarifying policy beneficiaries

The Minister of Finance commented on the difficulties in implementing the tuition exemption policy, specifically, it should be regulated in the direction that: students who graduate from junior high school continue to study at intermediate level and do not study at other training levels; at the same time, each subject is only entitled to the policy once.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Le Tan Dung discussed some ideas with delegates attending the meeting. Photo: Dinh Tue.

The representative of the Ministry of Education and Training said: At point b, clause 2, article 62 of the Law on Vocational Education clearly stipulates: "People who graduate from junior high school and continue to study at intermediate level" are exempt from tuition fees.

In addition, according to the opinion of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (formerly), exempting tuition fees for junior high school students to study at intermediate level; including high school students, is effective in attracting students to study at intermediate level and then continue to transfer to college or higher level after graduating from intermediate level, contributing to the effective implementation of the student streaming policy and improving the quality of human resources.

According to the opinion of the Minister of Health, in Article 20, it is proposed to add the responsibility of educational institutions in paying the difference between the actual tuition fee of the training institution and the State support level in the draft Decree to have a basis for implementation.

The Ministry of Education and Training said that this content has been stipulated in Point c, Clause 2, Article 19. However, accepting the opinion of the Minister of Health, it clarified the responsibility of training institutions in Point c, Clause 2, Article 19:

The State shall provide tuition fee exemption and reduction compensation for vocational training institutions and public higher education institutions to implement the tuition fee exemption and reduction policy for learners who are eligible for tuition fee exemption and reduction according to the tuition fee levels of vocational training institutions and public higher education institutions, but not exceeding the tuition fee ceiling prescribed in Clause 1, Article 9 and Clause 1, Article 10 of this Decree corresponding to each school year and training sector and block.

The remaining amount that the learner must pay is equal to the difference between the tuition ceiling prescribed in Clause 1, Article 9, Clause 1, Article 10 and the State support level, except for the professions prescribed in Point a and Point b, Clause 1, Article 16, the learner must pay the difference between the actual tuition fee of the educational institution and the State support level...

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Minister Le Tan Dung acknowledged and highly appreciated the comments of the delegates from relevant ministries/sectors. In the spirit of openness and maximum responsibility, Deputy Minister Le Tan Dung requested the Department of Financial Planning to fully absorb the comments to make appropriate adjustments before submitting the new draft decree to the leaders of the Ministry of Education and Training.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/tiep-tuc-hoan-thien-du-thao-nghi-dinh-ve-mien-giam-hoc-phi-post745865.html