Tuition is free, but what about additional fees?

At the Politburo meeting on February 28, the Politburo decided to completely waive tuition fees for students from preschool to high school in public schools nationwide. This will take effect from the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year (September 2025 onwards).

Previously, the Ministry of Education and Training had proposed to the Politburo and the Party Committee of the Government to consider a policy of waiving tuition fees for students from preschool to general education.

A representative from the Ministry of Education and Training stated that the Government has issued regulations waiving tuition fees for students. According to current regulations, from September 1st, 2025, the State will waive tuition fees for all public school students from 5-year-old kindergarten to junior high school (up to grade 9).

In addition, the government has also stipulated a policy to reduce tuition fees by 50-70% and provide financial support for many poor students, students from disadvantaged backgrounds, students from social policy groups, and ethnic minority students (studying in public and private schools).

In addition to the tuition-free categories stipulated above, the Ministry of Education and Training proposed, and the Politburo agreed, to add tuition-free education for preschool children aged 3 months to 4 years and general education students. Accordingly, all preschool, primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary school students in public schools will be exempt from tuition fees. Students in private schools will receive tuition fee subsidies equivalent to the tuition fees of public schools as stipulated by law; the difference in tuition fees between public and private schools will be paid by the students' families.

According to statistics, there are currently 23,2 million students nationwide (excluding students attending vocational and continuing education centers), including: 3,1 million preschool students under 5 years old; 1,7 million preschool students aged 5; 8,9 million primary school students; 6,5 million lower secondary school students; and 3 million upper secondary school students.

According to a representative from the Ministry of Education and Training, it is estimated that the state budget will have to spend approximately 30.000 billion VND to implement the policy of waiving tuition fees for the aforementioned groups (if the local budgets of provinces/cities that have already implemented tuition fee waivers are excluded, the central budget will have to spend less than this amount).

Assessing the impact of the policy, a representative from the Ministry of Education and Training stated that tuition fees affect most families and are a matter of public concern at the beginning of each new school year. Expanding the scope of tuition fee exemptions will affect the balance of the state budget. Furthermore, exempting tuition fees for high school students (grades 10 to 12) could influence student placement after lower secondary school, affecting their choice between continuing education in upper secondary school or vocational training.

However, implementing a policy of free tuition for all children from preschool to high school nationwide would significantly contribute to improving the quality of education, receive high social consensus, align with the advantages of the system and the Party and State's policies on education, and be consistent with the general trend of developed countries.

As someone with many years of experience in the education sector, Mr. Ho Tuan Anh, Principal of Quynh Phuong Secondary School (Nghe An), happily believes that this policy will contribute to improving the quality of education. This is not only good news for students and parents but also a great joy for those working in education.

Mr. Ho Tuan Anh shared that when he was a homeroom teacher, he felt uneasy and worried every time he had to urge students to pay tuition fees. Even as a principal, he often used his personal Facebook page to "ask" for money for tuition and health insurance for students. Having worked in the education sector for over 30 years, Mr. Tuan Anh has always wished that the government would have sufficient resources to waive tuition fees for all students from preschool to high school, as this is a very significant social welfare policy.

Having been involved in education for nearly 70 years, Professor Pham Tat Dong, advisor to the Vietnam Association for the Promotion of Learning, also expressed his joy and support for this significant policy that benefits millions of students across the country. Professor Pham Tat Dong believes that waiving tuition fees from preschool to high school is a tremendous effort by the State and demonstrates the Party's concern for education. This policy is also in line with the current global trend, as many countries are moving towards free tuition at the secondary level.

"We are moving towards an effective, high-quality education at an affordable cost. As someone with many years of teaching experience, I wholeheartedly welcome this policy." Professor Pham Tat Dong expressed his opinion.

Furthermore, according to Professor Pham Tat Dong, after completing lower secondary education, besides the group of students who continue on to upper secondary education, there are also many who choose to pursue vocational education. The government also needs to create all conditions so that vocational students can enjoy the same preferential policies as upper secondary school students.

Besides policies on tuition fee exemption, according to Professor Pham Tat Dong, the education sector and the State also need to pay special attention to expanding the public school system, especially at levels where universal education has been achieved.

“As we expand education, public schools must meet the educational needs of the area. Currently, urban planning policies lack coordination, and the shortage of schools in major cities remains a serious problem. Urban planners are not educators, and educators are not allowed to plan. Many apartment projects are springing up close together, but there is a lack of schools, leading to many people buying houses in one place but having to apply for schools elsewhere, outside their designated catchment area.” Professor Pham Tat Dong expressed his concerns.

Based on his observations of the education sector over many years, Professor Pham Tat Dong also believes that tuition fee exemption is a major policy with humanitarian significance, but it is necessary to control the collection of "additional fees" at schools, as in many places this is the largest amount of money parents have to contribute.

It's not a new problem, but at the beginning of each school year, excessive fees still occur in many localities. On social media, parents still post photos of long lists of fees in addition to tuition, amounting to millions, even nearly ten million dong per semester.

The collection of fees other than tuition can be done in the name of parent-teacher associations, and even parents who are unwilling are persuaded. Many, to avoid affecting their children, simply pay the money to make up the difference. Therefore, the education sector needs to strictly manage and severely punish the excessive fee collection at educational institutions to avoid unnecessary pressure on parents.