Proposal to control voluntary collection
On the morning of June 16, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the Draft Resolution of the National Assembly on tuition exemption and support for preschool children, primary school students, and students studying general education programs at educational institutions in the national education system.
National Assembly delegate Trinh Thi Tu Anh (Lam Dong delegation) expressed her agreement and strong support for the policy of exempting tuition fees for preschool and primary school students, students in the general education program in the national education system.
This is a very meaningful policy of our Party and State, demonstrating Vietnam's great progress in building a fair, humane and sustainable education.
However, the delegate expressed concern about whether the heavy financial pressure will reduce expenses for professional activities, facilities, equipment or even affect the treatment of teachers. In addition, the shortage of investment in infrastructure also creates a quality gap between regions, especially between urban and rural areas, etc.
"I am also concerned about the risk of arising voluntary fees, not in accordance with regulations when 1 official fee is eliminated, and other forms of fees may appear to compensate for financial shortages through voluntary funds or non-transparent contributions. This not only causes frustration among parents but also loses the good meaning of the tuition exemption policy" - delegate Trinh Thi Tu Anh said.
To make the tuition exemption policy truly effective, the delegate recommended developing a roadmap to increase budget expenditure on education in a clear and transparent manner.
"It is necessary to develop clear and transparent regulations on collections other than tuition fees, if any, strictly control voluntary collections, strictly prohibit all forms of overcharging under the name of voluntary, apply the principle of publicity and transparency in all collection and expenditure activities of the school so that parents and society can monitor it, which is extremely necessary" said the delegate.
It is necessary to resolutely and quickly implement the tuition exemption policy
Contributing opinions to the Draft, National Assembly delegate Nguyen Thi Yen (Ba Ria - Vung Tau delegation) acknowledged that tuition exemption is a step forward in accordance with reality and ensuring fairness in access to education.
It is reasonable to stipulate the tuition support level at non-public institutions to be decided by the Provincial People's Council according to the tuition fee framework issued by the Government.
However, in order to ensure the synchronous implementation from the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year with only more than 2 months left, the delegate suggested that ministries and functional branches soon advise the Government to issue a tuition fee framework so that localities have a basis to implement it promptly, not allowing this humanitarian policy to be delayed in application.
Speaking to the National Assembly delegates at the discussion session, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that the need for state budget funding to implement the policy of tuition support for preschool children, primary school students, and those studying general education programs at educational institutions in the national education system is about 30,000 billion VND.
"During the completion process, we will discuss more with the Ministry of Finance to make the Decree feasible and suitable for the situation of each locality" - the Minister said.
To promptly implement the new school year, the Ministry is actively developing a decree to replace it and is expected to be completed in June so that it can be issued after the National Assembly's resolution is passed and takes effect.
