Before starting work, she had to take her 3-year-old daughter to class at a private kindergarten near the boarding house.
"Although the private school is expensive, the pick-up and drop-off time is flexible, suitable for my and my wife's shift work, so we decided to send our child here" - Ms. Nhan shared.
The monthly tuition and boarding allowance for her daughter fluctuates around 2.3 million VND, a large expense for the worker's family.
Her husband is also a worker in an industrial park, with a total monthly income of about 16-18 million VND. A family of four rents a room in two small rooms in a row in Bau village, Kim Chung commune, one room is for accommodation, the other room is for cooking and storage.
"Living in Hanoi is expensive, every expense must be carefully calculated. The tuition fees for children, although I can still manage, if I am supported, it would be great, to reduce some of the burden to care for their future" - Ms. Nhan confided.
Recently, the Government submitted to the National Assembly a draft resolution on tuition exemption and support for preschool children, primary school students, and those studying general education programs at educational institutions.
Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that he will expand tuition support policies for students studying general education programs at private and public institutions, including preschools.
This policy is expected to be applied from the 2025-2026 school year, with specific support levels decided by the Provincial People's Council.
This information is like a cool breeze for hundreds of thousands of workers' families living and working in large industrial parks, where public schools are always overloaded and household registration regulations make it difficult for many children to access.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhung - a worker has been attached to Thang Long Industrial Park for nearly 16 years. Ms. Nhung has two children: one in grade 11, the other in grade 4.
Her eldest child attended public school from kindergarten to secondary school. However, when high school, the regulations changed, students who wanted to take the exam to public schools had to have permanent residence in Hanoi. Although her eldest son is well-educated, he is still not eligible to apply to public schools.
"I have to go to private schools, the tuition fee is many times higher. My wife and I still try not to let our child suffer, but it is really a lot of pressure" - Ms. Nhung confided and said that if the State supported a part of the tuition fee, we would have a much lighter burden.
Ms. Nhung said that her son's tuition currently fluctuates around 4 million VND/month, not to mention other expenses such as uniforms, documents, extracurricular activities, etc. Meanwhile, the couple's income is still mainly based on workers' wages, unstable in the season of few orders.
"Workers far from home only hope that there will be some policies to practically support their children to have a full and fair education. The expansion of tuition support for private schools and private schools is a humane and timely policy for us, said Ms. Nhung.
