Reducing difficulties for workers
Ms. Nguyen Thi Cham (Ha Bac garment worker, Bac Giang province) has 2 children, 1 of whom is in grade 8, 1 of whom is in grade 4. The couple's total income is about 20 million VND/month. "With this income, my wife and I can raise and send our children to school. When I graduate, I will be exempted from tuition fees, which will reduce a significant amount of expenses and reduce the burden on my family, said Ms. Cham.
However, according to her, along with exempting all tuition fees for students, there needs to be solutions to prevent overcharging, only then can tuition exemption be meaningful.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong (a cleaning worker in Yen Phong Industrial Park) also expressed her hope that this policy will soon be put into practice. This female worker has 3 children (in 8th grade, 7th grade and 1 child who is only 8 months old). The pressure of raising children and the cost of their education every month is huge.
"The tuition fee for the two older children is about 5.2 million VND/child/year. This is a fairly large amount of money for us workers and my husband. Other expenses such as books, clothes, extra classes... - Ms. Hong shared.
I was very happy to hear about tuition exemptions. For workers, reduce any expenses or those expenses when they have many expenses to pay, especially for workers who still have to rent. I hope this decision will soon come true" - Ms. Hong said.
No more tuition burden, workers are more confident
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu (28 years old) - a leather shoe worker in Bac Ninh could not hide her joy when knowing that in the upcoming school year, her children will not have to pay tuition for public schools. The female worker said that she can save more than 4 million VND per year. "My family has 3 children, 2 adults are in preschool and primary school and spend more than 3 million VND on tuition each year. In more than a year, the youngest child will start going to school and will spend more than 1 million VND" - Ms. Thu confided.
The female worker said that tuition fees are often collected for each semester along with other expenses, making parents quite worried. The exemption of tuition fees helps parents, especially workers like Ms. Thu, reduce their worries every time they pay for their children's tuition. No more tuition fees, Ms. Thu can leave early, without having to work overtime late. This helps female workers feel secure when leaving early at 6pm to take care of their children, especially the youngest, without bothering grandparents.
Mr. Pham Van Dinh (37 years old) - a specialized machine worker in Nam Dinh said that since hearing the news of tuition exemption, the couple has been able to relieve a monthly economic burden.
"My family has 2 children in primary and secondary school, the tuition fee is nearly 4 million VND per year. Free tuition will help us worry less about the economy because there are many other expenses to spend in life" - Mr. Dinh calculated.
Mr. Dinh shared that the couple's total income is 16 million VND/month. The cost of paying off debts for house construction and daily living has cost 12 million VND, not including other expenses. To quickly pay off the debt, the male worker always has to stay overtime until 7pm before returning home.
According to Mr. Dinh, if the tuition fee is converted monthly, the amount is not much, but if calculated annually plus other expenses, his two children will not be under 20 million VND. The free tuition fee helps Mr. Dinh not have to work far from his family or change jobs, and feel secure in sticking with the work in his hometown.
"My upcoming plan is to change jobs or go to Quang Ninh to work. However, when I learned that I would be exempted from tuition fees for my children, I might reconsider and reconsider, said Mr. Dinh.
Sharing more, Mr. Dinh said that in two years, his eldest child will enter university. If possible, the State should continue to study tuition support for students or low interest rate loans to help parents feel secure sending their children to higher education.
