Parents support
In the notes for the 2026 - 2027 school year sent to educational institutions, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training requests high-quality schools and private schools not to require parents to pay parking fees, deposits or collect fees that are not in accordance with regulations.
Reality shows that in recent years, many private schools in Hanoi have applied deposit and reservation fees ranging from a few million to tens of millions of VND. According to the regulations of each school, this amount will be deducted from tuition fees when students enroll and will not be refunded if parents change their decision. This makes parents worried every enrollment season.
As a parent whose child is preparing to participate in the 10th grade entrance exam, Mr. Doan Kim Cuong - residing in Dong Ngac ward (Hanoi) - said that competitive pressure is high, the number of candidates is large while the quota for public schools is limited. Therefore, many parents proactively consider additional contingency plans. Besides their aspirations for public schools, they register for private high schools according to their needs and family conditions.
Mr. Kim Cuong said that at the enrollment counseling sessions of some private schools that his family researched, in addition to the requirement to submit transcripts or consider admission based on grade 10 exam scores, some schools also collect applications with a deposit fee.
According to the school's announcement, if students are admitted and enrolled, this amount will be converted into the tuition fee for the first year. However, in case of not attending, parents will not be refunded the deposit.
Sharing about this issue, Mr. Do Trong Luong - residing in Tay Mo ward (Hanoi) expressed his disagreement with the fee collection for reservations. Rectifying the collection of deposits and reservations for 10th grade enrollment is necessary, showing humanity. The reason is that this amount of money creates an additional financial burden for parents, especially for families with limited economic conditions. In addition, fee collection easily creates psychological pressure and a feeling of injustice between students.
Need to move towards transparency
Ms. Dinh Thi Ngoc Huyen - residing in Thanh Xuan ward (Hanoi) supports the move of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training related to rectifying reservation fees. Currently, she has a child preparing for the 10th grade entrance exam and always orients her child to proactively study and review, the results depend on their actual ability.
According to Ms. Huyen, parents should not intervene just to ensure a place in high school. She also expressed disagreement with the fact that some schools take advantage of parents' anxiety to collect money that is not really transparent.
Sharing with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, a teacher at a private high school in Hanoi said that the fact that some schools charge fees for "booking places" is to ensure the number of students enrolled in the school, avoiding the risk of registering too many aspirations at once, as a "commitment to enrollment".
This teacher believes that the form of depositing and holding seats causes inequality in education. "This will create a private playground for schools, where "deposits" are set according to the requirements of each school, causing unhealthy competition between students and parents" - the female teacher said.
Besides, this teacher also believes that when students themselves know that they have a place in a high school, they will be negligent, no longer have the inner strength to promote self-study and the spirit of striving for the upcoming 10th grade entrance exam.
Therefore, private schools need to change their approach to enrollment to reduce financial pressure for parents, ensuring that students have equal opportunities to access aspirations suitable to their personal abilities and qualifications.
