Tuition exemption policy
The Government issued Decree No. 238/2025/ND-CP dated September 3, 2025 regulating tuition fees, tuition exemptions, reductions, tuition support, support for study costs and service prices in the field of education and training.
The Decree stipulates 14 subjects exempted from tuition fees, including groups of subjects including preschool children, primary school students, general education students (students studying the regular education program at the junior high school level and students studying the regular education program at the high school level) in public educational institutions in the national education system; Students in vocational and higher education institutions who are disabled;...
In addition, the decree also stipulates subjects eligible for tuition reduction and tuition support from 50-70%.
14 subjects exempted from tuition fees
Thus, from the 2025 - 2026 school year, high school students in public schools will not have to pay tuition fees.
Teaching 2 sessions/day without fees for primary and secondary schools
The Ministry of Education and Training has just issued an official dispatch guiding the organization of 2 teaching sessions/day for general education, implemented from the 2025-2026 school year.
Teaching 2 sessions/day is clearly defined between session 1 and session 2. In which, session 1 is the time to implement the main general education program including compulsory subjects and educational activities, elective subjects, and advanced topics (for high school level).
The second session is for supplementary activities such as excellent student development, weak student guidance, life skills, arts, physical education, STEM, foreign languages, etc.
Organizing the first and second sessions can be flexible in time, balanced in duration, and suitable to the conditions of each school.
The Ministry of Education and Training's guidance stipulates that the organization budget is allocated from the local budget, effectively integrating programs, projects, and plans to increase investment in facilities, teaching equipment, and implementation costs.
For primary school level, there are a maximum of 7 sessions (35 minutes/session) per day, with a minimum of 9 sessions/week. For junior high school and high school, teaching is a maximum of 11 sessions/week (45 minutes/session), no more than 7 sessions/day.
The State supports lunch for primary and secondary school students in border areas
The Ministry of Education and Training is seeking opinions on a draft regulation on a policy to support lunch for primary and secondary school students in border communes.
Accordingly, the proposed support level for primary school students is 400,000 VND/month. The support period is calculated based on the actual number of school months, but not exceeding 9 months/school year.
Each student is supported with 8 kg of rice/month. The support period is calculated based on the actual number of school months, but not exceeding 9 months/school year.
For secondary school students, the food allowance for each student is 450,000 VND/month. The support period is calculated based on the actual number of school months, but not exceeding 09 months/school year.
Each student is supported with 8 kg of rice/month. The support period is calculated based on the actual number of school months, but not exceeding 9 months/school year.
The food allowance level prescribed in this Decree will be considered for adjustment when the consumer price index (CPI) increases by 10% or more.
The draft Decree clearly states that primary and secondary school students who are subject to the policies specified in this Decree and are also subject to the same type of policy as those specified in other legal documents will only enjoy the highest level of that policy.
Primary and secondary school students who are entitled to other policies on preferential allowances, social allowances, and scholarships to encourage learning will still enjoy the policies prescribed in this Decree.
Health insurance support level increases by 20%
According to Decree 188 of 2025 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Health Insurance (HI), in which from July 1, 2025, the health insurance support level for students will increase from 30% to a minimum of 50%.
According to current regulations, the monthly health insurance contribution rate for students is calculated at 4.5% of the basic salary.
Currently, the basic salary is 2,340,000 VND/month (according to the provisions of Decree No. 73/2024 of the Government).
Thus, the health insurance contribution rate for a student in a year is: 4.5% × 2,340,000 × 12 months = 1,263,600 VND/year.
With a new minimum support level of 50% from the state budget, students only have to pay a maximum of 631,800 VND/year. Compared to the previous payment level, students receive an additional 252,720 VND/year.
In addition to the state budget support level of 50%, some provinces and cities use the provincial budget to support additional health insurance contributions for students. Parents and students can track the level of support on the province's information portal, ensuring their rights when participating in health insurance.
