This is good news for parents across the country, contributing to reducing the financial burden, especially for families in difficult circumstances.
Reducing financial burden
Reading the news that all students will be exempted from tuition fees from the next school year, Ms. Le Thi Hien (43 years old) - a worker in Binh Duong province could not help but be happy because the cost of raising children will be somewhat reduced. Ms. Hien's husband is also a worker in the province. The couple's total monthly salary is 18 million. The family is renting a room and raising 2 preschool children. To save costs, her two children study at a public school with 180,000/month in tuition.
"Although the reduction is not much, it also reduces the economic burden for the family, children have more boxes of milk to drink," said Ms. Hien.
Not facing financial pressure, Mr. Bui Xuan Hoa (Thu Duc City) said that the tuition exemption policy is very meaningful. "The actual tuition fee only accounts for a very small part of my family's expenses for my children, but I am very grateful. Because this is a common policy, many families and parents are still having a hard time out there," Mr. Hoa shared.
Mr. Duong Van Dan - Head of the Department of Education and Training of District 8 (HCMC) assessed that this is a humane policy and ensures fairness in access to education for all students, contributing to reducing the financial burden on families as well as economic areas with many difficulties. When implementing this policy, it will motivate students to study better, avoiding students from not being able to go to school because their families cannot afford to pay tuition.
Mr. Cao Thanh Binh - Head of the Department of Culture - Social Affairs, Ho Chi Minh City People's Council said that the Politburo's policy on tuition exemption from the new school year 2025-2026 has been supported by many people, showing the Party and State's concern for the education sector. "HCMC is proposing that the city's education sector review the situation of students and study and propose additional support policies (in addition to tuition fees) for students in difficult circumstances," said Mr. Binh.
Careful research is needed during the implementation process
Speaking with Lao Dong, Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh, former Director of the Department of Vocational Education, Ministry of Education and Training, said that exempting tuition fees for students from preschool to high school is a humane policy, helping to reduce the financial burden on families who do not have the means, so that all students can go to school, without having to drop out of school halfway due to financial burden... From there, creating a solid foundation to improve the quality of human resources. In the long term, this policy also brings many positive impacts to society, including population policy.
Mr. Vinh analyzed: "Currently, many families are under great pressure about education and health costs... so they are afraid of having many children. For middle-class families, tuition is not a concern, but for many households in difficult circumstances, this is a significant financial burden, directly affecting the decision to have children. Meanwhile, Vietnam is entering a period of rapid population aging due to increased life expectancy, while the birth rate is decreasing sharply. The exemption of tuition fees for students, in the long term, will contribute to the positive impact on Vietnam's population policy".
However, Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh said that to implement the tuition reduction from the 2025-2026 school year, it will cost the State budget a relatively large amount, so careful preparation in terms of resources is needed to ensure funding for implementation. Therefore, when exempting tuition fees, the education sector needs to control the quality of teaching and learning, ensure teachers' income, and at the same time have appropriate solutions to avoid affecting the orientation of student orientation after secondary school.
Speaking with Lao Dong, a leader of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said that regarding the implementation of tuition payment for students according to the tuition exemption policy according to the decision of the Politburo, the department is waiting for instructions and will have further information.
30,000 billion VND is needed to implement the tuition exemption policy
The Ministry of Education and Training statistics show that the country currently has 23.2 million students (excluding students studying at vocational and continuing education centers), including: 3.1 million preschool students under 5 years old; 1.7 million preschool students under 5 years old; 8.9 million primary school students; 6.5 million secondary school students and 3 million high school students.
According to current regulations, from September 1, 2025, all preschool students, primary school students, secondary school students and public high school students will be exempted from tuition fees. It is estimated that to implement this policy, the State must pay about 30,000 billion VND (if deducting the local budget of provinces/cities that have implemented tuition exemption, the central budget will have to implement less than this figure).
In fact, the budget level that needs to be ensured will depend on the specific tuition fees of each province and city under the Central Government according to the authority of the Provincial People's Council decided on the basis of the regulations on the floor and ceiling for tuition fees prescribed by the Government.
