The Ministry of Health said it had received Official Letter No. 1099/UBDNGS15 from the Committee for Petition and Supervision on the proposal to respond to voters' petitions sent after the 9th session of the 15th National Assembly, including the opinions of voters in Dong Thap province.
Accordingly, voters in Dong Thap proposed to consider exempting and reducing tuition fees for medical students to encourage human resources in the health sector.
Responding to voters' opinions, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that the policy of exempting and reducing tuition fees for medical students to encourage, attract and develop medical human resources is one of the policies of special significance, contributing to building a high-quality human resource team for the national health system, especially in the context of increasing demand for care, protection and improving people's health.
Regarding current policies, the State has issued many specific regulations to support the training of medical human resources, focusing on majors lacking human resources and specific fields.
According to the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment No. 15/2023/QH15, effective from January 1, 2024, the State supports tuition and living expenses for students majoring in: Psychology, pathology, forensic medicine, forensic psychiatry, infectious diseases and emergency resuscitation (Clause 3, Article 105). This is a priority policy, aiming to ensure the development of medical human resources for specialized fields, playing a key role in the medical examination and treatment system.
In addition, according to Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP dated August 27, 2021 of the Government, amended and supplemented by Decree No.7/2023/ND-CP dated December 31, 2023, the State exempts tuition fees for students studying at vocational training and higher education institutions for training in the following majors: Labor, Phong, Mental Health, Forensic Medicine, pathology (Clause 1, Article 15).
"These policies are applied consistently nationwide and are funded by the state budget, to encourage learners to participate in health majors that are facing difficulties in enrollment, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of medical human resources" - Minister Dao Hong Lan said.
The head of the health sector said that in the coming time, the Ministry of Health will continue to closely coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and branches to study and evaluate the effectiveness of implementing current policies and advise the Government and the Prime Minister to consider and approve new projects and policies in supporting tuition exemption and reduction for medical students in general, especially for majors that need to be prioritized in the 2026-2030 period with a long-term vision, in order to meet the needs of socio-economic development and improve the quality of health care for people.
