Education Ministry postpones tuition fee increase
Tuition fees in preschools and high schools will increase by 7.5% compared to the previous school year while that of higher education will surge by 12.5%.
The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has proposed to the Government to delay an increase in tuition fee that was scheduled for the 2021-22 academic year.
Many people voice concern over the Ministry of Education and Training’s proposal on tuition fee hike, saying it’s not appropriate given the complicated development of the COVID-19 pandemic. HNT Photo |
Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong said tuition fee hike should be delayed amidst complicated COVID-19 pandemic as the country experienced several floods which left serious consequences and affected people’s income.
The ministry would apply the tuition rise from the 2022-23 school year.
Earlier, the ministry proposed a tuition fee hike from the 2021-2022 school year on its portal to collect public opinions.
Tuition fees in preschools and high schools will increase by 7.5% compared to the previous school year while that of higher education will surge by 12.5%.
It is expected that the new tuition fee will offset half of the expenditure for training by the 2025-26 academic year and cover all by 2030.
The public has raised concern over the fee hike, saying the increase in tuition fees was not relevant in the context of economic difficulties and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thuong said the increase in tuition fees for preschools and high schools is based on the localities’ socio-economic conditions and financial capacity of residents.
The tuition fee and other policies relating to the study are carried out in line with the Government’s decree No 86/2015/ND-CP on the management of tuition fees in state-run educational facilities. The decree is valid until the end of the 2020-21 academic year. Therefore, the ministry compiled a new decree to replace the old one.
Before December 31, 2016, the State still gave financial support to training courses at public education institutions. However, he said, since 2017 tuition fee had been handled under the “price” mechanism.
The Education Law 2019 stipulates that tuition fee is an amount of money that learners must pay for a part or all of the cost of education and training services. The Government regulates the mechanism for collection and management of tuition fees, Thuong said.
