The Ministry of Education and Training proposed that the Government increase university tuition fees.
The Ministry of Education and Training has just submitted to the Government a draft to amend and supplement a number of articles of Decree 81 regulating the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees at universities and localities nationwide.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, if tuition fees for the 2023-2024 school year are implemented according to Decree 81, the ceiling will increase, with some majors increasing by nearly 100% compared to the previous school year, which becomes a huge burden for society. The reason for this increase is that in the past three years (2021, 2022, 2023), the Government has requested universities and localities not to increase tuition fees compared to 2020 to support people who were heavily affected during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thus, the tuition fee roadmap according to Decree 81 has not been applied since its issuance in 2021, and tuition fees have not increased in the past 3 school years.
In August 2023, the Government directed and the Ministry of Education and Training to consult with localities, universities, and experts on adjusting and amending Decree 81 to suit the actual situation. Opinions are that tuition fees for the 2023-2024 school year need to be adjusted to increase to ensure resources to improve the quality of education and training, invest in facilities in the context of limited investment resources and annual cuts in the regular budget.
In particular, for public universities, revenue from tuition fees accounts for the majority (over 80% of the total revenue of the school), the ability to exploit other sources of revenue is limited. Many schools have proposed to increase tuition fees to cover regular operating costs, improve training quality and implement the autonomy roadmap.
The Ministry of Education and Training proposed that the tuition fee ceiling for public higher education institutions that have not yet covered their regular expenses for the 2023-2024 school year be equal to the tuition fee ceiling for the 2022-2023 school year in Decree 81 and is expected to cover all costs in the 2026-2027 school year, specifically as follows:
For public vocational training institutions that are not self-sufficient in regular expenses, the tuition fee ceiling for the 2023-2024 school year is equal to the tuition fee ceiling for the 2022-2023 school year in Decree 81, specifically as follows:
Regarding general education tuition fees, the Ministry of Education and Training proposed to adjust the tuition fee increase roadmap one year later than the roadmap prescribed in Decree 81, the tuition fee for the 2023-2024 school year will be equal to the tuition fee for the 2022-2023 school year in Decree 81. Specifically, for public preschool and general education institutions that have not yet covered their regular expenses, the tuition fee ceiling for the 2023-2024 school year is as follows:
The People's Councils of provinces/cities shall, based on the above provisions, decide on the tuition fee framework or specific tuition fee levels for public preschool and general education institutions under their authority and decide on the arrangement and classification of regions in the locality for educational institutions to apply tuition fee levels. From the 2024-2025 school year onwards, the tuition fee framework and levels shall be adjusted in accordance with the local socio-economic conditions, the consumer price index growth rate, the annual economic growth rate and the people's ability to pay, but not exceeding 7.5%/year./.
