The Ministry of Education and Training collected nearly 39 billion VND in excess tuition fees.

According to the 2013 audit report recently released by the State Audit Office, some units under ministries and central agencies collected fees and charges in excess of prescribed limits, and also collected certain amounts outside of regulations.

Furthermore, the amount deducted from fees and charges, and the percentage of fees and charges retained by the collecting unit, are not reasonable. The implementation of fee and charge collection policies still has many shortcomings...

Many educational institutions have charged tuition fees exceeding regulations (Illustrative image: KT)

To illustrate the aforementioned irregularities, Mr. Nguyen Van Tan (Head of Specialized Audit Sector 3 of the State Audit Office) stated: For example, the Ministry of Education and Training collected nearly 39 billion VND in excess tuition fees, nearly 13 billion VND in excess admission fees, nearly 15 billion VND in excess postgraduate tuition fees, nearly 16 billion VND in excess non-regular university funding, 3.3 billion VND in excess second degree training fees, and 2.6 billion VND in excess regular training tuition fees; the Ministry of Industry and Trade collected nearly 45.5 billion VND in excess tuition fees; the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City collected over 2.6 billion VND in excess admission fees, over 12 billion VND in excess tuition fees, and nearly 0.4 billion VND in excess fees for grade improvement; and the Vietnam National University Hanoi collected over 8.2 billion VND in excess tuition fees...

Regarding the collection of certain fees outside of regulations, Mr. Tan also gave specific examples that occurred at the Ministry of Education and Training (nearly 104 billion VND), the Ministry of Industry and Trade (nearly 59 billion VND), and the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (11.5 billion VND)...

Based on the figures mentioned above, Mr. Tan assessed that "the collection of fees exceeding or outside the regulations is relatively high. Furthermore, this situation is quite common in many training institutions and has persisted for many years."

Through numerous audits and recommendations for action, this situation has been gradually rectified. However, overcharging is still a reality, but not for all students; it mainly affects those who study irregularly, informally, or in high-quality open training courses.

Analyzing the reasons for exceeding tuition fees, Mr. Tan stated: The current tuition fee, as permitted by regulations, is low, only about 350,000-450,000 VND per student per month. Furthermore, 40% of this revenue must be allocated to salary reform, and 15% (adjusted down to 8% in 2013) to scholarships to encourage academic achievement... therefore, the remaining amount available to cover educational and training expenses is insufficient.

Significantly, the audit revealed that all additional fees were publicly disclosed and transparently approved by the schools.

In response to this situation, Mr. Tan stated that initially, the State Audit Office had strongly demanded that the collecting entity return the excess funds to the payers. However, a report was subsequently submitted to the Prime Minister, who authorized the retention of the excess funds and their transfer to funds for the development of education and training.

Regarding fees collected outside of regulations, such as fees for student ID cards, health check-ups, graduation fees, thesis defense fees, etc., most universities have already done so. However, these fees are essentially collected and disbursed on behalf of students, and are conducted openly, transparently, and economically for students. Only a few universities have had unreasonable fees collected on behalf of students, which the State Audit Office has requested them to cease.

Therefore, according to Mr. Tan, these excess or unauthorized fees, which are used openly and transparently, should not be returned to the collectors. This is because the cost of returning the money (per person) would even be higher than the amount paid. Furthermore, locating the payers to return the money is difficult, as many have already graduated. Therefore, the State Audit Office has recommended that any remaining funds collected and disbursed correctly should be transferred to the career development fund.

According to VOV