National Assembly Delegate: Nghe An people highly agree with tuition-free policy

On the afternoon of May 22, the National Assembly discussed in Groups: Draft Resolution of the National Assembly on exemption and support of tuition fees for preschool children, general education students, and people studying general education programs at educational institutions in the national education system; Draft Resolution of the National Assembly on universalizing preschool education for preschool children from 3 to 5 years old; Draft Resolution of the National Assembly on extending the exemption period for agricultural land use tax as prescribed in Resolution No. 55/2010/QH12 of the National Assembly on exemption and reduction of agricultural land use tax, which has been amended and supplemented by a number of articles according to Resolution No. 28/2016/QH14 and Resolution No. 107/2020/QH14.

Pay tuition support directly to students

Discussing in groups about two resolutions related to education policy, delegate Thai Thi An Chung - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province expressed her high agreement with the necessity of issuing these resolutions.

The delegate emphasized that the policies are built on the basis of concretizing the Party's viewpoints and policies, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, clearly demonstrating the humane spirit and superiority of our regime.

From her experience in meeting with voters in the locality, she said that voters are particularly interested in and expect the National Assembly to pass the policy of exempting and supporting tuition fees in this session. “In Nghe An, a province with many difficulties and a tradition of studiousness, these policies have received great consensus and support from the people,” the delegate emphasized.

Regarding the draft Resolution on tuition fee exemption and support, delegates commented on the scope of regulation and applicable subjects. Accordingly, the draft clearly stipulates that tuition fee exemption and support applies to preschool children, high school students, and students of general education programs at educational institutions in the national education system.

However, the concept of "educational institution" is not currently uniformly defined; the Law on Education only regulates each level of education separately, for example: Preschool education institution, General education institution, University education institution, Continuing education institution, Other education institution.

On the other hand, the draft Resolution states that one of the subjects to which the above policy applies is “other educational institutions teaching general education programs”. However, according to the Law on Education, “other educational institutions” include: nursery groups, nurseries, independent kindergartens, literacy classes, classes for disabled children, and disadvantaged children.

From the above analysis, delegates suggested that the drafting agency should clarify the scope of regulation and the concept of "other educational institutions" for easier application.

Delegate Thai Thi An Chung also agreed with the regulation that the funding source for implementation is guaranteed by the State, according to the current budget decentralization. In which, the central budget supports localities that have not yet balanced their budgets, ensuring fairness and practicality.

However, she was concerned that the resolution is expected to be applied from the 2025-2026 school year, while the 2025 budget estimate does not currently have a specific expenditure item for this policy. The delegate suggested that the Government promptly allocate funds for timely implementation, avoiding delays that would cause concern among the people.

Regarding the payment method, Ms. An Chung said that the draft has not specified any specific regulations and will be left to the Government for guidance. The delegates agreed with the proposal of the Committee on Culture and Society that payment should be made directly to the learners.

This approach helps reduce pressure on educational institutions, especially avoiding placing responsibility on teachers who do not have accounting expertise, and limiting delays and backlogs in funding as has occurred with some previous policies.

Regarding the effective date, the draft regulation applies from the 2025-2026 school year “until otherwise specified”. Delegates suggested removing this phrase because according to legal principles, when a new document replaces it, the old document will naturally cease to be effective; at the same time, it avoids creating skepticism that the policy will change soon, reducing confidence in the stability of the policy.

Carefully calculate resources for stable, long-term policies

Speaking at the National Assembly's discussion on two draft resolutions related to education policy, Major General Tran Duc Thuan - a full-time member of the National Assembly's Committee on National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs, expressed his excitement when the National Assembly discussed the policy of exempting tuition fees for general education.

According to him, this is a big step forward, demonstrating the Party and State's constant efforts in investing in people, the goal of sustainable and humane development of our regime.

Giving specific comments, delegates said that exempting tuition fees for public school students is appropriate and highly agreed upon by society. However, with the policy of supporting tuition fees for students in non-public schools, there should be regulations on a unified support level nationwide, equivalent to public school tuition fees. This is to ensure fairness and avoid disparities between localities.

Regarding the sustainability of the policy, General Thuan suggested that the Government carefully calculate resources so that the policy can be maintained stably and long-term, while gradually expanding other supports. He also recommended that there should be more specific policies for students in remote areas, in addition to tuition fees, such as additional support for learning conditions.

Regarding universal preschool education, delegates agreed that the immediate focus should be on the age group from 3 to 5. However, in the expansion roadmap, it is necessary to take into account the socio-economic conditions of each region. "For example, Hai Phong currently has good development conditions and is capable of implementing it early," he cited.

Discussing at the National Assembly about two draft resolutions related to education policy, Mr. Hoang Minh Hieu - Member of the National Assembly working full-time at the Law and Justice Committee of the National Assembly suggested carefully considering the legal aspects when expanding the tuition exemption and universalizing preschool education from 3 years old and the tuition exemption and reduction policy.

Because the contents of universal education and tuition exemption and support have been stipulated in the Education Law, the expansion to children from 3 years old or the expansion of subjects eligible for tuition exemption and support through resolutions of the National Assembly need to be carefully reviewed in terms of document form and consistency. If necessary, it is possible to consider amending the Education Law to ensure the consistency of the legal system.

Notably, delegate Hoang Minh Hieu reflected another issue from voters: tuition fees for national defense and security education courses in university programs. This is a compulsory subject, a common policy of the State, but currently some autonomous universities are charging too high tuition fees, in some places up to 20 million VND/course. This puts great financial pressure on students and their families. The delegate from Nghe An proposed that the National Assembly and the Government consider exempting tuition fees for this course for students.