The reason some universities intentionally lack transparency regarding tuition fees.

Each school has its own style.

Tuition fees are a "sensitive" issue because they directly affect tens of millions of families. In higher education, some institutions comply with the regulations of the Government and the Ministry of Education and Training regarding the public and clear disclosure of tuition fees and increase schedules.

According to the admissions plan, the tuition fee for the 2023-2024 academic year at Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy for full-time students ranges from 4.18 to 7.7 million VND per month. In addition, the university also announced a planned tuition fee increase of up to 10% each year.

Specifically, the tuition fees for the 14 majors at the school in 2023 are expected to be as follows:

Tuition fees at the Foreign Trade University for the 2023-2024 academic year are projected to be 25 million VND/student/year for the regular program. Tuition for the high-quality program is projected at 45 million VND/year, and for the advanced program at 70 million VND/year. The Hotel Management, Digital Marketing, Digital Business, and Integrated Marketing Communications programs will maintain a tuition fee of 60 million VND/year...

The school stated that tuition fees for the programs are expected to be adjusted annually by no more than 10% per year.

However, some institutions only disclose information cautiously, or even deliberately withhold it. For example, Hanoi University of Architecture announces tuition fees in a very general and vague manner, stating: "expected for regular students"; "maximum tuition fee increase schedule for each year (if any) will be implemented according to Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP".

For example, at the University of Transport and Communications, the summary of the 2023 admissions plan only states: "Expected tuition fees for students: engineering majors: 415,800 VND/credit; economics majors: 353,300 VND/credit (on average, students study 30 credits per year)." Other information regarding the tuition increase schedule and the extent of the increase has not been mentioned.

What is the reason?

Previously, regarding the issue of the school not providing clear information about tuition fees for the 2023-2024 academic year, Associate Professor Dr. Architect Le Quan - Rector of Hanoi University of Architecture - said: "Currently, public universities do not dare to announce tuition fees and the tuition fee increase schedule. If we announce them now and then ask for refunds like last year, what can we do? Last year, we had to refund thousands of tuition fee invoices to students."

According to this principal, in order to resolve the difficulties faced by schools in the 2023-2024 school year, the Ministry of Education and Training must announce whether or not tuition fees will be collected in accordance with Government Decree 81.

Rector of Hanoi University of Architecture. Graphics: Trang Ha

Regarding this issue, Dr. Le Viet Khuyen - Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges - believes that some public universities want high tuition fees but are subject to tuition fee caps, which easily leads to a lack of transparency in fee disclosure.

"Public schools want high tuition fees but are subject to tuition fee caps, which easily leads to ambiguity. Private schools, on the other hand, are more transparent," added Dr. Khuyen.

Dr. Le Viet Khuyen speaks about the issue of university tuition fees. Graphic: Trang Ha

Asserting that any ambiguity brings disadvantages, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Xuan Nhi - former Deputy Minister of Education and Training - affirmed that the issue of tuition fees must be transparent and clear so that parents and students can be informed and make informed choices about suitable schools.

"According to regulations, public higher education institutions are allowed to set tuition fees that do not exceed the prescribed tuition fee ceiling. Many schools take advantage of this to create ambiguity in tuition fees."

"This puts candidates at a huge disadvantage, leading to them and their families not understanding or grasping the situation, blindly applying to those schools, only to discover the exorbitant tuition fees are unaffordable, thus missing out on educational opportunities," said the former Deputy Minister of Education and Training.

According to Decree 81/2021/ND-CP, educational institutions must publicly announce tuition fees and training costs for each academic year and level of education for preschool and general education, as well as the tuition fee increase schedule (if any) for each academic year and projected for the entire course of study for higher education.

According to regulations from the Ministry of Education and Training, the projected tuition fees of universities must be publicly disclosed in their admissions plans posted on the university's website at least 30 days before receiving applications.