Nghe An: The implementation of tuition fee increase still has many shortcomings

Many levels of education increase tuition fees

According to Resolution No. 14/2022/NQ - Provincial People's Council approved on July 14, 2022 on tuition fees in public educational institutions, tuition fees for the 2022 - 2023 school year have been adjusted compared to the previous school year.

This year, tuition increases will be implemented at many levels of education. Photo: My Ha

Accordingly, depending on the region, tuition fees will increase from the lowest level of VND5,000 (from VND45,000 to VND50,000 for preschool and secondary school in mountainous districts) and the highest level of VND170,000 (from VND130,000 to VND300,000 for secondary and high schools in wards of Vinh city and towns). In mountainous districts and communes (belonging to Vinh city and towns) and plain districts, tuition fees will increase from VND20,000 to VND80,000. For preschool level, students in communes of Vinh city and towns will be reduced from VND200,000 to VND100,000.

Thus, the increase in tuition fees is mostly concentrated in schools in Vinh city. This has also affected the implementation of the collection of fees at the beginning of the school year of many families. For example, if a family has two children studying in kindergarten, junior high school or high school, on average each school year, the family will have to pay more than 3,000,000 VND in tuition fees.

Tuition fees will increase significantly in wards in urban and town areas. Photo: My Ha

The increase in tuition fees has also made many schools worried and concerned about the impact on students' ability to go to school. Mr. Vu Ngoc Tuan - Principal of Quynh Luu 2 High School said: "Every year, my school has dozens of students dropping out of school, many of whom are in difficult circumstances or have no motivation to try. Therefore, if tuition fees are increased, it may affect their thinking and many students will use this as a reason to drop out of school."

Many concerns during implementation

Ms. Nguyen Thi H. has a child studying in grade 7 at Hung Dung Secondary School (Vinh City) and is a student outside the school district because her household registration is in Ha Huy Tap ward but her family actually lives in Hung Loc commune. Faced with the tuition fee increase, she decided to move her household registration to Hung Loc commune to enjoy the tuition fee in rural areas because according to her, the amount she pays is not only for one year but also for long-term benefits.

Tuition fees for the 2022-2023 school year. Photo: My Ha

From the beginning of the school year until now, through synthesis, Hung Dung Secondary School has dozens of students who are studying at the school but have household registration in other communes or districts, provinces and cities.

Teacher Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga - Principal of the school said: In previous years, the tuition fee was low so many parents did not worry much. However, this year the tuition fee difference is quite large, so many worrying issues have appeared. In fact, according to statistics, there are cases where people have registered for long-term temporary residence in the area but some have household registration in mountainous districts, some are from other provinces. After the decision to increase tuition fees was made, some parents immediately requested to transfer their household registration to the correct place where the family resides (mountainous, rural areas) instead of sending their household registration as before (city area) or transfer (send) their household registration (to mountainous, rural areas) not in accordance with the place where the family currently lives (city area).

According to the Principal of Hung Dung Secondary School, the school's tuition collection will be implemented in accordance with the spirit of Resolution No. 14/2022/NQ - Provincial People's Council. However, during the implementation process, there are some shortcomings such as the same class but there will be many different tuition levels, some students pay 300,000 VND/month but some students with registered residence in mountainous areas only pay 50,000 VND/month. Meanwhile, in reality, the students are living in Vinh City and their parents are working in the city (but their registered residence is in mountainous or rural areas). Therefore, according to the school principal, instead of collecting tuition fees according to household registration, collecting tuition fees according to school will be more reasonable, meaning that students studying in which ward or commune will collect tuition fees according to that ward or commune.

This inconsistency also occurs between schools in the same area. Talking about the current tuition fee, teacher Bui Thi Thu Ha - Principal of Hung Hoa Secondary School (Vinh City) said: Our school is located in Hung Hoa commune and according to regulations, the school's tuition fee is 100,000 VND/month, an increase of 10,000 VND compared to the previous school year. With this fee, our school's total revenue will be lower than that of other schools in the city, while spending on activities remains unchanged. We are planning to propose to the City People's Committee to adjust the budget between schools to prioritize communes in the suburbs, helping schools to be more convenient in implementing their tasks.

Class time of students at Hung Hoa Secondary School, Vinh City. Photo: My Ha

Previously, the adjustmenttuitionThis is done because the tuition fees currently applied to public educational institutions in the area are no longer suitable, the tuition fees between levels of education are too different, not ensuring fairness in access to education, and not promoting the socialization of education to share the burden with the State budget. In addition, increasing tuition fees will increase the minimum operating expenses for public educational institutions in the area when 60% of tuition revenue will be used for regular expenses.

Along with the issue of tuition fee increase, what parents and people are concerned about is the effective use of tuition fees, aiming to improve the quality of teaching, enhance teaching equipment and facilities for schools. This requires supervision and publicity so that the tuition fee increase achieves the set goals and ensures the rights of learners.