Nghe An: New tuition fees are suitable for conditions between residential areas

Tuition fees are offered in accordance with the conditions between residential areas.

PV:Sir, one of the issues that parents are most concerned about this school year is the application of new tuition fees according to Resolution No. 14 of the Provincial People's Council, and this tuition fee has increased significantly compared to previous years. What is the basis for the People's Council to approve the above tuition fee?

Mr. Chu Duc Thai:At the 7th Session, on July 14, 2022, the Provincial People's Council issued Resolution No. 14/2022/NQ-HDND Regulating tuition fees in public educational institutions; Tuition fee support level for private primary school students who are eligible for tuition fee exemption and reduction policies according to regulations under the management of Nghe An province from the 2022-2023 school year to the 2025-2026 school year. In which, there are regulations on tuition fee collection areas including: urban areas (wards of Vinh city, wards of towns (except for units in ethnic minority and mountainous areas according to regulations of competent authorities), rural areas (communes of Vinh city, communes of towns, plain districts, mountainous districts), (except for units in ethnic minority and mountainous areas according to regulations of competent authorities) and mountainous areas (highland districts, units in ethnic minority and mountainous areas according to regulations of competent authorities).

The tuition fee level in Resolution No. 14 is built on the basis of the provisions of Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP of the Government regulating tuition fees. During the process of building the Resolution, we found that the tuition fee level under Decree No. 81 increased quite a bit compared to before, so the tuition fee level was built at the lowest level according to the provisions of Decree No. 81 of the Government.

This school year, tuition fees at high schools across the province have increased.

PV:Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP of the Government is considered the basis for us to build regulations on tuition fees, not only for Nghe An but also for many other provinces and cities across the country. The increase in tuition fees has also been implemented on schedule when Decision No. 89/2016/QD-UBND expired from the 2020-2021 school year. However, in the process of implementing the new collection level, some problems have arisen such as parents saying that the tuition fees are too high, there are differences between regions (especially in communes and wards in cities and towns) or there are inadequacies in tuition fees within a class, this school and another school in a locality. What do you think about this issue?

Mr. Chu Duc Thai:In the past, we have also grasped concerns related to this collection level and many opinions say that the current collection level is higher than the previous period. Compared to the previous tuition collection level according to Decree No. 86, the tuition collection level according to the new regulations according to Decree No. 81 of the Government has increased significantly and there is a large difference between regions. For example: The lowest tuition fee for junior high school according to Decree No. 86 for urban areas is from 60,000 - 300,000 VND, for rural areas is 30,000 - 120,000 VND; according to Decree No. 81, the lowest collection level for urban areas is 300,000 - 650,000 VND, for rural areas is 100,000 - 270,000 VND. The collection level according to Resolution No. 14 is the lowest level according to Decree No. 81 in all regions; The difference between regions cannot be adjusted more appropriately because the collection rate in urban areas cannot be lowered according to regulations, but if the collection rate in rural areas is increased, it will greatly affect a very large part of the rural population.

Mr. Dao Cong Loi:After more than 2 months of implementing the new tuition fee collection, through the understanding of 21 districts, cities and towns, the tuition fee collection has basically been carried out normally. However, some people in Vinh city have concerns about the collection level. In fact, in the past, the collection was also implemented according to household registration but the difference was not much, only a few tens of thousands, so parents did not care much. But this year, the difference is larger, so parents have many concerns. Previously, when building the Resolution, the Education sector and the Provincial People's Council focused on the people and ensured the rights of the people, creating favorable conditions for the people, especially in rural and disadvantaged areas. Therefore, there are different collection levels and zoning.

The current problem is that there are shortcomings in management, especially in household registration management and the emergence of individual cases. However, as I said, the Resolution of the People's Council is aimed at the people, ensuring their rights. Meanwhile, the viewpoint of some management officials is to simplify, to ensure fairness in a class, a school. But this is not true because since 2014, Nghe An has had Directive No. 2446 between the Department of Finance - Department of Education and Training - Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs on instructions for collecting according to household registration to ensure rights and apply policies to support students according to household registration, in accordance with the support target. To implement the new tuition fee collection level, the department has issued an official dispatch guiding the collection of tuition fees and directing the collection extension, to avoid pressure on parents and students. Faced with current difficulties, the department has sent documents to schools, reporting on problems in the implementation process and recommendations to discuss solutions.

Implementing voluntary collections must ensure 3 principles

PV:Revenue and expenditure are always a hot issue at the beginning of the school year. What solutions have the Provincial People's Council and the management unit, the Department of Education and Training, had to rectify this situation?

Mr. Chu Duc Thai:The implementation of collections in educational and training institutions has been regulated according to guiding documents from the Central to the province. In the past time, the Provincial People's Committee as well as the Education sector have been very determined to direct educational institutions to collect the fees at the beginning of the year in accordance with regulations. However, through reflection and direct surveys, we found that there are units that have not really implemented the regulations, still setting up some fees that are not in accordance with the regulations, causing frustration for parents. Therefore, the fees at the beginning of the school year are not new but every year they are "hot".

Grasping voters' opinions and public opinion on the issue of revenue and expenditure in schools, the Provincial People's Council has always paid attention to the implementation of revenue and expenditure at the beginning of the school year at educational institutions. The Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council has requested the Provincial People's Council delegates to regularly grasp the revenue and expenditure situation at educational institutions in the area; promptly synthesize voters' opinions on related issues to send to competent authorities for settlement; conduct direct questioning at the Provincial People's Council session or through monitoring the response and settlement of voters' opinions. The Committee for Social Culture - Provincial People's Council has also conducted surveys and monitored the collection and expenditure of tuition fees and other revenues in schools.

In addition, at the meetings of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council or the meetings of the Provincial People's Committee, the outstanding and urgent issues of the People such as the issue of collecting fees at the beginning of the school year are always discussed by the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council, directing the Provincial People's Council Committees to survey, collect information and make recommendations to the Provincial People's Committee to direct this content.

The implementation of the early-year collection has a great impact on the people and almost every family in the area has children going to school. If parents are afraid to report to the authorities or the education management agency, the Provincial People's Council has a provincial website, a column to receive voters' opinions, we hope to receive voters' opinions, if there are any concerns. We will collect opinions and send them to relevant agencies for response according to regulations. In addition, people can report to the elected bodies of the People's Council delegates at all levels, from the commune level so that the delegates can receive opinions publicly and handle them in accordance with the provisions of law.

Mr. Dao Cong Loi:Entering the new school year, parents have many concerns such as textbooks, uniforms, and purchasing school supplies. Therefore, the guiding viewpoint of the Department of Education and Training is to discuss solutions to take care of quality at the beginning of the year and then discuss revenue and expenditure issues at the end of the year to avoid pressure on students. However, currently, the whole province has more than 1,600 educational institutions, but there are still cases of revenue and expenditure that are not in accordance with the regulations according to the guidance documents of the department, leading to many incorrect revenues, especially in voluntary revenues.

Recently, in the guiding documents, the Department of Education and Training also required that the implementation of voluntary fees must ensure three principles: agreement, transparency and no leveling. The problem is that in the process of implementation, some schools do not properly follow the department's instructions, abuse, and do not properly implement principles such as leveling, and set a specific fee level. Obviously, voluntary fees cannot be collected at a specific level.

To rectify this issue, state agencies will strengthen inspection and examination work and will coordinate with the district People's Committee (the unit managing schools from kindergarten to secondary school) to strengthen rectification. If there are signs of wrongdoing, appropriate sanctions will be imposed to create deterrence and discipline in the entire industry.

Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training Dao Cong Loi awarded prizes to candidates with outstanding achievements in the Reading Culture Ambassador contest.

PV:So, according to Mr. Chu Duc Thai, in addition to the solutions that the Education sector has proposed, should we strengthen the inspection, examination and supervision of People's Councils at all levels?

Mr. Chu Duc Thai:Inspecting the collection of fees at the beginning of the year is a fundamental solution and must be implemented more drastically and regularly. After the inspection, it is necessary to clearly point out any violations, if any, of educational institutions, especially those reported by parents and people. When there is a conclusion, it is necessary to seriously and strictly handle the violations of the institutions and leaders who collect incorrect fees to have a deterrent effect.

In addition to inspection and examination, it is necessary to combine many measures to ensure that revenue and expenditure in schools are implemented in accordance with regulations. First of all, it is necessary to attach responsibility to the heads of educational institutions and authorities at all levels in directing and organizing the implementation of revenue and expenditure regulations in schools. Educational institutions must publicize the amounts collected according to regulations from the beginning of the year for parents to monitor. Voluntary contributions from parents must be in accordance with the principles, in which the issue of socialized collection in schools is the most reflected.

The socialization for what and how to do it must be discussed democratically, publicly and approved by competent authorities to be eligible to call for socialization. The assets after socialization must be counted and managed according to annual regulations to become the common property of the school; avoid the situation of buying air conditioners, televisions, curtains every year as many parents have reported. If we make it clear, the people will strongly support it so that together with the state budget, we can serve the works and equipment to ensure better teaching and learning.

Through monitoring and field surveys at educational institutions, we see that educational administrators and teachers are under great pressure to ensure material conditions for teaching and learning due to limited budget conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully and fully review the material conditions at educational institutions to have a plan to prioritize budget allocation in the education sector, focusing on increasing investment in facilities for schools, ensuring educational activities so that teachers can come to school and wholeheartedly focus on teaching and learning tasks.

PV:Thank you for joining the conversation!

My Ha