A total of 18 million students are likely to pay higher school fees from the start of the second school term this year, or the first term of 2009, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.
“Fees are a sensitive issue, so the Government will ask for the opinion of the Politburo before approval,” said Nhan.
In December, provincial people’s councils will decide on new fees, and apply to the Government to implement them.
Nhan stated that fees at vocational training centres will increase, to allow centres more flexibility in providing better service. Students will be able to apply for State loans to cover tuition costs, he said.
Last school year, the Government covered tuition fees for 750,000 students and this year the number is expected to grow to 900,000.
The Ministry of Education and Training plans to divide university and college fees into two groups – domestic training institutions, and institutions run in conjunction with foreign partners. Fees will not be exempted, as before, but students studying to become teachers will be entitled to a loan. If, after graduation, the student teaches for a mininum five-year period in a State-run school, fees will be waived.
The new fee rate maximum will be set at 400,000 VND (25 USD) per month.
At present, university fees do not exceed 1.8 million VND (112.5 USD) per year, college fees are set at a maximum 1.5 million VND (93.75 USD) per year, and vocational training school fees are under 1 million VND (62.5 USD) a year.
High school students in urban areas pay a maximum of 35,000 VND (2.1 USD) per month, rural students pay 25,000 VND (1.5 USD) and students from mountainous areas pay 15,000 VND (0.9 USD) a month.
Source: VNA