On August 27th, 2021, the Government promulgated Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP on tuition fees of educational institutions following the national education program and collection, management thereof; policies on tuition fee exemption, reduction, and financing for learning fees; service fees in education and training sectors.
This Decree applies to preschool children, students, learners, and researchers (hereinafter referred to as “learners”) studying in educational institutions following the national education program according to Law on Education, Law on Higher Education, and Law on Vocational Education; educational institutions following the national education program according to Law on Education, Law on Higher Education, and Law on Vocational Education, and relevant organizations, individuals.
The Decree consists of 05 chapters, 33 articles and 10 attached appendices (procedure forms). Below are some of the main contents of the Decree.
1. Tuition range:
The Decree provides tuition ranges for each education level. For each education level, tuition ranges are determined by the criteria: learning period; areas (for preschools and formal education institutions); two types of educational institutions (consists of those that have not guaranteed recurrent expenditure and investment expenditure entirely and those that have guaranteed recurrent expenditure entirely or both recurrent expenditure and investment expenditure entirely). Some notable contents are as follows:
i) Tuition for preschools and formal education institutions (Article 9):
* Tuition range for the school year of 2021 - 2022 is decided by the provincial People's Council without exceeding the top limit or value for the school year of 2020-2021.
* Tuition range for the school year of 2022 – 2023:
- Tuition range (bottom limit – top limit) for public educational institutions that have not guaranteed recurrent expenditure entirely are determined by areas (urban areas, rural areas, and ethnic minorities and mountainous regions). Some ranges are as follows:
+ Urban areas: For preschool and primary education: 300-540 thousand VND/month. For lower secondary education and upper secondary education: 300-650 thousand VND/month.
+ Rural areas: For preschool and primary education: 100-220 thousand VND/month. For lower secondary education: 100-270 thousand VND/month. For upper secondary education: 200-330 thousand VND/month.
+ Ethnic minorities and mountainous regions: For preschool and primary education: 50,000-100,000/month. For lower secondary education: 50-170 thousand VND/month. For upper secondary education: 100-220 thousand VND/month.
- Top limit of tuition range applicable to preschools and public formal education institutions that have guaranteed recurrent expenditure entirely: Up to 2 times the above-mentioned top limit...
* Tuition range from the school year of 2023 – 2024 onwards:
Tuition range shall be revised according to socio-economic conditions of local administrative divisions, growth rate of consumer price index, annual economic growth rate, and creditworthiness of the general public without exceeding 7.5%/year;
In the case of online learning, the maximum tuition fee does not exceed the publicized tuition of educational institutions.
ii) Tuition for vocational education (Article 10):
* Top tuition limit of the school year of 2021 - 2022 shall equal top tuition limit of public vocational education institutions regulated by the Government for school year of 2020 – 2021. Specifically:
- Top tuition limit for training programs in college level and intermediate level in public vocational education institutions that have not guaranteed recurrent expenditure and investment expenditure entirely is determined by training majors (unit: thousand VND/student/month). Majors with the lowest limit are social sciences and humanity, pedagogy, journalism, information and business (780 thousand VND); major with the highest limit is health (1,140 thousand VND).
- Top tuition limit for training programs in college level and intermediate level in public vocational education institutions that have guaranteed recurrent expenditure and investment expenditure entirely: Majors with the lowest limit are social sciences and humanity, pedagogy, journalism, information and business (1,640 thousand VND); major with the highest limit is health (4,040 thousand VND).
iii) Tuition for higher education:
* Top tuition limit of the school year of 2021 - 2022:
- Top tuition limit for public higher education institutions that have not guaranteed recurrent expenditure and investment expenditure entirely is determined by majors. Specifically, 980 thousand VND/month for teacher training, journalism, business and administration majors; 980 thousand VND/month for law majors, and 1,430 thousand VND/month for pharmacy majors...
- Top tuition limit for majors in public higher education institutions that have guaranteed recurrent expenditure and investment expenditure entirely is 2,050 thousand VND/ month for education and training, law, journalism majors, and 5,050 thousand VND/ month for pharmacy majors...
2. Tuition exemption, reduction, and studying cost financing policies:
i) Subjects eligible for not having to pay for tuition (Article 14):
- Students of public primary schools.
- Learners studying in specific majors satisfying socio-economic development demands, national defense and security according to Law on Higher Education. Specific majors regulated by the Prime Minister.
ii) 17 subjects eligible for tuition exemption (Article 15), including:
- Individuals mentioned under the Ordinance on Benefits for People with Meritorious Services to the Revolution when studying in educational institutions following the national education system.
- Preschool students and students with disabilities.
- Preschools students and students under 16 years of age lacking any care and individuals from 16 years of age to 22 years of age and studying in formal education, the first degree of higher education and eligible for monthly social benefits according to Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 5 of Decree No. 20/2021/ND-CP. Learners in intermediate-education level or college level who are left without both parents and shelter according to Law on Vocational Education.
- Preschool students, students of formal education, learners in continuous education facilities following the formal education program whose parent or parents or grandparents (if living with grandparents) are poor households according to regulations of the Prime Minister.
- Preschool children with 5 years of age living in hamlets with difficulties, communes in category III areas with ethnic minorities and mountainous regions, communes with particularly difficulties in coastal areas and islands as per the law;...
iii) Subjects eligible for tuition reduction and tuition financing (Article 16):
* Subjects eligible for a tuition reduction of 70% includes:
- Students pursuing traditional arts and specific majors in public, private vocational education institutions and higher education institutions providing cultural - artistic training;
- Students pursuing traditional art forms or taxing, toxic, or hazardous occupations as per lists of taxing, toxic, or hazardous occupations regulated by law;
- Kindergarten children and students who are ethnic minorities (other than very minor ethnic minorities) in hamlets with particular difficulties, communes in category III areas, ethnic regions and mountainous regions, communes with difficulties in coastal regions and islands as per the law.
* Subjects eligible for a tuition reduction of 50% includes:
- Kindergarten children and students who are children of officials, public officials, or workers suffering from occupational accidents or diseases and receive regular benefits;
- Preschool students, students of formal education, learners in continuous education facilities following the formal education program whose parent or parents or grandparents (if living with grandparents) are near-poor households according to regulations of the Prime Minister.
* Subjects eligible for tuition financing: Primary education students in private education institutions in areas with insufficient number of public education institutions shall receive financing for tuition.
iv) Subjects eligible for financing for studying costs (Article 18 and Article 20) with the amount of 150 thousand VND/student/month, including:
- Kindergarten children, students in formal education institutions, and students in continuous education facilities following the formal education program are left without both parents.
- Kindergarten children, students with disabilities in formal education institutions, and students in continuous education facilities following the formal education program.
- Preschool students, students of formal education, learners in continuous education facilities following the formal education program whose parents are poor households according to regulations of the Prime Minister...
In addition, the Decree also empowers the provincial People’s Council to consider and decide not to charge tuition in a specific period for kindergarten children, students in public formal education institutions, and learners in continuous education facilities following the formal education program in areas suffering from natural disasters, epidemic, or other force majeure event (Article 17).
3. Procedures for implementing tuition exemption, reduction, and payment method (Article 20):
* The dossier (Article 19) includes the following main documents:
- Application for tuition reduction, exemption, studying cost financing, and tuition financing (using application form)
- Verified true copies or copies enclosed with the original for comparison or a copy from the original book of papers proving that they are prioritized subjects as prescribed (Confirmation of entities regulating persons having rendered meritorious services; Confirmation of disabilities issued by People’s Committees of communes or Decisions on social benefits of Chairpersons of People’s Committees of districts; Confirmation of poor households issued by People’s Committees of communes...).
Learners eligible for both tuition exemption, reduction and studying cost financing are only required to prepare 1 set of applications consisting of documents above together with forms prescribed thereof for the whole studying period.
Learners living in poor households or near-poor households shall submit additional confirmation of poor households or near-poor households at the beginning of each semester to be considered for tuition reduction, exemption, and studying cost financing for the subsequent semester.
* Procedures for implementation and payment mechanism (Article 20):
- Within 45 working days from the starting date of a school year, the subject (or the subject’s parents) shall submit the application in person or via postal service or electronic trading system.
- Principals of educational institutions are responsible for approving and compiling a list of students eligible for tuition reduction, exemption, and studying cost financing and sending it to the competent authority for appraisal within 10 working days from the date of applications.
- Expenditure on tuition reduction, exemption, and tuition financing shall be granted depending on actual learning period without exceeding 9 months/school year for preschool children, students following formal education, and students in continuous education institutions and 10 months/school year for students learning in vocational education institutions and higher education institutions, and be made twice per year at the beginning of each semester...
The Decree comes into effect from October 15, 2021 and replaces Decrees No. 86/2015/ND-CP and Decree No. 145/2018/ND-CP.
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