What are cases in which students in Vietnam are eligible for tuition fee exemption in Vietnam?

What are cases in which students in Vietnam are eligible for tuition fee exemption in Vietnam?

Based on Article 15 of Decree 81/2021/ND-CP, the subjects exempted from tuition fees are as follows:

Subjects Eligible for Tuition Fee Exemption

1. Subjects as prescribed in the Ordinance on Incentives for Revolution Contributors if they are studying at educational institutions belonging to the national education system.

2. Preschool children and disabled students.

3. Preschool children and students under 16 years old who have no source of support and individuals from 16 to 22 years old studying at public educational institutions, receiving monthly social allowances as stipulated in Section 1 and Section 2 of Article 5 of Decree No. 20/2021/ND-CP dated March 15, 2021, of the Government of Vietnam regarding social assistance policies for social protection subjects. Learners at intermediate and college levels who are orphans of both parents and have no shelter as prescribed in the Vocational Education Law.

4. Preschool children and general education students, learners in regular education institutions under the general education program whose parents or guardians are classified as poor households as prescribed by the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam.

5. Five-year-old preschool children in particularly difficult hamlets/villages, region III communes in ethnic and mountainous areas, particularly difficult communes in coastal zones and islands as prescribed by competent authorities.

6. Five-year-old preschool children not under the subjects as prescribed in Section 5 of this Article will be exempted from tuition fees starting from the 2024 - 2025 school year (effective from September 1, 2024).

7. Preschool children and general education students, learners in regular education institutions under the general education program who are biological or legally adopted children of servicemen according to Section 2 of Article 6 of Decree No. 27/2016/ND-CP dated April 6, 2016, of the Government of Vietnam stipulating certain policies for servicemen, servicemen discharged from active duty, and servicemen's dependents.

8. Lower secondary school students in particularly difficult hamlets/villages, region III communes in ethnic and mountainous areas, particularly difficult communes in coastal zones and islands as prescribed by competent authorities will be exempted from tuition fees from the 2022 - 2023 school year (effective from September 1, 2022).

9. Lower secondary school students not under the subjects as prescribed in Section 8 of this Article will be exempted from tuition fees starting from the 2025 - 2026 school year (effective from September 1, 2025).

10. Students of the allocated enrollment quota (including students enrolled in boarding vocational training programs for 3 months or more) as prescribed by the Government of Vietnam about policies for allocating enrollment quotas into higher education and vocational education institutions belonging to the national education system.

11. Students in ethnic boarding secondary schools, university preparatory schools, university preparatory departments.

12. Students studying at vocational and higher education institutions who belong to ethnic minorities with parents or grandparents who are classified as poor and near-poor households as prescribed by the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam.

13. Students studying Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought majors.

14. Students, graduate students, and doctoral students studying specialties including Leprosy, Phong, Mental health, Forensic pathology, Forensic psychiatry, and Pathology at public health training institutions assigned by the State.

15. Students of very small ethnic minorities as stipulated in Section 1 of Article 2 of Decree No. 57/2017/ND-CP dated May 9, 2017, of the Government of Vietnam stipulating preferential policies for enrollment and support for learning for Preschool children, very small ethnic minority students in areas with difficult or particularly difficult socio-economic conditions as currently prescribed by competent authorities.

16. Learners within the subjects of programs and schemes exempted from tuition fees as stipulated by the Government of Vietnam.

17. Graduates of lower secondary school continuing to intermediate level.

18. Learners at intermediate and college levels in sectors, difficult-to-enroll trades but needed by society as listed by the Ministry of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs.

19. Learners in specialized professions meeting the requirements of socio-economic development, national defense, security as stipulated in the Vocational Education Law. Specialized professions regulated by the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam.

Thus, students belonging to the following categories will be exempted from tuition fees. To be specific:

- Revolution contributors and their dependents according to the Ordinance on Preferences for Revolution Contributors 2020;

- Disabled students;

- Students aged 16 to 22 years old currently pursuing their first bachelor's degree in higher education who are eligible for monthly social allowances as stipulated in Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 5 of Decree 20/2021/ND-CP;

- College students who are orphans of both parents and have no shelter as prescribed by the Vocational Education Law 2014;

- Students under allocated quotas (including those allotted to boarding vocational trainings of 3 months or more) as prescribed by the Government of Vietnam about policies for allocating enrollment quotas into higher education and vocational education institutions in the national education system;

- Students at vocational and higher education institutions belonging to ethnic minorities with parents or grandparents classified as poor and near-poor households as prescribed by the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam;

- Students studying Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought majors;

- Students studying specialties including Leprosy, Phong, Mental health, Forensic pathology, Forensic psychiatry, and Pathology at public health training institutions assigned by the State;

- Students belonging to very small ethnic minorities as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 2 of Decree 57/2017/ND-CP in areas with difficult or particularly difficult socio-economic conditions as currently prescribed by competent authorities;

- Students belonging to the subjects of programs or projects being exempted from tuition fees as prescribed by the Government of Vietnam;

- College students studying sectors or professions difficult to recruit but necessary for society as listed by the Ministry of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs;

- Students in specific trades that meet the needs of socio-economic development, defense, and security as prescribed by the Vocational Education Law 2014.

What are cases in which students in Vietnam are eligible for tuition fee exemption in Vietnam? What does the dossier for tuition fee exemption and reduction for students in Vietnam include? (Image from the Internet)

What are cases in which students in Vietnam are eligible for 70% tuition fee exemption in Vietnam?

Based on Section 1 of Article 16 of Decree 81/2021/ND-CP, students in the following categories will be eligible for a 70% tuition fee reduction:

- Students studying traditional and specific arts at public and private professional education institutions and higher education institutions training in culture - arts including:

Folk music instrumentation, traditional Hue music instrumentation, Southern Nam Bo traditional singing (Don ca tai tu Nam Bo), theater performance, folk music performance, Ca Tru singing art, Bai Choi art, traditional musical instrument performance;

- Students studying specific traditional arts such as court music, Cheo, Tuong, Cai Luong, dance, circus; certain heavy, hazardous, and dangerous vocations in professional education as per the list prescribed by the Ministry of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs;

- Students who are ethnic minorities (excluding very small ethnic minorities) in particularly difficult hamlets/villages, region III communes in ethnic and mountainous areas, particularly difficult communes in coastal zones and islands as prescribed by competent authorities.

What does the dossier for tuition fee exemption and reduction for students in Vietnam include?

Based on Clause 1 of Article 19 of Decree 81/2021/ND-CP (amended by Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 5 of Decree 104/2022/ND-CP), the dossier for tuition fee exemption and reduction for students includes:

- Application for tuition fee exemption or reduction

+ For subjects eligible for exemption or reduction in higher education institutions: Form as per Annex 5 attached to Decree 81/2021/ND-CP;

+ For subjects eligible for exemption or reduction in private higher education institutions: Form as per Annex 7 attached to Decree 81/2021/ND-CP.

- Certified copies or original copies accompanied by the original document for comparison or copies from the original documents proving eligibility for tuition fee exemption or reduction for the following subjects:

+ Certificate from the management agency for revolution contributors and relatives of revolution contributors as prescribed by the Ordinance on Preferences for Revolution Contributors 2020;

+ Certificate of disability issued by the communal People’s Committee or Decision on social assistance allowance by the district People’s Committee Chairman for students with disabilities.

+ Decision on social assistance allowance by the district People’s Committee Chairman for subjects stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 15 of Decree 81/2021/ND-CP;

+ Birth certificate and certificate of poor or near-poor household issued by the communal People’s Committee for students studying at vocational and higher education institutions who are ethnic minorities with parents or grandparents classified as poor or near-poor households as prescribed by the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam.

+ Birth certificate and Citizen Identification card or Identity card, confirmation of residence information, or notice of personal identification number and citizen information in the National Population Database if the agency, organization cannot retrieve residency information from the National Population Database for the subjects specified in Clause 15 of Article 15 and paragraph c Clause 1 of Article 16 of Decree 81/2021/ND-CP.

- For students with Citizen Identification and personal identification numbers, if residence information can be retrieved via data sharing from the National Population Database with educational institutions, departments, Offices of Education and Training, Departments of Education and Training, Departments of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs, Finance Departments, then students do not need to submit birth certificates and documents proving place of residence.