What are the principles for determining tuition in Vietnam? What are regulations on the management and use of tuition in Vietnam?

What is tuition according to the law in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 81/2021/ND-CP:

Term interpretation

1. “service fees in education and training sector” refers to the money paid by service users for each service in education, training, and vocational education sectors, including: tuition (depending on education and training level) and fees for other services in education and training sectors (fees for enrolment service, fees for education quality control service; fees for issuance of degree, certificate templates; fees for education support and human resource supply service via researching and developing strategies, planning, schemes for human resource training; fees for human resource demand investigation, analysis, and estimation services via connecting training facilities with employers to extract resources for human resource training; fees for teacher and education personnel improvement service; fees for consulting service for organizations and individuals to develop plans and schemes for human resource development and development of necessary skills for learners; fees for education and training support services).

2. “tuition” refers to the amount of money paid by the learners to cover fees of education and training services in part or in whole. Tuition amount shall be determined according to roadmap for guaranteeing education and training service according to this Decree.

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Thus, refers to the amount of money paid by the learners to cover fees of education and training services in part or in whole.

What are the principles for determining tuition in Vietnam? What are regulations on the management and use of tuition in Vietnam?​ (Image from the Internet)

What are the principles for determining tuition in Vietnam?

According to the provisions of Article 8 of Decree 81/2021/ND-CP, the principles for determining tuition in Vietnam are as follows:

- For public preschools, general educational institutions, the principles for determining tuition are as follows:

The tuition fee is built based on the principle of sharing between the state and learners, suitable to the socio-economic conditions of each residential area, the actual contribution capability of residents, the rate of consumer price index increase, the annual economic growth rate, the roadmap to pricing educational and training services as prescribed, and ensuring educational quality.

- For public vocational education institutions, the principles for determining tuition are as follows:

+ Public vocational education institutions partially covering their recurrent expenditures and public vocational education institutions with recurrent expenditures guaranteed by the state (hereinafter referred to as public vocational education institutions not yet self-sustaining recurrent expenditures) determine tuition rates not exceeding the tuition ceiling in point a, clause 1, and point a, clause 2, Article 10 of Decree 81/2021/ND-CP (amended by point a, b, clause 2, Article 1 of Decree 97/2023/ND-CP);

+ Public vocational education institutions self-sustaining recurrent expenditures determine the tuition fee for each sector according to an adjustment coefficient compared to the tuition ceiling set for institutions not yet self-sustaining recurrent expenditures as per clause 2, Article 10 of Decree 81/2021/ND-CP (amended by point a, b, clause 2, Article 1 of Decree 97/2023/ND-CP);

+ Public vocational education institutions self-sustaining recurrent and investment expenditures are entitled to determine the tuition fee on the principle of cost recovery with reasonable accumulation according to the provisions of the 2014 Law on Vocational Education and related documents.

- For public higher education institutions, the principles for determining tuition are as follows:

+ Public higher education institutions partially covering their recurrent expenditures and public higher education institutions with recurrent expenditures guaranteed by the state (hereinafter referred to as public higher education institutions not yet self-sustaining recurrent expenditures) determine tuition rates not exceeding the tuition ceiling in point a, clause 1, and point a, clause 2, Article 11 of Decree 81/2021/ND-CP (amended by point a, b, clause 3, Article 1 of Decree 97/2023/ND-CP);

+ Public higher education institutions self-sustaining recurrent and investment expenditures, public higher education institutions self-sustaining recurrent expenditures determine the tuition fee for each sector according to an adjustment coefficient compared to the tuition ceiling set for institutions not yet self-sustaining recurrent expenditures as per clause 2, Article 11 of Decree 81/2021/ND-CP (amended by point a, b, clause 3, Article 1 of Decree 97/2023/ND-CP);

+ For training programs of public higher education institutions achieving quality standards for training programs as set by the Ministry of Education and Training or achieving quality standards for training programs according to foreign standards or equivalent, the higher education institution is entitled to determine the tuition fee on the basis of cost norms issued by the education institution, publicly explaining to learners and society.

- For non-public educational institutions, the principles for determining tuition are as follows:

+ Non-public educational institutions are entitled to independently set tuition and prices for other services in the field of education and training (excluding government-priced services) to ensure cost recovery and reasonable accumulation, being responsible for publicly explaining to learners and society about tuition and prices for other services they decide;

+ Non-public educational institutions are responsible for explaining the average education and training cost per student, the annual tuition fee, the total tuition fee for the entire educational level for preschools and general education, and the entire course for higher education institutions;

Explaining the roadmap and rate of tuition fee increase for subsequent years (annual increase rate not exceeding 15% for higher education; not exceeding 10% for preschools and general education) and publicly announcing as per legal regulations and explaining to learners and society;

+ Students eligible for tuition exemption, reduction, or support in non-public educational institutions will have the maximum amount covered by the state equivalent to the tuition fee for students in public educational institutions not yet self-sustaining recurrent expenditures in the locality;

+ Provincial People’s Committees, based on the local socio-economic development conditions, requirements of primary education programs, student population at primary level, and student/class ratio norms at primary level as per regulations, will develop criteria to determine areas without sufficient public schools for approval by the Provincial People’s Council and decide the tuition support amount for primary students in non-public schools in insufficient public school areas for each academic year;

The tuition support funding will be provided from the state budget as stipulated in the 2015 State Budget Law and related guiding documents.

What are regulations on the management and use of tuition in Vietnam?

According to Article 13 of Decree 81/2021/ND-CP, the management and use of tuition are regulated as follows:

- Public educational institutions use tuition according to regulations by the Government of Vietnam on the financial autonomy mechanism of public service providers and aggregate it into the annual financial report of the educational institution as per legal provisions.

- People-found educational institutions use tuition on the principles of self-sustainability in revenue and expenditure and are responsible for financial management regarding their operations. They organize accounting work, pay taxes, and fulfill other financial obligations as per legal provisions.

- Educational institutions manage tuition revenue and expenditure according to accounting, auditing, and tax policies, and publicly disclose financial information as per legal requirements; comply with inspection and examination requirements from financial authorities and competent educational management agencies, and be accountable before the law for the accuracy and truthfulness of the provided information and documents.

- Before admissions or enrollment, educational institutions must disclose publicly the tuition, training costs for each academic year, level of education for preschools and general education, the tuition increase roadmap (if any) for each academic year, and the projected total tuition fee for the entire course for higher education.

- Educational institutions are responsible for publicly explaining training costs, tuition, and the tuition increase roadmap for each academic year, level of education, course; publicly disclosing quality assurance conditions as per regulations; publicly disclosing tuition exemption, reduction policies, and tuition in case of natural disasters, epidemics, or force majeure events.