On February 28, the Politburo decided to waive all tuition fees for students from kindergarten to high school in the public school system nationwide. This policy will take effect from the beginning of the 2025-2026 academic year.
The decision was made after the Politburo reviewed the government's report on financial balance capabilities during and after the streamlining of the political system's organisational structure at the Poliburo's meeting on February 28 evaluating the initial results of the implementation of the Party Central Committee's Resolution No. 18. The resolution focuses on continuing to reform, restructure, and streamline the political system for more effective and efficient operations.
The Politburo has assigned the Government’s Party Committee to direct the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Finance, relevant ministries, sectors and local authorities to strictly implement this decision.
The Ministry of Education and Training noted that the Government has issued regulations to waive students' tuition fees. According to current regulations, starting from September 1, 2025, tuition fees will be waived for all public school students from preschool at age five to secondary school (through grade nine).
The Government has also stipulated policies to reduce tuition fees by 50% to 70% and support learning costs for disadvantaged students, including poor students, students with difficult circumstances, students from families of policy beneficiaries, and ethnic minority students (attending public and private schools).
In addition to those currently benefiting from the above regulations, the Ministry of Education and Training proposed and was agreed upon by the Politburo to extend tuition waivers to preschool students from three to four years old and high school students.
Accordingly, all preschool, primary, secondary, and high school students in public schools will be entitled to a tuition waiver.
Students in private schools will receive compensation equivalent to the tuition fees of public schools as stipulated by law. The difference in tuition fees between public and private schools will be covered by the students' families.
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| Outdoor activities of students at Ham Yen District Boarding Secondary and High School for Ethnic Minorities, Tuyen Quang Province. (Photo:Thanh Tung) |
Statistics show that Vietnam has 23.2 million students (excluding those studying at vocational training centres and continuing education institutions). They include 3.1 million preschool children under five years old, 1.7 million five-year-old preschoolers, 8.9 million primary school students, 6.5 million secondary students, 3 million high school students.
Based on the minimum tuition fees stipulated in Decree No. 81/2021/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 97/2023/NĐ-CP of the Government, the Ministry of Education and Training estimates that the state budget needs to cover approximately 30 trillion VND to waive tuition fees for all public school students nationwide.
According to this estimate, if the local budgets of provinces/cities that have already implemented tuition waivers are deducted, the state budget will cover less than this amount.
Assessing the expected impact of the policy once it takes effect, the Ministry of Education and Training stated that tuition fees affect most families and are a social issue of concern at the start of each new school year.
Expanding the scope of tuition waivers will impact the state budget balance. Additionally, waiving tuition fees for high school students (grades 10-12) may affect the orientation of student streaming after graduating secondary school in choosing to attend high school or vocational training.
However, the policy to waive tuition fees for all public school students nationwide will significantly contribute to improving education quality. This policy has received high social consensus and aligns with the Party and State’s policies regarding education as well as the popular trend in developed countries.
