DECREE

ON REDUCTION AND EXEMPTION OF TUITION FEES, SUPPORT FOR LEARNING COST, COLLECTION AND USE OF TUITION APPLICABLE TO EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS BELONGING TO NATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM FROM SCHOOL YEAR 2010 – 2011 TO 2014 - 2015

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Government organization dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to the Law on Education dated June 14, 2005;

Pursuant to the Law on Enterprises dated November 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Resolution No. 35/2009/QH12 of the 12^th National Assembly in the 5^th meeting on policies on changes in financial mechanism for education and training from the school year 2010 – 2011 to 2014 – 2015;

At the request of the Minister of Education and Training,

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Chapter 1.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Subjects and scope of regulation

This Decree deals with the reduction and exemption of tuition fees, support for learning cost, collection and use of tuition applicable to educational institutions belonging to national education system from school year 2010 – 2011 to 2014 – 2015, including:

1. The educational institutions belonging to the national education system;

2. Other educational institutions specified in Article 69 of the Law on Education.

Article 2. Tuition

Tuition fee is the money paid by learners or their families to defray the cost of educational activities.

Chapter 2.

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Article 3. Subjects exempted from tuition fees

The subjects exempted from tuition fees in public educational institutions include: elementary students, students that major in pedagogy, and students of training courses in teaching methods.

Article 4. Subjects eligible for exemption of tuition fees

1. Contributors to revolution and their relatives according to the Ordinance on Incentives for contributors to revolution No. 26/2005/PL-UBTVQH11 dated June 29, 2005.

2. Preschool students and students whose parents reside in bordering areas, highlands, islands, and areas facing extreme socio-economic difficulties.

3. Preschool students, parentless and homeless students, or students whose parents are disabled and facing financial difficulties.

4. Abandoned children; children whose father or mother is dead and the other parent is missing according to Article 78 of the Civil Code, or not competent of raising them according to law; children whose parents are in jail with no custodians.

Minors from 16 years of age to under 18 years of age that are in the same situation mentioned above and receive compulsory education or vocational education.

5. Preschool students and secondary school students whose parents are poor according to the State’s regulations.

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7. Nominated students (including students in boarding vocational institutions with at least 03 months of training).

8. Students of ethnic minority boarding secondary schools, university-preparatory schools or courses.

9. Ethnic students at institutions of vocational education and higher education that are members of poor households or households of which income is 150% of income of a poor household.

Article 5. Subjects eligible for tuition fee reduction

1. The subjects eligible for 70% reduction of tuition fees: students that major in traditional music, dancing, circus, and some strenuous or toxic professions.

2. The subjects eligible for 50% reduction of tuition fee:

a) Preschool students and students that are children of officials that suffer from occupational accidents or occupational illness and live on welfare;

b) Preschool students and secondary school students whose parents are members of households of which highest income is 150% of a poor household;

c) Students that graduate from middle schools and attend vocational schools.

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1. Preschool students and secondary school students whose parents reside in bordering areas, highlands, islands, and areas facing extreme socio-economic difficulties.

2. Preschool students and secondary school students that are orphans and homeless or disabled and facing financial difficulties.

3. Preschool students and secondary school students whose parents are members of poor households, according to the State’s regulations, that do not reside in the areas in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 7. The mechanism for tuition reduction, tuition exemption, and support for learning cost

1. Tuition fees shall be exempted or reduced throughout the learning duration, unless the reasons for such exemption or reduction are changed.

2. The State shall subsidize the tuition fees of public preschools and secondary schools, where the subjects eligible for reduction and exemption of tuition fees attend, according to the number of students and the tuition level. The subsidies on tuition fees (according to the rates of local public schools) shall be provided for children of contributors to the country, beneficiaries of social policies that attend non-public preschools and secondary schools. Directly provide subsidies on tuition fees for the subjects eligible for tuition fee exemption and reduction at institutions of public vocational education and higher education for them to pay their school fees.

3. The State shall provide support for learning cost directly for the subjects mentioned in Article 6 of this Decree (70,000 VND per month) to buy books and other items. The support duration depends on the actual duration and shall not exceed 9 months in every school year.

Article 8. Temporary exemption of tuition fees

1. Upon the occurrence of a natural disaster, the provincial People’s Committees shall consider deciding to not collecting tuition fees from preschool students and secondary school students in the area that suffer from the disaster for a certain period of time, depending on the scale of damage.

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Article 9. Budget

The budget for implementing Article 7 and Article 8 of this Decree shall be provided by the State budget according to the Law on State budget.

Chapter 3.

TUITION FEES

Article 10. Principles of determining tuition fees

1. For public secondary schools and preschools: the tuition fees must be suitable for the economic conditions of each residential areas and the capacity of people. From 2010 – 2011 to 2014 – 2015, tuition fees and learning cost shall not exceed 5% of the average income of households in each area.

2. For public institutions of vocational education and higher education: the tuition fee is to share the burden of training cost of the State with students.

3. Public educational institutions that provide high-quality programs may collect tuition fees at corresponding levels to defray the training cost.

4. Non-public educational institution may decide the levels of tuition fees themselves. Educational institutions shall announce the tuition fee for each school year (applicable to preschool education and compulsory education), or the tuition fee for each school year and the planned tuition fee for the whole course (applicable to vocational education and higher education); the educational institutions belonging to the national education system shall also comply with the Regulation on openness promulgated by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

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1. The brackets of tuition fees for public secondary schools and preschools that provide common programs in the school year 2010 – 2011 below are determined based on the principles in Clause 1 Article 10 of this Decree and the average income of households nationwide:

Area

School year 2010 - 2011

1. Urban

40,000 VND – 200,000 VND/month/student

2. Rural

20,000 VND – 80,000 VND/month/student

3. Highland

5,000 VND – 40,000 VND/month/student

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3. According to the Government’s brackets of tuition fees in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, provincial People’s Councils shall specify annual tuition fees to suit their local conditions.

4. Tuition fees for high-quality programs.

Public secondary schools and preschools that provide high-quality programs shall decide the tuition fees themselves to defray the training cost, request the permission from provincial People’s Committees, and comply with the Regulation on openness promulgated by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Article 12. The tuition fees for vocational education and higher education

1. The highest tuition fees for each group of majors at public institutions of higher education that provide common programs from the school year 2010 – 2011 to 2014 – 1015:

Unit: 1,000 VND/month/student

Group of majors

2010 - 2011

2011 - 2012

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2013 - 2014

2014 - 2015

1. Social sciences, economics, law; agriculture, fisheries, forestry

290

355

420

485

550

2. Natural sciences; technology; sports, arts; hotel management, tourism

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395

480

565

650

3. Medicine and pharmacy

340

455

570

685

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2. The coefficient of highest tuition fees for vocational high school, colleges, master’s and doctoral training from the school year 2010 – 2011 to 2014 – 2015 are provided below:

Level

Coefficient in comparison to higher education

1. Vocational high school

0.7

2. College

0.8

3. Higher education

1

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1.5

5. Doctoral training

2.5

3. The highest tuition fees for trade schools (TS) and vocational colleges (VC) are provided below:

Unit: 1,000 VND/month/student

Profession

2010

2011

2012

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2014

TS

VC

TS

VC

TS

VC

TS

VC

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VC

1. Journalism and information; law

200

220

210

230

230

250

240

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250

280

2. Mathematics and make statistics

210

230

220

240

240

260

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270

270

290

3. Social and behavioral sciences; business and management, social services

220

240

230

250

250

...

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260

290

280

300

4. Agriculture, forestry, fisheries

250

290

270

310

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330

300

350

310

360

5. Hotel management, tourism, sports, and personal services

280

300

300

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310

340

330

360

350

380

6. Arts

310

340

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360

350

390

370

410

400

430

7. Health

320

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340

370

360

390

380

420

400

440

8. Veterinary medicine

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370

360

400

390

420

410

440

430

470

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350

380

370

410

390

430

420

460

440

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10. National defense and security

380

410

400

440

430

460

450

490

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520

11. Computers and information technology; technology

400

440

430

470

450

500

480

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510

560

12. Pedagogy; environment and environment protection

410

450

440

480

460

510

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540

520

570

13. Natural sciences

420

460

450

490

480

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500

550

530

580

14. Miscellaneous

430

470

460

500

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540

520

570

550

600

15. Transport

480

530

510

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540

600

570

630

600

670

4. Tuition fee for primary vocational training and regular vocational training shall be discussed with learners.

5. The tuition fees of public institutions of higher education and vocational education that provide common programs: according to the highest tuition fee of each school year, the characteristics and requirements of the majors, the training methods, and personal circumstances of students, Directors and Principals of universities and educational institutions under the management of central agencies shall specify the tuition fees applicable to each subject and each program.

6. Tuition fee for institutions of vocational education and higher education of state-owned enterprises: according to the training cost, educational institutions shall decide the tuition fees themselves in order to defray the training cost, and request the permission of the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs. The tuition fees for each school year and for the whole course must be announced before the enrolment.

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8. Tuition fees for credit-based training: the price of one credit shall be determined based on the total tuition fee of the whole course of the group of major. The credit price is calculated as follows:

Credit price

=

Fee for the whole course

Number of credits in the whole course

The fee for the whole course = the fee on 1 student per month x 10 months x number of school years.

9. Tuition fees for high-quality programs and training provided for foreigners

a) Tuition fees for high-quality training programs

Public institutions of vocational education and higher education that provide high-quality programs shall decide tuition fees at a reasonable level to defray the training cost, request the permission of the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and announce the tuition fees before the enrolment.

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Chapter 4.

COLLECTION AND USE OF TUITION FEES

Article 13. Collection of tuition fees

1. Tuition fees shall be collected monthly; tuition fees for the whole course or semester may be paid in a lump sum on a voluntary basis. Tuition fees for preschool education, continuing education, vocational education, and short training courses shall be collected based on the actual months of learning. Secondary schools may collect tuition fees for 9 months every year. Institutions of vocational education and higher education may collect tuition fees for 10 months every year. When providing credit-based programs, the educational institution may collect tuition fees at credit prices, but the total amount collected in a course must not exceed the tuition fee for the whole course.

2. Educational institutions shall collect tuition fees and pay to State Treasuries. Receipts of tuition fees shall comply with regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

Article 14. Use of tuition fees

1. Public educational institutions shall use tuition fees in accordance with the Government’s regulation on autonomy and responsibility for task performance, organizational structure, payroll, and finance of public service providers.

2. Non-public educational institutions shall use tuition fees in accordance with the Government’s regulations on encouraging private sector involvement in activities relating to education, vocational training, health, culture, sports, and environment.

Article 15. Management of tuition fees and reporting regime

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2. All educational institutions are responsible for doing bookkeeping and making statistics of tuition fees in accordance with law; facilitate the inspections carried out by financial authorities and education management authorities, and take responsibility before law for the accuracy and truthfulness of the information and documents provided.

3. The receipts and expenditures of tuition fees of public educational institutions shall be included in annual financial statements of the State.

Chapter 5.

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 16. Effect

This Decree takes effect on July 01, 2010. The previous regulations on tuition reduction and exemption, support for learning cost, collection and use of tuition applicable to educational institutions belonging to national education system that are at odds with this Decree are annulled. Clause 3 Article 7 of this Decree comes into force from January 01, 2011; the support for the preschool students and secondary school students eligible for support from the State budget, which is specified in the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 112/2007/QD-TTg dated July 20, 2007 on incentives for services, improvement of people’s lives, legal assistance to raise awareness of law which belong to Program 135 Phase II, and the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 101/2009/QD-TTg dated August 05, 2009 on investment limits on some projects that belong to the Program for socio-economic development at disadvantaged areas, ethnic areas, and highlands during 2006 – 2010, and amendments to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 112/2007/QD-TTg, is still applicable until the end of May 2011. The support specified in this Decree shall come into force from June 2011.

Article 17. Responsibility for the implementation

1. The Minister of Education and Training, the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, within their area of competence, shall cooperate with Ministries and agencies concerned in providing guidance and organizing the implementation of this Decree.

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial agencies, Heads of Governmental agencies, the Presidents of People’s Committees of central-affiliated cities and provinces are responsible for the implementation of this Decree.

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FOR THE GOVERNMENT
THE PRIME MINISTER




Nguyen Tan Dung