VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) says that tertiary education quality is low partially because of the low tuition. The problem will be settled when universities are given autonomy and have the right to set tuition levels at their schools.

Vietnam spends $3 billion a year on overseas study

MOET Minister Phung Xuan Nha said on June 6 at the ongoing National Assembly’s session that the average tuition in Vietnam is $630, while the figures are $19,000 in the US and $3,500 in China. He emphasized that with low tuition, one cannot expect high training quality.

Vietnamese spend $3-4 billion a year on overseas study as estimated by unofficial statistics.

MOET believes that it is necessary to give autonomy to universities and let them determine tuition based on their training quality.

Under the draft law on higher education, the Government will no longer set the ceiling tuition, while universities themselves will set tuition.

Some people warn that tuition will be escalating, thus making higher education inaccessible to poor students.

On education forums, some parents have expressed concern about the possible tuition increases, saying that the policy may prevent talented people from obtaining higher education. 

Private schools now find it difficult to enroll students partially because the tuition they collect are higher than that of state-owned schools.

Universities, including state-owned ones, all want to have the right to determine tuition. 

On education forums, some parents have expressed concern about the possible tuition increases, saying that the policy may prevent talented people from obtaining higher education.

“If a bowl of pho (a Vietnamese traditional dish) is worth VND50,000, you can’t sell at VND200,000 because no one will buy it. If you sell at VND10,000, you will take a loss,” said Nguyen Duc Hinh, rector of Hanoi Medical University, implying that education service needs to be provided at reasonable prices to ensure service quality and profit.

Hinh went on to say that no school will dare raise tuition to high levels if they don’t want to lose students.

According to Pham Thi Bich Nguyet, vuce rector of HCMC Economics University, which has had autonomy for years, the highest tuition level of the school is VND17.5 million a year. The amount of money is not high enough to cover training expenses. However, the school cannot collect more because Decree 86 sets a ceiling tuition level.

The decree stipulates that the ceiling tuition for tertiary education is VND11.5-16 million in the 2015-2016 academic year. The tuition is higher for some majors.

Nguyet also advocates the idea of allowing universities to set tuition, saying that schools won’t be ‘foolish’ enough to kill themselves by setting high tuition.

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