ID :
22990
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 09:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/22990
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School tuition fee system revamped
Hanoi (VNA) - A new system of tuition fees for tertiary and high school education targeted better teaching standards, said director of the Education and Training Ministry's Department of Planning and Finance Nguyen Van Ngu.
Ngu said the ministry's new system, set to come into practice in the
second term of the school-year (2008-09) or the next school-year, would
raise fees from the current average of 180,000 VND per month. Fees would be
set according to the subject taught, with the highest predicted to be for
medical and pharmaceutical universities.
High school fees are also predicted to rise but exact figures are yet to
be released. The plan has been approved by the Government and is now
awaiting a decision from the Politburo, the director said.
According to the project, tuition fees will fall into seven categories:
natural science and society (16 schools); economy-finance and banking (140
schools); technology (77); teacher training (60); medicine and pharmaceutics
(37); agriculture-forestry and fishing (13); and arts and sports (26).
While State institutions have been applying fee rates according to
Decision 70 since 1998, non-State universities have set higher fee rates.
The current minimum fee rate at Ho Chi Minh City Technology Private
University is 4 million VND per term. This rose from 3.25 million VND two
years ago. The maximum fee rate at Hong Bang Private University in
HCM City includes two specialities: medical technology (14 million VND
per year) and treatment-convalescence (12 million VND).
To help poorer people afford an education, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen
Thien Nhan said money from the State budget would be used to subsidise some
specialized training and affordable fees would be set for long-term training
programmes.
A ministry official said the ministry planned to mobilise funds from
social organisations to set up international-standard training programmes in
the near future.
Students at public universities are also feeling the pinch as their
tuitions are going up by 30 percent to make up for deficits, according to
several university deans.
An annual subsidy of 12 billion VND (750,000 USD) from the State only
makes up 4 percent of the total fees, according Dr Ta Xuan Te, dean of the
HCM City University of Industry.
"This year, we've raised tuition fees by 30 percent, from 1.3 million VND
(81.25 USD) per semester", Te said. However, the school still has to sponsor
each student with 2-4 million VND (125-250 USD) per year from its own
coffers.
The HCM City University of Pedagogy and the University of Social Sciences
and Humanities (USSH) also raised tuition, from 1.8 million VND (112 USD) to
2.2 million VND (137.5 USD) per year.
Dr Le Khac Cuong, training manager of USSH, said that universities and
colleges are required to ensure educators are adequately trained, even when
faced with investment and budget shortages.
Increased fees will also help balance the supply and demand for human
resources, as skilled workers are hard to find and new graduates are often
jobless, he said.-Enditem
Ngu said the ministry's new system, set to come into practice in the
second term of the school-year (2008-09) or the next school-year, would
raise fees from the current average of 180,000 VND per month. Fees would be
set according to the subject taught, with the highest predicted to be for
medical and pharmaceutical universities.
High school fees are also predicted to rise but exact figures are yet to
be released. The plan has been approved by the Government and is now
awaiting a decision from the Politburo, the director said.
According to the project, tuition fees will fall into seven categories:
natural science and society (16 schools); economy-finance and banking (140
schools); technology (77); teacher training (60); medicine and pharmaceutics
(37); agriculture-forestry and fishing (13); and arts and sports (26).
While State institutions have been applying fee rates according to
Decision 70 since 1998, non-State universities have set higher fee rates.
The current minimum fee rate at Ho Chi Minh City Technology Private
University is 4 million VND per term. This rose from 3.25 million VND two
years ago. The maximum fee rate at Hong Bang Private University in
HCM City includes two specialities: medical technology (14 million VND
per year) and treatment-convalescence (12 million VND).
To help poorer people afford an education, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen
Thien Nhan said money from the State budget would be used to subsidise some
specialized training and affordable fees would be set for long-term training
programmes.
A ministry official said the ministry planned to mobilise funds from
social organisations to set up international-standard training programmes in
the near future.
Students at public universities are also feeling the pinch as their
tuitions are going up by 30 percent to make up for deficits, according to
several university deans.
An annual subsidy of 12 billion VND (750,000 USD) from the State only
makes up 4 percent of the total fees, according Dr Ta Xuan Te, dean of the
HCM City University of Industry.
"This year, we've raised tuition fees by 30 percent, from 1.3 million VND
(81.25 USD) per semester", Te said. However, the school still has to sponsor
each student with 2-4 million VND (125-250 USD) per year from its own
coffers.
The HCM City University of Pedagogy and the University of Social Sciences
and Humanities (USSH) also raised tuition, from 1.8 million VND (112 USD) to
2.2 million VND (137.5 USD) per year.
Dr Le Khac Cuong, training manager of USSH, said that universities and
colleges are required to ensure educators are adequately trained, even when
faced with investment and budget shortages.
Increased fees will also help balance the supply and demand for human
resources, as skilled workers are hard to find and new graduates are often
jobless, he said.-Enditem
