The Ho Chi Minh City People's Council approved regulations on 24/7 for service fees and collection methods, along with management mechanisms for income and expenditures related to services supporting school operations.
Fee levels are divided into two groups. Group 1 covers students in schools located in wards. Group 2 covers those in communes and special zones. Following the merger with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City now has 113 wards, 54 communes, and the Con Dao special zone.
The maximum fee between the two groups typically differs by 1,000-50,000 VND, depending on the grade level. For example, the daycare service, management, and sanitation fee for group 1 is 250,000-550,000 VND per month. This fee is 230,000-500,000 VND for group 2. After-school care for preschool children is 120,000 VND for group 1 and 110,000 VND for group 2. The student transportation fee is a flat rate of 8,000 VND per kilometer per student.
These fees remain unchanged from before the merger.
The People's Council's regulations stipulate maximum allowable fees. Schools can negotiate specific fees with parents based on actual conditions and student needs, but these cannot exceed the prescribed limits or increase by more than 15% compared to the previous school year.
Schools must develop itemized revenue and expenditure estimates for each fee. The principle is to collect enough to cover expenses while aligning with actual needs, and these must be submitted to competent authorities for approval. All collected fees must be used for their intended purpose, transparently disclosed to parents before implementation, and in accordance with financial regulations.
Starting next school year, public preschool and K-12 students nationwide will have tuition fees waived, as per the National Assembly's resolution in June. After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City's education system has grown to over 2.5 million preschool and K-12 students, the largest in the country.
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Students and teachers at Dinh Tien Hoang Primary School, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quynh Tran |
Students and teachers at Dinh Tien Hoang Primary School, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quynh Tran
Le Tuyet