France will strictly enforce new tuition fee regulations for students from outside the European Union (EU), Minister of Education Philippe Baptiste affirmed in an interview with Le Parisien on the evening of 20/4.

Under the new regulations, each university can grant tuition fee exemptions to a maximum of 10% of its total non-EU students, with priority given to exchange cooperation programs. The remaining students will be required to pay 2,895 euro (78 million dong) annually for bachelor's programs, a significant increase from the current 178 euro. For master's programs, fees will rise from 254 euro to 3,941 euro (107 million dong).

High-achieving students will have opportunities to receive scholarships, with 60% specifically allocated to strategic fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital technology, quantum physics, and biotechnology.

This policy is part of a new initiative called "Choose France For Higher Education". While these new tuition rates were initially introduced in 2019, only about 10% of international students have paid the correct amount until now.

Students at Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University, France. Photo: University Fanpage

Despite the substantial increase, Baptiste stated that these fees still only cover approximately 30% of the actual training costs. Consequently, tuition fees in France remain considerably lower compared to those in the United States or the United Kingdom.

The implementation will follow a gradual roadmap and will not apply to students currently enrolled. It is projected that within the next two to three years, this new policy could generate approximately 250 million euro annually for universities.

Baptiste also pledged to simplify administrative procedures to facilitate conditions for foreign students arriving in France.

For the academic year 2024-2025, France hosts around 444,000 international students, with approximately 5,000 from Vietnam. The basic living expenses for international students, covering housing, utilities, transportation, phone bills, and food, are estimated at 7,000 euro per year (approximately 216 million dong).

Khanh Linh (According to La Montagne, AEF info)