JOINT CIRCULAR No. 21/2010/TTLT/BTC-BGDĐT ON THE REGIME OF COLLECTION AND USE OF FEES FOR ENTRANCE EXAMINATION AND SELECTION (ENROLLMENT FEES) FOR UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE, AND VOCATIONAL COLLEGE PROGRAMS

JOINT CIRCULAR

Regulations on the collection and use of examination fees and admission fees (enrollment fees) for universities, colleges, and vocational secondary schools

高等教育和中等专业教育

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Pursuant to the Education Law, the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Education Law, Decree No. 75/2006/NĐ-CP dated August 2, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Education Law;
Pursuant to the Fees and Stamp Duties Ordinance, Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Fees and Stamp Duties Ordinance, and Decree No. 24/2006/NĐ-CP dated March 6, 2006 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Fees and Stamp Duties Ordinance;
Pursuant to Decree No. 178/2007/NĐ-CP dated December 3, 2007 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of ministries and ministerial-level agencies;
Pursuant to Decree No. 32/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 19, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;
Pursuant to Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education and Training jointly issue regulations on the collection and use of examination fees and admission fees (enrollment fees) for universities and vocational secondary schools as follows:

1. Scope of application: This Circular stipulates the regulations on the collection and use of examination fees and admission fees (enrollment fees) for universities and vocational secondary schools, including the objects subject to fee collection, the level of fees, and the distribution, management, and use of collected funds.

2. Applicable subjects: Candidates who actually register for entrance examinations for vocational secondary school, college, university, and postgraduate education at educational institutions under the national education system that must organize entrance examinations and admissions according to regulations.

II. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. Examination fees and admission fees (enrollment fees) for universities and vocational secondary schools are amounts paid by candidates participating in entrance examinations for vocational secondary school, college, university, and postgraduate education at educational institutions under the national education system that must organize entrance examinations and admissions to ensure activities related to the admission process of relevant agencies and units directly involved in the admission process.

2. Departments, localities, and educational institutions under the national education system shall not independently establish and collect examination fees and admission fees for universities and vocational secondary schools contrary to the provisions of this Circular.

3. Examination fees and admission fees for universities and vocational secondary schools shall be collected at the prescribed levels, used for their intended purposes, and managed with frugality according to current financial regulations.

4. Examination fees and admission fees for universities and vocational secondary schools include fees for registration, examination, preliminary selection, admission, and entrance examinations.

III. OBJECTS SUBJECT TO FEE COLLECTION AND LEVEL OF FEES

1. Objects required to pay examination fees and admission fees (enrollment fees) for universities and vocational secondary schools as stipulated in Clause 2, Section III of this Circular include:

a) Candidates registering for and participating in entrance examinations for higher education institutions at the university, college, and vocational secondary school levels.

b) Candidates registering for and participating in entrance examinations for postgraduate education.

c) Candidates registering for admission to study abroad funded by the state budget.

a) Entrance examinations for universities, colleges, and vocational secondary schools:

a.1) Candidates eligible for direct admission or direct enrollment into universities and colleges: 15,000 (fifteen thousand) VND per application form. For candidates eligible for direct enrollment into vocational secondary schools and direct admission into vocational secondary school programs without entrance examinations: 30,000 (thirty thousand) VND per application form (not applicable to vocational secondary school programs with entrance examinations).

a.2) Candidates registering for and participating in entrance examinations, preliminary selections, and examinations for universities, colleges, and vocational secondary schools (for institutions conducting entrance examinations):

- Registration for examination: 50,000 (fifty thousand) VND per application form.

b) Postgraduate admissions:

+ Preliminary selection for artistic and sports majors: 100,000 (one hundred thousand) VND per application form (including all subjects).

+ Preliminary selection for other majors: 40,000 (forty thousand) VND per application form (including all subjects).

- Doctoral candidate selection: 200,000 (two hundred thousand) VND/candidate.

+ Examination for cultural subjects: 30,000 (thirty thousand) VND per application form (including all subjects).

+ Examination for artistic and sports subjects: 200,000 (two hundred thousand) VND per application form (including all subjects).

b) Entrance examinations for postgraduate education:

- Registration for examination: 50,000 (fifty thousand) VND per candidate per application form.

- Postgraduate examination: 100,000 (one hundred thousand) VND per candidate per subject.

+ 8,000 (eight thousand) VND/application for applications for university and college examinations.

+ 4,000 (four thousand) VND/application for applications for vocational college admissions.

- Registration for admission: 200,000 (two hundred thousand) VND per candidate per application form.

3. Examination fees and admission fees (enrollment fees) for universities and vocational secondary schools shall be collected in Vietnamese Dong. Examination fees shall be submitted together with examination registration fees to the educational institution where the candidate registers for the examination; admission fees shall be submitted together with the admission application form to the educational institution where the candidate registers for admission; for educational institutions that conduct preliminary selections before the formal examination, candidates only need to pay examination fees after passing the preliminary selection round.

IV. DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, AND USE OF COLLECTED FEES

1. Distribution of examination fees and admission fees for universities and vocational secondary schools:

- A portion shall be remitted to the Ministry of Education and Training to supplement funds for the implementation of admission work and other related work of the Ministry as follows:

+ 6,000 (six thousand) VND per application form for applications for university, college, and vocational secondary school examinations (for vocational secondary school training programs with entrance examinations).

+ 4,000 (four thousand) VND per application form for applications for admission to vocational secondary schools (for vocational secondary school training programs without entrance examinations).

1. This circular takes effect from April 25, 2013, and applies to recruitment periods starting from 2013.

+ VND 7,000 (seven thousand Vietnamese dong) per application for university, college, and vocational college entrance examination registration (for vocational college training programs that organize examinations for admission).

+ VND 6,500 (six thousand five hundred Vietnamese dong) per application for vocational college admission examination registration (for vocational college training programs that do not organize examinations for admission).

- The remaining registration fee collected shall be transferred to the educational institution where the examinee registered for the examination.

- After allocating funds for recruitment activities at the educational institution, if the remaining amount from the examination fees (admission fees) has not been fully utilized, it shall be remitted to the state budget in accordance with the provisions of the law.

- A portion shall be remitted to the Ministry of Education and Training to supplement funds for the implementation of admission work and other related work of the Ministry as follows:

+ 6,000 (six thousand) VND per application form for applications for university, college, and vocational secondary school examinations (for vocational secondary school training programs with entrance examinations).

+ 4,000 (four thousand) VND per application form for applications for admission to vocational secondary schools (for vocational secondary school training programs without entrance examinations).

- The remaining amount shall be allocated for recruitment activities at the educational institution.

- After allocating funds for recruitment activities at the educational institution, if the remaining amount from the examination fees (admission fees) has not been fully utilized, it shall be remitted to the state budget in accordance with the provisions of the law.

c) The entire amount of the examination fee for postgraduate education and overseas education funded by the state budget, directly collected and expended by the organizing agency, unit, or educational institution, shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. Use of Examination Registration Fee Income for University and Vocational College Admission:

Agencies and units directly involved in the admission process may use the admission fee income allocated according to Clause 1, Section IV of this Circular to cover expenses for admission activities as follows:

a) Organizing candidates to register for the examination and serving preparatory work for the examination, including:

- Expenses for implementing admission activities from the Ministry down to the Department and educational institutions;

- Expenses for meetings, training staff, inspections, and audits;

- Expenses for receiving and processing registration applications;

- Expenses for entering and processing data on computers;

- Expenses for preparing, printing, and securing examination questions;

- Expenses for renting examination rooms, transportation, medical care, drinking water, security, and office supplies;

- Expenses for printing examination notices and room lists;

- Expenses for public relations on mass media (including the Internet);

- Expenses for purchasing scratch paper, examination paper, and fee receipts;

- Other expenses directly related to organizing admission work.

b) Serving the examination process, including:

- Expenses for examination supervision;

- Expenses for grading, rechecking, and reviewing grades;

- Expenses for preliminary screening, assessment, and summoning successful candidates;

- Expenses for printing scores and certificates of examination results;

- Expenses for checking the results of successful candidates;

- Expenses for reviewing research and internship proposals;

- Expenses for public relations on mass media (including the Internet);

- Expenses for purchasing fee receipts and office supplies;

- Other expenses directly related to the examination and admission process.

The expenditure standards for the items specified in Clause 2, Section IV of this Circular shall be determined by the Ministry of Education and Training after obtaining written consensus from the Ministry of Finance.

3. Management of Examination Registration Fee Income for University and Vocational College Admission:

Agencies and units directly involved in admission work shall be responsible for:

a) Publicly display the examination registration fee rates for university and vocational college admission at the collection location and collect fees strictly in accordance with the rates stipulated in Clause 2, Section III of this Circular. When collecting examination registration fees for university and vocational college admission, a receipt must be issued to the payer in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance. Receipts should be obtained from the local Tax Office where the entity is headquartered (or self-printed receipts after reaching agreement with the Provincial Tax Bureau) and managed and used in accordance with the receipt management regulations for fees and charges set forth by the Ministry of Finance.

b) Agencies and units collecting fees must deposit all collected examination registration fees for university and vocational college admission into their temporary holding account "fees and charges" at the State Treasury within ten days.

c) Maintain accounting records and vouchers to track the collection and management of examination registration fees for university and vocational college admission in accordance with the Accounting System for Administrative and Public Institutions issued together with Decision No. 19/2006/QD-BTC dated March 30, 2006 of the Minister of Finance (for public educational institutions) and Circular No. 140/2007/TT-BTC dated November 30, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance (for non-public educational institutions). Recording of revenue and expenditure from the state budget for examination fees of public educational institutions shall be conducted when the unit is assigned an annual budget revenue and expenditure plan regarding examination fees.

d) Each year, a budget for the collection and expenditure of examination fees for university and vocational college admission must be prepared simultaneously with the financial budget. The preparation and implementation of the budget, as well as the management and expenditure of collected fees, must comply with current financial regulations and be consolidated into periodic financial reports of the agency or unit according to the budget management hierarchy, ensuring transparency and democratic principles in financial management.

đ) Balance the sources of income to cover expenses for organizing university and vocational college admission. In cases where income is insufficient to cover expenses, educational institutions may use existing funds of the unit to cover admission expenses; for institutions tasked with recruiting students for overseas study funded by the state budget, supplementary funding will be provided by the state budget.

The excess examination fees for university and vocational college admission (if any) shall be supplemented to the operating budget of the unit.

V. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular shall take effect 45 days from the date of signature. The Joint Circular No. 28/2003/TTLT/BTC-BGD&ĐT dated April 4, 2003, issued by the Joint Office of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education and Training on the collection and use of examination fees (admission fees) for educational institutions under the national education system, the Joint Circular No. 71/2004/TTLT/BTC-BGD&ĐT dated July 14, 2004, and the Joint Circular No. 69/2005/TTLT/BTC-BGD&ĐT dated August 29, 2005, amending and supplementing the Joint Circular No. 28/2003/TTLT/BTC-BGD&ĐT dated April 4, 2003, issued by the Joint Office of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education and Training on the collection and use of examination fees (admission fees) for educational institutions under the national education system, are hereby repealed.

In the course of implementation, if there are any difficulties, it is requested that agencies, units, and individuals report them to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education and Training for study and resolution.