Joint Circular No. 54/1998/TTLT-GD&DT-TC guides the implementation of tuition fee collection, expenditure, and management at public educational and training institutions within the national education system.

 JOINT CIRCULAR

JOINT CIRCULAR NO. 54/1998/TTLT-BGDĐT-TC OF THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING AND THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE ON AUGUST 31, 1998 GUIDING THE COLLECTION, EXPENDITURE, AND MANAGEMENT OF TUITION FEES AT PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE NATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM IMPLEMENTING Decision No. 70/1998/QĐ-TTg dated March 31, 1998 of the Prime Minister on the collection and use of tuition fees at public educational and training institutions under the national education system. The Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Finance guide the collection, expenditure, and management of tuition fees in public schools and training institutions as follows:

1. Tuition fees at public educational and training institutions under the national education system are contributions from families or students themselves to ensure educational and training activities alongside the State.:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS:

2. The subjects for collecting tuition fees are students studying at public educational and training institutions within the national education system, except those exempted or granted reductions.

3. The level of tuition fee collection within the tuition fee framework is determined by the Government and publicly announced at the beginning of each academic year by the competent authority.

In addition to tuition fees, schools and training institutions are permitted to collect admission fees according to current regulations, and early childhood education and general education institutions may collect funds for school construction as stipulated in Decision No. 248/TTg dated November 22, 1973 of the Prime Minister, with the collection levels set by the People's Councils and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities.

Apart from the aforementioned collections, educational and training institutions shall not impose any other compulsory charges related to education and training.

1. Tuition Fee Framework:

The tuition fee framework as stipulated in Decision No. 70/1998/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister applies to regular full-time programs at public educational and training institutions and is defined as follows:

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

1.1. For educational institutions:

- In cities, towns, and industrial zones:

- Preschool: from 15,000 to 80,000 VND/student/month

- Lower secondary school: from 4,000 to 20,000 VND/student/month

- Upper secondary school: from 8,000 to 35,000 VND/student/month

- In rural plains and midlands:

- Preschool: from 7,000 to 20,000 VND/student/month

- Lower secondary school: from 3,000 to 10,000 VND/student/month

- Upper secondary school: from 6,000 to 25,000 VND/student/month

- In mountainous rural areas:

- Preschool: from 5,000 to 15,000 VND/student/month

- Lower secondary school: from 2,000 to 8,000 VND/student/month

- Upper secondary school: from 4,000 to 15,000 VND/student/month

1.2. For training institutions:

- Vocational training: from 20,000 to 120,000 VND/student/month

- Secondary vocational training: from 15,000 to 100,000 VND/student/month

- College: from 40,000 to 100,000 VND/student/month

- University: from 50,000 to 180,000 VND/student/month

- Master’s degree training: from 75,000 to 200,000 VND/student/month

- Doctoral degree training: from 100,000 to 250,000 VND/student/month

When necessary, the Minister of Education and Training will coordinate with the Minister of Finance to review the actual situation and propose adjustments to the tuition fee framework to the Prime Minister.

2. Level of Tuition Fee Collection:

2.1. Provincial People's Councils and People's Committees of centrally-administered cities shall base their determination of the level of tuition fee collection for various educational and training forms, including kindergartens, boarding classes, and other forms of continuing education, on local needs for education development, the living standards of local residents, and the above-mentioned tuition fee framework, applicable to different regions and areas within the province or city.

2.2. Directors of universities, principals, and heads of central-managed training institutions shall determine specific levels of tuition fee collection based on the above tuition fee framework, characteristics, and development requirements of training fields and forms, as well as the circumstances of each type of student.

2.3. Tuition fees are collected monthly. Kindergarten and short-term vocational training institutions collect fees based on the number of months of actual study. Lower secondary and upper secondary schools collect fees for nine months per year. Regular full-time training institutions collect fees for ten months per year; other training systems collect fees based on the number of months of actual study.

3. Exemption and Reduction of Tuition Fees:

3.1. Exempted from tuition fees are the following categories:

3.1.1. Elementary school students

3.1.2. Students who are children of martyrs

3.1.3. Students who are heroes of the armed forces; heroes of labor; disabled veterans.

3.1.4. Students whose parents are disabled veterans, war invalids, or those receiving benefits equivalent to disabled veterans with a disability rate between 61% and 80%.

3.1.5. Students residing in highland and mountainous regions (excluding cities, towns, and market towns) and remote inland and island areas.

3.1.6. Students with disabilities and economic difficulties, whose work capacity has been reduced by 21% or more due to disability and have been confirmed by a Medical Appraisal Board.

3.1.7. Regular full-time students majoring in education who commit to serving in the education and training sector after graduation.

3.1.8. Orphaned students without guardianship.

3.1.9. Students selected for ethnic minority preparatory universities, ethnic minority boarding schools, vocational training for people with disabilities, and special education schools (for the disabled).

3.1.10. Students whose families (parents or guardians) are classified as destitute households according to current state regulations, with an average monthly income converted to less than 13 kg of rice per person.

3.2. Reduced by 50% in tuition fees are the following categories:

3.2.1. Students who are children of disabled veterans; war invalids, and those receiving benefits equivalent to disabled veterans with a disability rate between 21% and 60%.

3.2. Reduce tuition fees by 50% for the following categories:

3.2.1. Students who are children of war invalids; children of disabled veterans and persons receiving benefits equivalent to those of war invalids with a disability rate from 21% to 60%.

3.2.2. Students who are children of civil servants and employees whose parents have been injured at work and are entitled to regular benefits.

3.2.3. Students from families (family, father, mother, or foster parent) classified as poor households according to current State regulations. A poor household is defined as a household with an average monthly income per capita converted to rice:

+ Less than 25 kilograms of rice in urban areas

+ Less than 20 kilograms of rice in rural plains and midlands

+ Less than 15 kilograms of rice in mountainous rural areas.

4. Procedures for exemption and reduction of tuition fees:

4.1. Elementary school students; students majoring in education as stipulated in point 3.1.1 and 3.1.7 of Section 3 above are not required to submit an application for tuition fee exemption.

4.2. Students eligible for exemption or reduction of tuition fees must submit an application for such exemption or reduction according to a unified form issued by the Rectors of Universities, Principals of schools, and heads of educational and training institutions, accompanied by confirmation of the information provided by the family of the student signed and stamped by the competent authority at the local level (such as the Department of War Invalids and Social Affairs, People's Committee of communes, wards), and a recommendation from the class teacher.

4.3. The Rectors of Universities, Principals of schools, and heads of educational and training institutions shall decide on the exemption or reduction of tuition fees for students based on the general provisions of Decision No. 70/1998/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister, specific provisions of this Circular, the confirmation opinion of the local authorities, and the recommendation of the class teacher, and prepare a report to be submitted to the higher-level educational management agency.

4.4. Exemption and reduction of tuition fees shall be implemented throughout the period of study at school and educational and training institutions, except in cases where the family belongs to a famine-stricken or poor household and is considered annually.

4.5. In exceptional cases when major natural disasters occur in the region, the Joint Office of Education and Training and Finance and Prices shall examine and propose the Provincial People's Committee to issue a decision on exemption or reduction of tuition fees for students in affected areas, based on the extent of damage and within a specified time frame. In individual cases, if a family or the student themselves face sudden difficulties confirmed by the local authority, the school shall consider and decide on the exemption or reduction of tuition fees within a specified time frame.

5. Collection and use of the tuition fund:

5.1. The collection and use of the tuition fund shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of Decision No. 70/1998/QĐ-TTg dated March 31, 1998, of the Prime Minister. Specifically as follows: 5.1.1. Educational and training institutions are responsible for organizing the collection of tuition fees and depositing them into the State Treasury. Tuition fee receipts are issued by financial agencies.

5.1.2. Educational and training institutions and local educational management agencies may use the entire collected tuition fees for the following purposes:

5.1.2.1. Strengthening material infrastructure to serve teaching and learning.

5.1.2.2. Supplementing funds for educational and training activities, including support for organizing graduation exams.

5.1.2.3. Supporting direct teaching activities and services related to teaching.

5.1.2.4. Supporting general management and regulation work within the local education and training sector.

5.1.3. The Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities, the Rectors of universities, Principals, and Heads of schools and training institutions under central agencies shall specify the proportion of tuition fees to be allocated for the purposes mentioned in Clause 2 of this Article. Among these, the proportion of tuition fees allocated for strengthening material infrastructure to serve teaching and learning (Clause 2.1) shall not be less than 35% for the education sector and not less than 45% for the training sector, while the proportion of tuition fees allocated for supporting general management and regulation work (if applicable) within the local education and training sector (Clause 2.4) shall not exceed 20%.

5.2. The Financial and Accounting Office (for institutions with a Financial and Accounting Office), the accountant, or the school office (for institutions without a Financial and Accounting Office) shall directly collect monthly tuition fees from students. When collecting, a receipt for payment must be issued to each student (according to Form C27-H issued together with Decision No. 999-TC-QĐ-CĐKT dated November 2, 1996, of the Ministry of Finance). All collected tuition fees must be deposited into the State Treasury account designated for the educational institution.

5.3. The tuition fund shall be fully utilized for the education and training cause, specifically as follows:

5.3.1. Strengthening material infrastructure to serve teaching and learning (such as repairing and improving existing facilities, constructing small classrooms, laboratories, workshops, libraries, dormitories for students; purchasing, leasing material infrastructure and equipment to serve teaching, learning, professional management, administrative work, and other related tasks).

5.3.2. Supplementing funds for education and training activities, including support for graduation exams (including all business expenses and regular expenses belonging to the scope of education and training activity costs, including costs for graduation exams at schools and training institutions, and management fund business expenses at the institution).

5.3.3. Supporting direct teaching activities and services related to teaching. This includes expenses for supporting direct teaching labor and services of teachers, staff serving teaching, and related departments, rewards, and collective welfare expenses at schools and training institutions.

5.3.4. Specifically, the portion allocated for supporting general management and regulation work within the local education and training sector shall not exceed 20% as stipulated in Clause 2.4 of Article 4 of Decision No. 70/1998/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister. The Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Finance will provide guidance later.

6. Management of the tuition fund:6.1. The Central State Treasury has the responsibility to guide the local State Treasury system to instruct educational and training institutions to open accounts for the tuition fund at the State Treasury branch where transactions take place.The State Treasury branch where the educational and training institution opens the tuition fund account is responsible for returning funds to the educational and training institutions according to the provisions of Decision No. 70/1998/QĐ-TTg and the provisions of this Circular.

6. Management of the tuition fund:

6.1. The Central State Treasury is responsible for directing local State Treasuries to guide educational and training institutions to open deposit accounts for the Tuition Fund at the State Treasury where transactions take place.

The State Treasury where the educational institution opens the Tuition Fund account is responsible for refunding funds to educational institutions in accordance with Decision No. 70/1998/QĐ-TTg and the provisions of this Circular.

6.2. Annually, along with preparing the budget for revenue and expenditure from the State Budget, each level, school, and educational institution prepares the budget for tuition fee revenue and expenditure, reports it to the higher-level education management authority for approval, then submits it to the financial authority at the same level and transfers it to the State Treasury as the basis for reissuance and control of expenditures. Departments of Education and Training prepare the budget for revenue and expenditure of funds allocated to support management and general regulation work within the local education sector, which is submitted to the Department of Finance and Prices for provincial People's Committees to consider and decide.

In cases where the provincial People's Committee or the head of central educational institutions decides on new tuition fee rates, schools and educational institutions must adjust their budget for tuition fee revenue and expenditure and report it to the competent authority according to the provisions of this Circular.

The management of tuition fee revenue and expenditure at educational institutions is centrally carried out by the Financial and Accounting Office. At educational institutions without a Financial and Accounting Office, it must be centralized at the school office. The school must maintain accounting books to record tuition fee revenue and expenditure, strictly prohibiting off-the-books expenditures.

6.3. Educational institutions are responsible for depositing monthly collected tuition fees into the Tuition Fund account at the State Treasury. After the end of the year, they must report the final settlement of tuition fee revenue and expenditure and comply with the financial reporting system as prescribed. The decision on tuition fee revenue and expenditure must be consolidated into the annual State Budget Settlement (recorded under other sources of funding). Educational institutions must report the final settlement of tuition fee revenue and expenditure to the education management authority and the financial authority at the same level for these authorities to consolidate and report upwards.

6.4. To compile and report the total tuition fee revenue and expenditure for the entire sector annually, before the 20th day of the last month of the first quarter, local Departments of Education and Training must compile and report the final settlement of tuition fee revenue and expenditure of the educational units under their management to the provincial People's Committee, the Department of Finance and Prices, and the Ministry of Education and Training. For educational institutions managed by the central government, the respective ministries must compile and report the final settlement of tuition fee revenue and expenditure of their subordinate units to the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Finance.

6.5. Accounting and settlement work:

- Schools and educational institutions must implement accounting and statistical work as prescribed in the Accounting and Statistics Ordinance dated May 10, 1998; Decree No. 25/HĐBT dated March 18, 1989 of the Council of Ministers (now the Government) on the organization of accounting; the State Budget Law and guiding documents of the Law; Decision No. 999 TC/QĐ/CĐKT dated November 2, 1996 of the Minister of Finance on the accounting system for administrative and public service organizations and current accounting regulations of the State.

- To account for tuition fee revenue and expenditure, the school must open separate accounting books and record according to current regulations.

7. Other Revenue Items:

7.1. Educational institutions may collect admission fees: For those managed by localities, the provincial People's Committee shall stipulate; for those managed by the central government, the Ministry of Education and Training shall stipulate, after consulting with the Ministry of Finance.

7.2. Schools and preschool, primary, and secondary educational institutions may collect contributions for school construction as per Decision No. 248/TTg dated November 22, 1973 of the Prime Minister, with the collection rate determined by the Provincial People's Councils and People's Committees.

III. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS:

This Circular takes effect from August 1, 1998. All previous regulations inconsistent with this Circular are hereby abolished.

During implementation, if there are any difficulties, please promptly reflect them to the Joint Ministries for consideration and appropriate amendments.