Five major cities in Vietnam are set to have the highest tuition fees in the country, said Nguyen Thien Nhan, Deputy PM and Minister of Education and Training.

“As Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hanoi, and Hai Phong enjoy the highest living standard in the country, they are expected to set the standards in education”, said Nhan at an education conference in Hai Phong earlier this week. He emphasised that a new framework of tuition fees must be prepared by each city to ensure that they are affordable for all local residents.

Under the new framework, tuition fees will be based on income per-capital of each city. The income per-capital for all five cities ranges from VND 2.74 million per month in Ho Chi Minh City to VND 1.43 million per month in Can Tho. Therefore, tuition fees are not expected to exceed VND 200,000 or fall below VND 75,000. As income per-capital is higher in the inner cities than in the suburbs, each city will be able to adjust their fees in accordingly.

“Schools are not allowed to charge additional fees, but may receive spontaneous contributions,” the Vice Prime Minister emphasised.

Students of Hanoi-Amsterdam High School

Items discussed at the meeting under educational reforms included educational work, teacher training, teaching methods, contents in school development program and the need to establish a model of friendly school and active students.

Delegates also raised the issue modification to the graduation examination procedures. They believed that this should be simplified in line with area examination development. However, it must be stressed that the examination venues are suitable for students.

In concluding the meeting, Deputy PM Nguyen Thien Nhan suggested that the leaders of departments of education and training of the 5 major cities should concentrate on important issues of the academic year of 2009 - 2010. All schools in the 5 cities have standardised toilets, achieve the “three enough” for pupils (enough food; enough clothes and enough books), and the “three things in public” (training scale and qualification, internal resources; and finance).

It is important that at the end of the academic year of 2009/10, all deans complete a standard improvement program and that all schools publish their plans for full teaching staff for 2012.