What's new in university, college and secondary school tuition fees for the 2025-2026 school year?

The Ministry of Education and Training has just announced a draft decree regulating the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees for educational institutions in the national education system. From the 2025-2026 school year, how will tuition fees for university, college, and intermediate school be calculated?

The Ministry of Education and Training has just announced a draft decree regulating the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees applicable from the 2025-2026 school year.

photo: peach jade

The Ministry of Education and Training has just announced a draft decree replacing Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP and Decree No. 97/2023/ND-CP regulating the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees for educational institutions in the national education system and policies on tuition exemption and reduction, support for learning costs; and service prices in the field of education and training.

According to the submission to the Government , the Ministry of Education and Training stated the purpose of issuing the decree is to review and complete legal regulations on tuition fees, tuition exemption, reduction and support mechanisms, and support for learning costs so that ministries, localities, and educational institutions have a legal basis to implement from the 2025-2026 school year.

Accordingly, the decree applies to preschool children, pupils, students, trainees, and postgraduates studying at educational institutions in the national education system as prescribed by the Law on Education, the Law on University Education, the Law on Vocational Education; educational institutions in the national education system as prescribed by the Law on Education, the Law on University Education, the Law on Vocational Education, and related organizations and individuals.

Public university tuition fees: From the 2027-2028 school year, adjusted according to people's ability to pay

The draft decree stipulates the tuition fee ceiling for public higher education institutions that are not self-sufficient in regular expenditure from the 2025-2026 school year. In particular, tuition fees for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years are as follows:

According to the plan, tuition fees for public universities that are not yet autonomous will be from 15.2 million VND/year to 31.1 million VND/year next school year (depending on the major).

From the 2027-2028 school year onwards, the ceiling on public university tuition fees will be adjusted in accordance with people's ability to pay and socio-economic conditions, but must not exceed the consumer price index growth rate at the time of determining tuition fees compared to the same period last year as announced by the competent state agency.

For public higher education institutions that are self-sufficient in regular expenditure, the tuition fee is determined to be a maximum of 2 times the tuition fee ceiling of institutions that are not self-sufficient in regular expenditure.

For public higher education institutions that cover their own regular and investment expenses, the tuition fee is determined to be a maximum of 2.5 times the tuition fee ceiling of institutions that do not cover their own regular expenses.

For training programs of public higher education institutions that meet the quality accreditation level of training programs according to the standards prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training or meet the quality accreditation level of training programs according to foreign standards or equivalent, higher education institutions shall base on the economic-technical norms or cost norms of each training industry and profession issued by the educational institution to decide on tuition fees; and make it public to learners and society.

Public vocational education tuition: Lowest 13.6 million VND/year

The draft decree also stipulates the tuition fee ceiling for college and intermediate level training programs at public vocational training institutions that are not self-sufficient in regular expenses from the 2025-2026 school year. Accordingly, the estimated tuition fees for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years are as follows:

According to the plan, tuition fees for public colleges and intermediate schools that are not autonomous in the coming school year will range from 13.6 million VND/year to 23.8 million VND/year (depending on the major).

From the 2027-2028 school year onwards, the tuition fee ceiling will be adjusted in accordance with people's ability to pay and socio-economic conditions, but must not exceed the consumer price index growth rate at the time of determining the tuition fee compared to the same period last year as announced by the competent state agency.

For public vocational training institutions that are self-sufficient in regular expenses, the maximum tuition fee shall not exceed twice the tuition fee of institutions that are not self-sufficient in regular expenses.

Public vocational training institutions that self-insure their regular and investment expenses are proactive in developing and deciding on tuition fees according to the provisions of the Law on Vocational Education and other relevant documents.

For high-quality training programs and programs transferred from abroad, vocational training institutions shall base on the economic-technical norms or cost norms of each training industry and profession issued by the vocational training institutions to decide on specific tuition fees for each school year, industry and profession under their management authority and make them public before enrollment. At the same time, they must maintain standard training programs within the state tuition ceiling to perform the function of providing public services and ensuring access to education for learners.

How are tuition fees for public and private schools calculated?

According to the draft, the principles for determining tuition fees of the decree inherit the provisions of Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP and update and supplement the provisions of the 2023 Price Law. For public educational institutions, tuition fees are determined according to the principle of cost compensation, with reasonable accumulation according to the provisions of the Price Law and a roadmap for calculating sufficient costs appropriate to each level of education, socio-economic conditions of each residential area, consumer price index growth rate, and annual economic growth rate.

Private educational institutions have the right to proactively set tuition fees and prices for other services in the field of education and training (except for services priced by the State) to ensure cost recovery and reasonable accumulation according to the provisions of the Law on Prices. Implement publicly according to the provisions of law and be accountable to learners and society about tuition fees and prices for services they decide; explain the price components, roadmap, and tuition fee increase rate in the following years (not more than 15% for university training; not more than 10% for preschool and general education).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hoc-phi-bac-dai-hoc-cao-dang-intermediate-cap-nam-hoc-2025-2026-co-gi-moi-185250704100254676.htm