Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training urgently directs and corrects the situation of overcharging at the beginning of the school year.

(NLDO)- Do not let the Parents' Representative Committee implement the unit's collection contents.

Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Thi Nhat Hang has just signed a document to send to the People's Committees of wards, communes, special zones and educational institutions on strengthening the management of revenues and expenditures in the field of education and training, and the work of mobilizing funding for education in the 2025-2026 school year in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, recently in the city, there have been reports from the media about some units not properly implementing the instructions on organizing the collection of fees at the beginning of the school year as well as in the work of mobilizing sponsorship at public educational institutions, creating negative public opinion towards the education and training sector.

The Department of Education and Training requests agencies and units to pay attention to and implement the Party and State's policies and guidelines on innovation and development of education and training in the new situation, and at the same time study and properly implement the guidance documents of the Department of Education and Training, paying attention to the following specific contents:

Regarding the implementation of guidance on the collection and use of tuition fees and other revenues at the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year: Agencies and units are requested to disseminate and properly implement regulations on tuition fee policy implementation; exemption, reduction, and support of tuition fees and revenues in the field of education and training for the 2025-2026 school year according to the provisions of Decree No. 238/2025 of the Government and the direction of the Ministry of Education and Training.

The City Department of Education and Training requests heads of units to seriously disseminate the guiding documents on the collection and use of tuition fees and other revenues of the City Department of Education and Training in the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year within school leaders and teachers, and at the same time fully, publicly and transparently inform parents, the Parents' Representative Board (PBO) and teachers about the revenues so that they understand and comply with the regulations.

All fees must be fully and publicly announced in writing to parents and students by the school (do not let the Board of Directors implement the unit's collection contents); absolutely do not change the name or arbitrarily add any additional fees that arise outside the regulations in Official Dispatch No. 1888 of the Department of Education and Training.

Please note to extend the collection time, do not collect multiple items at the same time and fully comply with financial management regulations as prescribed.

The Department of Education and Training of the City also requested the People's Committees of wards, communes and special zones to strengthen the direction and management of the state on the implementation of revenues and expenditures in educational institutions in the area; be responsible for guiding, conducting inspections and applying measures to strictly handle the responsibilities of heads of educational institutions in cases of violations of regulations on revenues and expenditures in educational institutions in the area. Do not allow any violations or incomplete implementation of regulations at affiliated educational institutions according to the instructions on implementing revenues at the beginning of the school year, causing negative public opinion towards the education sector.

Regarding the mobilization, reception, management and use of funding sources: The mobilization, reception, management and use of funding sources at educational institutions shall comply with the provisions of Circular No. 16/2018 of the Ministry of Education and Training on funding for educational institutions in the national education system; Circular No. 13/2025 of the Ministry of Education and Training regulating the decentralization, delegation and assignment of authority to perform state management tasks of two-level local authorities in the field of education; it is necessary to note the following contents:

- Schools planning to mobilize sponsorship must clearly define the content, purpose, beneficiaries, budget estimates and implementation plans for activities requiring sponsorship.

- The mobilization plan must be approved by the People's Committee of the commune, ward or Department of Education and Training (according to the management hierarchy) before organizing the mobilization and must be voluntary, not equalized, and must not "abuse sponsorship" to become a mandatory revenue.

- Educational institutions are responsible for establishing a Sponsorship Reception Team, publicly disclosing sponsorship finances, opening a book to track sponsored assets and expanding the sponsorship target, not focusing on mobilizing from parents.

- Do not arbitrarily set up illegal fees, outside the list of instructions of the Department of Education and Training on behalf of the Board of Parents. Effectively use the funds assigned by the competent authority.

Agencies, organizations, individuals and heads of educational institutions receiving funding who carry out the process of mobilizing, receiving, managing and using funding contrary to the provisions of Circular No. 16, depending on the level of violation, will be subject to administrative sanctions or criminal prosecution according to the provisions of law.

Regarding the operating costs of the BĐDCMHS: It is strictly forbidden to take advantage of the name of the BĐDCMHS to collect fees other than those specified in Circular No. 55/2011 of the Ministry of Education and Training. In particular, it is necessary to note the following contents:

- The operating budget of the BDDCMHS is managed and used by the BDDCMHS and only serves the direct activities of the BDDCMHS. The BDDCMHS's budget shall not be used for the following purposes: "Protecting school facilities, ensuring school security, supervising students' vehicles, cleaning classrooms, cleaning the school, rewarding school administrators, teachers, and staff, purchasing machinery, equipment, and teaching aids for schools, classes, or for administrators, teachers, and staff, supporting management work, organizing teaching and educational activities, repairing, upgrading, and constructing new school facilities".

The operating budget of the BDDCMHS is approved through voluntary support, there is no regulation on the average support level for parents. The collection and expenditure of BDDCMHS funds must ensure the principles of publicity and democracy.

The operating budget estimate of the Parents' Representative Committee caused a stir at Le Ngoc Han Primary School (Ben Thanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City).

The Department of Education and Training also requested the People's Committees of communes, wards and special zones to strengthen inspection and supervision work and be responsible for explaining to learners and society about the collection levels and revenues of educational institutions under their management in accordance with regulations; absolutely not allowing the situation of "overcharging" at the beginning of the school year; directing and thoroughly instructing educational institutions to mobilize, manage and use funding in accordance with regulations.

- Urgently issue guidelines on revenue and expenditure for educational institutions according to management hierarchy; based on the operational plan, revenue and expenditure estimates and proposed revenue levels of each educational institution to review service revenues, educational support services and other revenues other than tuition fees in accordance with regulations; agree on a revenue framework appropriate to the actual situation of each locality before implementation.

- Establish inspection teams to inspect the revenue and expenditure situation at the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year at educational institutions in the area according to the management hierarchy, promptly correct the situation of over-collection or illegal collection. Strictly handle principals of educational institutions that collect and spend money in violation of regulations.

- Prioritize focusing resources to ensure facilities and equipment for the new school year and arrange resources to mobilize and allocate the education budget to ensure regular expenditures (salaries, allowances and teaching and learning activities...) for educational institutions, ensuring sufficient conditions to perform well the tasks of the 2025-2026 school year of the education and training sector.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/so-gd-dt-tp-hcm-chi-dao-nong-nghiem-cam-viec-loi-dung-danh-nghia-ban-dai-dien-de-lam-thu-196250919165249819.htm