LookAtVietnam – Those universities using a credit system to calculate tuition are behind on collections. Students may be the ones who lose.

HCM City Economics University began applying a credit-based program for students in the 2009-2010 academic year. Yet the university is still collecting tuition based on former plans: 1.2 million dong for the entire first semester.

No official word

As there is no official statement from MOET to regulate tuition collection, universities are applying different methods of calculation.

Tran The Hoang, Head of the Training Division of the university, observed that the university is calculating tuitions per credit, but, at the moment, the old tuition scheme is still being applied.

Students who have entered the HCM City Transport University have to pay 1.25 million dong for the first semester. Nguyen Van Thu, the university’s Deputy President, commented that since the Ministry of Education and Training has not yet released any official document on the tuition per credit, the university has to set up a temporary system of tuition collection.

Saigon University is still collecting tuition in accordance with the previous tuition scheme of 180,000 dong per month for university training and 150,000 dong per month for junior college training, even though the university has already shifted to credit-based training for over a year.

“We will collect additional money when we have the official document on tuition from the ministry,” noted Hoang Huu Luong, Deputy President of the university.

If MOET later announces the official tuition level per credit is lower than the sums that students paid, the university will reimburse them.

Credit system penalizes students

According to Nguyen Vinh An, Head of the Training Division of Can Tho University, the university calculates tuition per credit in this way. The total tuition students will have to pay for the four-year study at the university is 2.4 million dong x 4 years of studying = 9.6 million dong. Students must have 120 credits, which means that the tuition for every credit is 80,000 dong. The tuition does not tell the difference between theoretical and practical lessons and between different training branches.

Meanwhile, Ho Cong Thanh, Head of the Planning and Finance Division of the HCM City University of Polytechnical Education explained that, from the 2009-2010 school year, students pay 55,000 dong per credit on average, but also pay 70,000 dong per credit for practical subjects.

Analysts have argued that it is unreasonable to set the same tuition per credit for all study branches, since dissimilar study branches have varying curriculums with different numbers of credits.

“This would unfairly penalize students who study subjects that require more credits,” offered Ho Cong Thanh.

Meanwhile, An admits this would be unreasonable and stated that the calculations will create many difficulties for universities.

The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has warned that the university tuitions will increase further. Their plan is to adjust the tuition scheme gradually to make it more reasonable and ensure coverage of all training expenses.

VietNamNet/NLD