The education ministry will conduct random inspections on tuition collection and spending at public universities next month.

“The inspections are aimed at learning for what purpose universities are increasing their tuition,” Tran Thi Ha, head of the ministry’s Higher Education Department told the Tuoi Tre newspaper.

While public schools have been allowed to increase monthly tuition fees to a maximum of VND240,000 (US$13.45) this school year, there have been public complaints that many universities are charging more that the stipulated maximum.

Asked if the inspections are a response to the complaints, Ha said it will be one of the criteria used in choosing schools to inspect.

Since late last month several press reports have focused on some public schools applying the new credit-based training system for charging tuition fees higher than regulated.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, for example, in late June announced that they would charge students VND110,000 ($6.17) per credit.

As each student has to earn 130 credits in four years to graduate, they’ll have to pay VND14.3 million ($802.46) in total, or VND3.5 million ($196.41) a year, while regulations allow for a maximum of VND2.4 million ($134.68) a year, a sophomore student complained to Tuoi Tre.

Ha responded to this allegation saying the current tuition framework, which is calculated on a monthly and yearly basis, does not apply to the new credit-based system.

Therefore, those schools with the new training model have to set up fees for each credit by themselves based on the current tuition framework and actual training costs, Ha said.

The new system’s tuition fees will certainly be higher as it demands more investment in infrastructure and more teachers, she noted.

“It will take more time [for the ministry] to study from schools’ [applying the new system]’ experiences before setting up a suitable tuition table when all local schools shift to the credit training system,” Ha said.

Under the current system, a student entering college or university is given a schedule of required courses for their chosen major with no freedom to choose electives.

The new credit-based model, however, allows students to choose their own classes and build their own timetables within certain parameters, emulating the model applied by most Western universities.

The Ministry of Education has ordered all higher education institutions to apply the new model by 2011 at latest.

It is estimated that less than 90 out of thousands of schools have applied the system since 2008.

Source: Tuoi Tre