HCMC – The People’s Council of HCMC this morning, October 19, approved a draft resolution on financial aid for students in the city in the first semester of the 2021-2022 school year, aimed at helping the students pay their tuition fees amid the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The beneficiaries include students of public and private kindergartens and high schools, and continuing education institutions in the city. Students of foreign-invested schools are not entitled to this support policy.
The students will be divided into two groups, with the first comprising students in Thu Duc City and districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, Go Vap, Tan Binh, Tan Phu and Binh Tan, and the second comprising students from the outlying districts of Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, Nha Be and Can Gio.
Kindergarten children will receive VND160,000-200,000 per month each if they are in group 1 and VND100,000-120,000 per month each if they are in group 2.
Students of junior high schools in group 1 will receive VND60,000 per month each, while those in group 2 will receive VND30,000 per month each.
Students of senior high schools in group 1 will receive VND120,000 per month each, while those in group 2 will receive VND100,000 per month each.
Students of continuing education institutions will receive VND60,000-120,000 per month each if they are in group 1 and VND30,000-100,000 per month each if they are in group 2.
Primary school students are not entitled to the new aid policy because they have already been exempt from first-semester tuition fees.
Funding for the policy, estimated at VND427 billion (US$18.9 million), comes from the city’s budget. It is expected to benefit over 1.4 million students of public schools and over 241,000 students of private schools in the city.
Besides students facing financial hardships, as of mid-September, some 1,500 students in HCMC had been orphaned by Covid-19.
Each orphaned child who is younger than four years of age will receive VND900,000 per month, while orphaned children that are four or older will receive VND540,000 per month each.
They are also entitled to a tuition fee reduction until 16 and other social incentives until 22.
The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs earlier decided to give an allowance of VND1 million to each child born between April 27 and December 31 whose mother had Covid-19. Children orphaned by Covid-19 would receive VND2 million each.
The funding comes from the National Fund for Vietnamese Children.
