A recent conclusion by the Government Inspectorate found violations in tuition collection at several units of Vietnam National University in Hanoi.
On October 26, the Government Inspectorate issued Notice No. 3989/TB-TTCP on Inspection Conclusion No. 700/KL-TTCP concerning the university's autonomy mechanism from 2021 to 2024.
The inspection found that several units violated tuition rules. At some programs, fees were twice the level permitted by the state. The notice did not specify measures to remedy the violations.
Unaccredited programs charged twice the ceiling
Under Government Decrees No. 81/2021/NĐ-CP and No. 97/2023/NĐ-CP, a public higher-education institution may set tuition above the ceiling only after a program passes quality accreditation and economic and technical norms are issued.
On February 3, 2023, the School of Management and Business issued Decision No. 53/QĐ-QT&KD, setting fees for eight programs in 2023–2024 that had not passed accreditation and had no such norms.
Bachelor's programs charged VND 6–7 million per month against a ceiling of VND 3.125 million. Master's programs charged VND 6.75–7.5 million against a ceiling of VND 4.6875 million, and doctoral programs charged VND 11 million against a ceiling of VND 7.8125 million.
Excessive tuition was also found in second-degree programs at two other universities. The University of Education charged VND 470,000 per credit, while the state range was VND 303,000 to VND 427,200.
The conclusion contains no direct remedy requirement
The Government Inspectorate also identified financial violations involving state-budget funds and ordered repayment of specific amounts, including VND 2,826.71 million in duplicated spending at the Testing Center.
For excess tuition, the inspectorate gave only the amount above the limit per month or per credit and did not calculate the total. Notice No. 3989 also contains no direct requirement to refund learners.
According to the reporter's review, the duty to refund follows from the legal provision cited in the notice. The conduct was classified as an administrative offense under Point a, Clause 2, Article 32 of Decree No. 04/2021/NĐ-CP.
The offense carries a VND 10–20 million fine for an organization. The mandatory remedy is to return the collected money and bear the repayment costs.
The limitation period for administrative penalties in education is one year. The cited violations occurred in the 2021–2022 and 2023–2024 academic years.
Under Clause 2, Article 65 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations, after the limitation period expires, no fine is issued but remedial measures still apply. The universities must refund tuition collected above the permitted level.
Sources: Thanh Niên
