Children in one Vietnamese kindergarten class receive either 160,000 or 360,000 dong a month for lunch, according to a parliamentary oversight report.
Le Thi Nga, chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee for People's Petitions and Oversight, raised the issue at the opening of the second session of the 16th National Assembly on the morning of October 17.
Two support levels in one class
The National Assembly Standing Committee said its oversight found that, under Decree 277, children aged 3 to 5 receive 360,000 dong a month for lunch. Children over 5 are covered by Decree 105 and receive only 160,000 dong a month.
The report therefore puts the difference between the two groups at 200,000 dong a month, even though the children study in the same kindergarten class.
The report says the gap creates an inequity among children with similar learning and living conditions, makes it harder for educational institutions to organize meals, and fails to ensure equal access to the policy.
According to a Ministry of Education and Training report cited in the oversight document, the ministry will submit a draft decree to the government in October to amend and supplement Decree 105. The changes include raising lunch support to align it with Decree 277.
The National Assembly Standing Committee urged the ministry to complete the decree quickly and submit it to the government on schedule so that lunch support rules are unified and fair.
It also called for rules on the transition period to be clarified so that differences in policy do not continue among groups of children with similar learning and living conditions.
Review of inconsistent education rules
Beyond lunch support, the oversight report cites concerns from voters in Lai Chau province about inconsistencies between Circulars 05 and 20 of the Ministry of Education and Training concerning ethnic-minority boarding primary schools.
Under Circular 05, teachers at these schools teach 21 periods a week, two fewer than teachers at ordinary primary schools, creating a need for more teachers. Circular 20, however, still sets a maximum of 1.5 teachers per class, the same as for an ordinary primary school.
The National Assembly Standing Committee urged the ministry to assess the teacher shortage and the problems that have arisen, and to revise the staffing level to reflect the type of school.
Another case concerns Circular 33 of 2005, which temporarily guides leadership-position allowances at public educational institutions. It has remained in use for more than 20 years.
The document does not set school classifications or allowance coefficients for general schools with several levels of education. The oversight report says the delay in revising it has left a policy gap for the leaders of these schools.
The National Assembly Standing Committee urged the Ministry of Education and Training to complete and submit to the government in October 2026 a decree on leadership-position allowances for managers of public educational institutions, addressing the shortcomings in full.
Sources: Dân Trí
