Building a fair and developinQ SOCẽâẨVW Ăn HH kg ngà net tu no 6
The public expenditure program for tuition-free is based on the theory of social justice Education is seen as an important tool for achieving social justice goals because it allows everyone the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for personal development and to contribute to the development of the country However, access to education is still very difficult for the disadvantaged, especially in Vietnam The costs related to education, including tuition fees, books, school supplies, and living expenses, etc all increased year by year, causing a lot of pressure on families and employees The public expenditure program for tuition-free improves the quality of education for children of ethnic minorities, shortens the gap in education and cultural enjoyment, and creates a source of qualified and capable cadres for regions with special difficulties To develop education and training in a sustainable, comprehensive, and synchronous manner in terms of scale and quality; ensure social justice in education and create lifelong learning opportunities for each citizen.
The public expenditure program for tuition-free also helps ease the family's financial burden Tuition and education-related expenses can put a lot of pressure on many families, especially those with low incomes The public expenditure program for tuition-free fees helps alleviate financial difficulties and creates more motivation and confidence so that parents of students from near-poor households can rest assured to develop production and reduce the risk of falling back into poverty Helping children of near-poor households go to school more diligently, improving the quality of training reducing pressure on teachers and local mass organizations in propaganda and mobilization of students to go to class; Reducing financial burden for near-poor households when many children go to school at all levels at the same time; does not create a shortage for people in the transition from poor households to near-poor households
Investing in tuition-free education for students boosts the nation's competitiveness in the global market By培养 highly skilled professionals, the country attracts foreign investment and fosters economic growth This investment in education serves as a cornerstone for attracting foreign investors and laying the foundation for sustained economic development.
The public expenditure program for tuition-free helps to ensure that the nation's young human resources have access to and study at prestigious universities and educational institutions, receiving the specialized training and skills necessary to meet their needs meet the requirements of a modern and globalized economy Especially in the fields of science, technology, and engineering, the government creates conditions for the development of high-quality human resources and the discovery of new technologies and inventions This fosters innovation and technical development in industries, contributing to improving the country's productivity and competitiveness in the international market.
Rationale for public provision of providing policy and the market failures
7 the free market alone to achieve efficiency therefore it requires state provision to help it achieve economic efficiency
State provision is done by the government and they essentially provide what cannot be provided or is not provided sufficiently by the free market It is more likely that there is excess demand for education and the free market alone cannot cope with this excess demand therefore the government needs to help by supplying education to deal with the excess demand This state provision has both good and bad effects
Initially, we will discuss which market failures are taking place in the market from two main perspectives: (1) the providers or the investors and (2) the users or the consumers In addition, the perspectives from the third party will also be discussed (1) The rationale of the providers or the investors
Proper funding is crucial for delivering effective public education Inadequate funding leads to underinvestment, poor infrastructure, and unequal access Conversely, even with sufficient funding, resource misallocation can undermine efficiency Thus, financial management is paramount to ensure optimal outcomes in the education market.
There is an education market, however, there is a misallocation of resources due to the private sector offering higher quality education using a rationing function to maximize profit from their scarce resources instead of prioritizing the benefits of poor students
As discussed above, private sectors are often motivated by profit, and providing education or any kind of policy for poor students may not be financially viable Moreover, providing financial assistance for poor students is complicated and costly, which means the private sector does have to set a high price for educational goods.
This will lead to underconsumption, meaning that the quantity of poor students who can access basic education is low
Overall, left to the free market, education is underprovided It is not provided to the socially optimal level of output While some private schools may offer scholarships or other forms of financial assistance to poor students, they may not have comprehensive policies to address the educational needs of this group This is where public provision of education becomes crucial, as it ensures that education is accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial situation
(2) The rationale of the users or the consumers
When the price of education is too high for the poor, they may not be able to afford education, regardless of how much they may want to consume it As a result, the demand for education is restricted to those who can afford to pay the high price, leading to a low quantity of education consumed by the poor The matter is indicated by the below reasons:
Since these benefits are not reflected in the cost of education, individuals may not be willing or able to pay for education, leading to a lower quantity of education being demanded than is socially desirable This underinvestment in education by individuals leads to market failure
Education for the poor is classified as a merit good due to its positive externalities Positive externalities refer to the benefits of education extending beyond the individual consumer to benefit society at large These include higher earning potential for educated individuals, improved health outcomes, and increased contributions to their communities By investing in education for the poor, society reaps these benefits and enhances its overall well-being.
Educated individuals are likely to have higher productivity, better health outcomes, and lower crime rates, their education generates positive externalities that benefit society as a whole However, these benefits are not reflected in the price of education, and as a result, the poor may not be willing or able to pay for education, leading to a lower quantity of education being demanded than is socially desirable Asymmetric information
Asymmetric information arises when one party possesses greater knowledge than another This phenomenon manifests in education for the underprivileged when students lack the capacity to reliably evaluate the quality of their education or when institutions lack comprehensive information about students' abilities.
This lack of information can create adverse selection and moral hazard problems Adverse selection occurs when there is a tendency for lower-quality education to be chosen because students cannot differentiate between high and low- quality education A moral hazard occurs when providers have an incentive to provide a lower-quality education because they know that students cannot accurately assess the quality of their education
Overall, education is under consumption in the free market The poor are unable to afford education, resulting in a low quantity of education consumed by this population.
Alternative Forms of government interVeritẽOI HH HH TH ng nh re 10 'Ih NA ( 12) 1n 1 nan ee
ANALYZE PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ĐÀ ẶS Si 13
The goals of the evaluation index system of free tuition for poor households public
The results of the review of poor households and near-poor households in 2022 according to the multi-dimensional poverty Ime for the period of 2022-2025 on a national scale have just been announced by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, showing the multidimensional poverty rate (including the rate of poverty) the rate of poor households and near-poor households) is 7.52% nationwide, with the total number of poor households and multidimensional near-poor households being 1,972,767 households
The Northern Midlands and Mountains have the highest multidimensional poverty rate in the country, accounting for 21.92% with 701,461 households; The Red River Delta is 2.45% with 169,566 households; North Central and Central Coast is 10.04% with 571,251 households; Central Highlands is 15.39% with 236,766 households; The Southeast is 0.34% with 15,787 households The Mekong Delta is 5.73% with 277,936 households
The national poverty rate 1s 4.03% with 1,057,374 households divided by regions as follows: Northern Midlands and Mountains is 14.23% with 455,271 households; The Red River Delta is 1.00% with 69,239 households; North Central and Central Coast is 4.99% with 284,137 households; Central Highlands is 8.39% with 129,160 households; The Southeast is 0.21% with 9,710 households; The Mekong Delta is 2.26% with 109,767 households
On the other hand, the Government's report on education activities and implementation of the education public expenditure in 2022 shows that: Estimated
17 recurrent expenditure in the field of education and training this year is VND 275,709 billion out of a total of VND 1,784,600 billion, accounting for approximately 15.45% of the total budget expenditure
From the 2 information above, we can see that the Government pays attention to the goal of reducing poverty by raising the educational level And the focus is the public expenditure program on free tuition for poor households to encourage their children to go to school
So, the main goal of this public expenditure program is to increase the ratio of poor households’ children going to school, especially at the primary level For higher education, free tuition is continuously implemented so that their children can earn their living in better-conditioned jobs Then, they can increase their household income and not be poor households anymore
To effectively measure the impact of public expenditure programs, the government has established an evaluation index system that encompasses four key components: the input index, output index, outcome index, and impact index The input index measures the resources invested in the program, such as funding, personnel, and materials The output index assesses the immediate deliverables of the program, such as services provided or products created The outcome index evaluates the short-term effects of the program, such as increased access to services or improved quality of life Finally, the impact index captures the long-term benefits of the program, such as increased economic growth or improved social well-being.
The IN PUt INDEX ah
The input index is the total of input resources to accomplish the goals
According to the content of the input index, students recommend some indexes such as the total budget for the program, the number of program officers, information system management resources, etc
In detail, the total budget for the program is calculated from the ratio of free tuition public expenditure program to the total expenditure It shows that with the amount of expenditure as the financial resources, how many children of poor households can be supported to go to school
With this index, it is impossible to conclude immediately that spending a lot is good for society and vice versa Because budget spending free tuition for poor households’ children needs to be done with the right goals and right objects High
Assessing the efficacy of educational spending requires a comprehensive evaluation of output, outcome, and impact indicators While the level of spending itself may not directly determine the effectiveness of an education program, it is crucial to consider the context, including the varying tuition fees and student population across different grades This holistic approach ensures a more accurate and nuanced understanding of the program's effectiveness in achieving its intended educational outcomes.
The quantity of program officers and information system management staff indicates the availability of human and technical resources to execute the program Similar to the budget allocation, the effectiveness of these resources is assessed While sufficient staffing is crucial, excessive personnel can lead to inefficiencies.
Students also clarify the pros and cons of these input indexes in details as below:
With the total amount of budget for the program, it is able to show how much that the government spends for this program Its advantage is that it 1s clear about quantitative statistics for any output However, this index only presents for the quantitative side but not the qualitative assessment The evaluation report can not give the exact conclusion that the budget is used for the program’s entire purpose or not About the number of program officers and information system resource management, we also easily have a formula or other quantitative efficiency assessment On the contrary, it just tells the number not the quality
These indexes also have many determinants and factors that affect them Specifically as:
With the total amount of budget for the program, it may be affected by the status of the government budget in reality It might be cut or hiked in case of the budget in deficit or surplus
About the number of program officers and information system resource management, they can be determined by the wage for officers or human resource quality
The output index is the total products that are created directly by mobilizing and utilizing the input resources
According to this concept, the output index is recommended to include: the ratio of the number of poor households’ children who are supported to go to school compared to the previous situation It is also called the growth in attending school for children of poor households’ children This output information can show how effective the public expenditure program is to incentivize poor households’ children to go to school
The higher this index, the more children are going to school thanks to the support of the public spending program Specifically, the public expenditure will work if the index is higher than 0 (>0) and vice versa This growth will clearly show a positive impact in promoting children from poor households to go to school Over time, the average education level of children has increased Job opportunities and educational level are also increasing which contributes to the progress of society positively
Students also clarify the pros and cons of these output indexes in details as below:
This output index is able to show how much that the government spends for this program Its advantage is that it is clear about quantitative statistics for any output However, this index only presents for the quantitative side but not the qualitative assessment Sometimes, children just go to school at the beginning of the program Then, they still have to go to work and leave the school to increase their household income
This index also has many determinants and factors that affect it Specifically as: household income, the number of child per household, the comparison between education or earning living, etc
The outcome index is an index that directly represents the results achieved from the objectives This indicator reflects directly after the output
To monitor program efficacy, our team advocates for the adoption of key performance indicators These metrics will provide valuable insights into the program's impact on student outcomes Among the proposed indicators are the percentage of students who successfully complete high school and the percentage of economically disadvantaged students who continue their education beyond high school.
Specifically, the percentage of students participating in high school graduation programs: This index is calculated as the ratio between the number of poor students participating in the policy graduating from high school and the total number of poor students participating in the policy In Vietnam, the rate of high school graduation is always very high, however, the small percentage of students who do not complete high school are mostly students from extremely difficult family circumstances, who are eligible for high school conditions to benefit from the policy Therefore, the higher the expected outcome for this indicator, the more successful the program and vice versa From the output index representing the number/proportion of poor households accessing the program, we propose that this index reflects the results in terms of both the quantity and quality of the program
In terms of numbers, the high school program in Vietnam lasts 7 years, during this time, fluctuations in household income, psychology, and perceptions of children and parents can be affected leading to students dropping out of school When students drop out of school midway through, encouraging students to return to school incurs additional costs and manpower that lead to a reduction in the expected program outcomes Thus, this index includes the index showing the dropout rate of students who benefit from this policy
In terms of quality, while participating in the program, students may fall into a situation of learning while working In some cases, students because of family burdens
21 spend more time earning money, which leads to a decrease in the quality of the student's class participation Therefore, this index can reflect the overall quantity and quality of students participating in this program
The percentage of low-income students pursuing higher education is determined by comparing the number of students enrolled in advanced programs to the number of high school graduates This metric is crucial as it aligns with the objective of enhancing household income through augmented education Consequently, the anticipated outcome of the cost-free tuition policy is a positive correlation with this indicator.
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Pros and COIS ác HH TH KT KH KH HH KĐT 14k KH 22
Students also clarify the pros and cons of these input indexes in details as below:
For the first impact metric:the percentage of students participating in the program with stable income gives us the most basic view of the program's performance This is also the basic factor to get out of poverty However, this index becomes difficult to calculate when the program participants work in many different places
Next, the rate of households falling back into poverty after participating in the program has the advantage of showing whether households are moving out of poverty sustainably That is also the long-term goal of many different policies, including the one that we are studying However, this indicator is dependent on the statistical success of the first impact indicator
Finally, the advantage of the income growth rate of households with children participating in the program shows us the double difference over time for households participating in this policy versus households not participating in this policy That also shows the extent of spillover at household size of this policy However, measurement is difficult because of changes in household structure over time
Any factor that affects earnings can affect these metrics In addition, the measurement time is also an extremely important factor for the accuracy of the statistical results
Inp Output Outcome Impact ut
The total @ The ratio e The e The amount of the percentag percentag of budget number of e of e of for the poor students students ơ program household ơ participati participati
The s’ children ơ ng in the ng in high number are program school of supported with graduatio program to go to stable officers, school n income informati compared on to system the e The @ The rate manageme previous percentag of nt situation e of poor household resources students s falling receiving back into the poverty program after participati participati ng in ng in the further program study e The programs increase in income of
25 household s with children joiming the program
The importance of education, particularly free tuition policies for underprivileged children, has been highlighted While Vietnam lacks comprehensive indicators assessing educational support, researchers have developed a set of indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of such policies These indicators include input, output, outcome, and impact indices The output index measures the increased school attendance among poor children, while the outcome index assesses high school graduation and further education participation rates The impact index evaluates income stability among program participants and the number of households with members who have higher education.
26 falling back into poverty after participating in the program, and 3) the rate of increase in income of households with children joming the program
The above indicators have been carefully selected and analyzed considering the current situation of children's access to education in poor households Thereby, through these performance indicators, the State can more closely monitor the actual situation of the implementation of the policy of free tuition for the poor From there, the policy can be adjusted to fix issues still unsolved
The research still needs development in the future Indeed, the topic has only presented evaluation indicators but has not yet applied the data for analysis In future studies, it is possible to utilize evaluation indicators and employ effective evaluation models such as DEA., to observe the impact and assessment of public spending on providing free education for the poor
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[1] Stiglitz, J E., & Rosengard, J K (2015) Economics of the Public Sector 4th Edition New York and London: Norton & Company
[2] Watkins, K (2012) The power of circumstance: A new approach to measuring education inequality Center for Universal Education Working Paper, 5
[3] Coley, R J., & Baker, B (2013) Poverty and education: Finding the way forward Educational Testing Service Center for Research on Human Capital and Education
[4] Wagstaff, A (2002) Poverty and health sector inequalities Bulletin of the world health organization, 80, 97-105
[5] The Government (1998) Decision No.70/1998/QD-TTg on the collection and use of tuition fees at public education and training institutions under the national education system Vietnam: Hanoi
[6] The Government (2007) Decision No.113/2007/QD-TT¢g on the approval of the list of communes with special difficulties, border communes, and safe communes in the area of investment in the socio-economic development program of extremely