Reducing pressure from prices of items managed by the State

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The adjustment of price of medical and educational services has great impact on CPI. Illustrative photo: H. Diu

According to the Ministry of Finance, during the Jan-Jul period, price of goods moves according to annual rules, increasing during the New Year holidays at the beginning of the year, gradually decreasing and remaining relatively stable in the following months. On average, in the first seven months of 2024, the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 4.12% over the same period last year; core inflation rose by 2.73%.

A report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment pointed out that 10 groups of goods and services saw increase in CPI compared to the previous month. Of which, the group of other goods and services rose by 3.77% mainly due to the increase in health insurance price by 28.45% when the base salary was revised up from VND1.8 million per month to VND2.34 million per month. The prices of educational service grew by 0.02%, of which, paper product price rose by 0.4%; pens of all kinds rose by 0.15%; textbooks rose by 0.05%.

Along with that, the group of drugs and medical services increased by 0.13%, of which inpatient medical examination and treatment prices increased by 0.19%; outpatient medical examination and treatment services increased by 0.08%. The reason is that in July 2024, some localities implemented new medical service prices according to Circular No. 22/2023/TT-BYT dated November 17, 2023 of the Ministry of Health.

According to experts, it is likely that in the last months of 2024, prices of some State-managed products such as electricity prices, medical and educational service prices will increase after many delays according to the roadmap. However, up to now, the market is seeing a lot of positive information to help market prices continue in a stable trend and control inflation within the set target.

For example, the back-to-school season is coming, with 17.6 million students nationwide, the market is "hot" for textbooks. But according to Vietnam Education Publishing House, from the 2024-2025 school year, the prices of textbooks compiled according to the 2018 general education program will simultaneously decrease. Similarly, the "Canh Dieu" textbook series of Vietnam Educational Equipment and Publishing Investment Joint Stock Company will also reduce the cover price by 20% for education and training departments to equip their libraries.

In a recent response to voters, the Ministry of Finance said that according to Price Law No. 16/2023/QH15, textbooks are included in the list of goods and services priced by the State. The Ministry of Education and Training sets the maximum price, and organizations and individuals trading in textbooks set specific prices that are not higher than the price prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training and must ensure compliance with the valuation grounds, principles and methods for goods and services priced by the State as prescribed in the Price Law 2023.

Regarding tuition fees, many localities have announced tuition fees for the 2024-2025 school year with quite sharp reductions, such as Vinh Phuc reduces tuition fees for students at all levels by 50% compared to last year, charging based on the number of actual study months, but not exceeding nine months per school year. Ho Chi Minh City also decides to reduce the new tuition fee by about VND100,000-240,000 per month depending on the level of study. Long An province also decides to reduce tuition by 50% for preschool children under 5 years old studying at public preschool education facilities and 100% of tuition free for secondary school students in public schools in the province. Da Nang City and Hai Phong City also continue to decide to implement tuition free for students from preschool to public high school...

Previously, the Ministry of Education and Training requested localities to implement policies on tuition exemption and reduction, support for learning costs and support for tuition payments in accordance with the provisions of Decree 81/2021/ND on regulations on tuition collection and management mechanisms for educational institutions under the national education system and policies on tuition exemption and reduction and support for learning costs; service prices in the field of education and training. However, at the university level, many universities have planned to increase tuition by VND5-10 million compared to the previous school year.

Regarding the price market, Dr. Nguyen Duc Do, Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics and Finance (Academy of Finance), commented that in the third quarter of 2024, when the effects of medical and educational service price adjustments gradually decrease, inflation will strongly decrease and average inflation will also decrease if there are no large-scale price adjustments for State-managed goods.

Experts also recommend that ministries and branches should proactively propose plans to adjust the prices of State-managed goods, avoiding accumulation in the last months of 2024, or accumulation at the same time to limit the resonance impact, while reducing pressure on price management and inflation control.

As for the price management agency, the Price Management Department (Ministry of Finance) said that for State-managed goods such as electricity, medical services, educational services, the Ministry of Finance will continue to closely monitor price plans and roadmaps developed by ministries and agencies to update inflation scenarios as a basis for advising the Government and the Prime Minister, Head of the Price Steering Committee on price management. Thereby ensuring control of average inflation in 2024 according to the target set by the National Assembly of 4-4.5%.