Ho Chi Minh City: Proposal to continue operating school canteens, parking lots, and kitchens.

From 2019 to the present, the Department of Education and Training has coordinated with the Department of Finance to appraise 82 projects on the use of public assets for leasing and partnerships by affiliated schools.

As a result, none of the projects met the requirements and needed revisions and additions to legal documents and drawings; reassessment of rental prices, financial plans, revenue calculation methods, revenue allocation, basis and method of calculating land rent; leasing vacant land and then allowing the lessee to invest in construction and exploitation is inappropriate; the number of auctions during the project implementation period has not been proposed; details of items, scale, investment value, handling plan, and architectural structures invested by the lessee have not been shown...

For the district and Thu Duc City level, the total number of affiliated public service units is 1,296. Of these, the majority of units use public assets for the purpose of renting out canteens and parking lots to serve students and teachers.

During the implementation process, the school paid taxes on its canteen and parking lot rental activities.

In addition, there are 746 units that independently organize and operate auxiliary activities, mainly preschools that provide meals for children on a semi-boarding basis.

However, due to numerous difficulties and obstacles encountered in the process of developing the plan for using public assets for leasing and joint ventures, many localities have ceased activities in this form since 2020 (Tan Phu district) and 2022 (Phu Nhuan district), with a total of 236 units.

To support educational activities for students, Tan Phu District had 2 out of 47 schools piloting a model where each school independently organized canteen and parking facilities for students (from January 2023 to May 2023). However, these activities proved unfeasible due to insufficient personnel. Furthermore, the Tan Phu District Tax Department argued that schools do not have the function of conducting business. Therefore, these schools ceased implementation.

According to Nguyen Van Hieu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, providing services such as canteens and parking lots is an urgent need for students. However, many schools no longer maintain canteens and parking lots for students, causing difficulties for both the schools and society.

Based on that situation, the Department of Education and Training recommends that the Department of Finance provide specific guidance so that units have a basis for organizing and implementing the plan.

In cases where educational institutions operate canteens and parking lots but lack sufficient manpower, expertise, and experience, they may be permitted to hire an operating unit in accordance with the law on auctioning.

In addition, the Department of Finance needs to issue guidelines on decentralization in the management and use of public assets for activities such as leasing for canteens, parking lots, sports facilities, etc.

To provide timely support to schools, the Department of Education and Training proposes that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee approve the policy allowing public service units to continue maintaining parking facilities, canteens, swimming pools, gymnasiums, sports fields, and classrooms to serve the learning and training needs of teachers and students during and outside school hours from the 2024-2025 school year. This aims to avoid wasting existing facilities and to provide funds for regular maintenance and upkeep of school facilities.

In particular, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee is researching and directing relevant departments and agencies to advise on policies to exempt land rent for the use of public assets for leasing and joint ventures.

THU TAM