The Government has issued Decree No. 339/2025, establishing policies to support lunch meals for primary and secondary students in land-border communes.

According to the decree, each student will receive a monthly allowance of 450,000 VND (about $18) and 8 kilograms of rice.

The duration of support will depend on the actual number of school months, but not exceed nine months per academic year.

For students who transfer schools, the subsidy will be calculated based on the number of actual study days and the average daily allowance and rice quantity.

First-grade students who are ethnic minorities and attend Vietnamese language preparation courses before entering Grade 1 will receive one additional month of the same support.

Under the decree, schools will receive assistance to organize lunch meals for students.

For every 45 students having lunch at school, the institution will receive 2,369,000 VND (about $94) per month to organize meals.

If there are 20 or more additional students, another full allowance will be added.

Schools with fewer than 45 students having lunch collectively will still receive one full allocation.

This support is also limited to nine months per school year.

Educational institutions will be provided with investment in facilities, equipment, and utensils for organizing school lunches, following government regulations on educational infrastructure standards.

They will also receive subsidies for electricity and water used in lunch preparation-7.5 kWh of electricity and 1.5 cubic meters of water per student per month, based on local utility rates, for up to nine months.

In areas without stable electricity or water supply, schools are permitted to use the allocated funds to purchase or rent generators and clean water equipment to ensure meal preparation.

Depending on local conditions, schools with satellite campuses may also receive financial support for lunch organization as per the same regulations.

At the beginning of each school year, schools are required to publicly inform students and parents about the support policy.

If any student voluntarily declines the support, their parents or guardians must notify the school.

Students who are eligible for other forms of social or educational allowances-such as scholarships or special aid-will still receive this lunch and rice support under Decree 339/2025.

However, students who do not eat lunch at school will not be entitled to the policy.

Students transferring to non-border communes during the school year will no longer receive the support from the transfer date.

Conversely, students moving to border communes will become eligible from their first day of attendance in those areas.

This decree represents the Government’s continued commitment to improving nutrition, learning conditions, and equity for children in border and ethnic minority regions.

Tran Thuong