households. Another important feature<sup>in educationinthe1990swasgreater self-financingfor</sup> text books and school supplies in school<sup>emergedas alargest expenditureitem (46 %)incurred</sup> by poor households. In contrast, better-off<sup>householdsspentmoston privatefeesforextra</sup> tutorials (24.3 %) and on transportation,<sup>foodandlodging(28%)whichareveryimportant</sup> spending for quality education and<sup>healthand nutrition for their children.</sup>

**Table 12: Composition of private**<sup>**spendingon primary education by quintile, 1993-98**(%)</sup>

||Poorestquintile|Richest quintile|Vietnam|
|---|---|---|---|
|_1993_||||
|Fees<br>|5.1<br>|6.7<br>|5.6<br>|
|PTA&schoolcontribution<br>|19.4<br>|8.0<br>|11.5<br>|
|Uniforms<br>|9.9<br>|12.9<br>|12.7<br>|
|Text books&schoolsupplies<br>|44.9<br>|14.5<br>|25.0<br>|
|Transportation,Lodging&food|14.5<br>|45.4<br>|35.1<br>|
|Others|6.3|12.5|10.1|
|_1998_||||
|Fees<br>|0.9<br>|11.9<br>|5.6<br>|
|Privatetutoring<br>|4.9<br>|24.3<br>|14.9<br>|
|PTA&schoolcontribution<br>|22.1<br>|10.5<br>|15.4<br>|
|Uniforms<br>|12.0<br>|10.7<br>|13.6<br>|
|Textbooks&school supplies<br>|45.8<br>|16.3<br>|23.8<br>|
|Transport,foodandlodging<br>|11.3<br>|27.8<br>|30.1<br>|
|Others|7.2|5.3|6.3|

_Source:_ Author's estirates based on 1992-93<sup>and 1997-98VLSS</sup> The fact that the richest households<sup>spentasmuchas 24percentof theirtotaleducation</sup> spending on private tutors (for extra<sup>teachingoutsideschoolhoursconductedby teachers)per</sup> primary student, while the poorest household<sup>spentonly lessthan</sup><sup>_5_percent,impliesthataccess</sup> to "higher quality education" was<sup>biasedagainstthepoor. Moreover,asprimaryeducation was</sup> free, the 12 % of education expenditure<sup>the richestfamiliesspent for fees perhapsreflectsmore</sup> payments for extra tutorials at school<sup>conductedoutsideschoolhours.Thiscan helpto explain</sup> why the better-off children repeated<sup>less.As the public budget foreducationwaslimited,</sup> teachers supplementing their low salary<sup>byteachingchildrenextrahoursisquite acommon</sup> phenomenon in urban and wealthy areas<sup>in Vietnam.Children whocannot afford these tutorials</sup> are at a disadvantage, since they may<sup>not get neededguidanceon how to dohomework,ormore</sup> detailed explanation of challenging<sup>coursecontent which isover-loadedatschoolsand even</sup> incomprehensible without additional<sup>teacherassistance.Moreover,itisimportanttonotethat</sup> much of the material covered in tutorial<sup>sessionsshould infactbetaught withinthe normal</sup> school curriculum. However, teachers<sup>veryoften holdthese toteachin extra sessionstotopup</sup> their low salary. It should also be<sup>noted that extra tutorialsaretypicallyonlyof urbanand</sup> wealthy areas. In poorer and rural<sup>areaswherehouseholdscannotaffordextraclasses,teachers</sup> have to supplement their low salary<sup>bydoingotherjobs,whichalsoaffectsthequalityof</sup> education.

The composition of private spending<sup>on educationalsovariedwidelybyregion(Table</sup> 13). For the Northern regions, the highest<sup>burdenfor householdsof sending childrento primary</sup> 13