Chương VI: Nghị định 46/2017/NĐ-CP Trường trung cấp sư phạm, trường cao đẳng sư phạm; trường đại học

Chapter VI

POSTSECONDARY-, COLLEGE-LEVEL PEDAGOGY SCHOOL; HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

Section 1. POSTSECONDARY-, COLLEGE-LEVEL PEDAGOGY SCHOOL

Article 78. Regulatory eligibility requirements for establishment of public postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school, or approval of establishment of private postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school

1. The requesting school must ensure that the proposal for its establishment is consistent with the plan for network of pedagogy schools approved by the state regulatory authority. Contents of the proposal for establishment of the school must specify necessity for establishment of the school, assessment of conformance of its establishment to the plan for network of vocational education institutions; name of the school; functions, missions, organizational and management structure; training disciplines and scale; training objectives, curriculum and syllabus; financial resources; land coverage; proposed facilities, personnel number and structure of a staff of  tenured lecturers and administrative officers that meets quality and qualification standards stipulated by applicable regulations adopted by the Ministry of Education and Training, and aligns with the schedule of registration of training disciplines and enrolment; the plan for construction and development of the school over specific periods of time; duration and progress of execution of the school investment project; socio-economic effectiveness.

2. The requesting school must obtain the written approval of establishment of the school located within a centrally-affiliated city or province from the People’s Committee of the province where the school is based (except for establishment of its subsidiary school). 

3. The postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school must respectively reserve at least 02 and 05 hectares of land used for construction of its head office; the requesting school must provide facilities and equipment that satisfy operational requirements of the school. The project for construction of the requesting school must be located within a safe and convenient environment for the school’s students, teachers, administrative officers and employees.

4. The fund for construction of the school must be derived from legal capital sources, exclusive of land value, and must be at least VND 50 and 100 billion for the postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school, respectively.  The estimate of the fund for the project for construction of a public school must be approved by the host entity of that school and clearly define which fund is used for execution of that construction project according to the specified plan, investment capital expressed in cash, assets that are made available for investment purposes and legitimacy of which is proved.

Article 79. Procedures and documentation requirements for establishment of public postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school, or approval of establishment of private postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school

1. The Minister of Education and Training shall be vested with authority to issue the decision on establishment of a public college-level pedagogy school or approval of establishment of a private college-level pedagogy school; the President of the provincial-level People's Committee shall be vested with authority to issue the decision on establishment of a public postsecondary-level pedagogy school or approval of establishment of a private postsecondary-level pedagogy school within his/her local jurisdiction.

2. The application documentation shall be composed of the followings:

a) The application form for establishment of a public school, submitted by the host entity of that school; the application form for approval of establishment of a private school, submitted by the requesting organization or individual. The application form must specify reasons for application for establishment or approval of establishment of the school; the school’s Vietnamese and English name; addresses of main office and training locations; the school’s functions and missions; trades, occupations, training scale and qualifications;

b) The written consent of the People’s Committee of the province where the school is based;

c) The proposal for establishment of the school that describes its conformance to all regulatory eligibility requirements as provided for by Article 78 hereof;

d) The draft general floor plan and preliminary design of architectural facilities which must ensure consistency with training disciplines, educational scale and qualifications as well as standards of usable area and construction area for teaching and learning purposes;

dd) The certified duplicate copy of the certificate of right to use land and house ownership, or the written consent to allocation or leasing of land, issued by the provincial-level People’s Committee (including definite information about the address, land acreage and boundary lines of the school construction site); 

e) With respect to the application for establishment of a public school, the decision on approval of the school construction project which clearly defines the funding source for execution of the project according to the plan for school investment and construction must be included; with respect to the application for approval of establishment of a private school, the bank’s written confirmation of total balance of contributed capital in the project management board’s account, evidences of the right of ownership of assets and the written document on valuation of assets provided as capital contribution, if such capital contribution is made by offering assets or the right of ownership of assets;

g) With respect to a private school, the following additional documents must be provided:

- Statement on recommendation of the representative who is the bearer of the application for establishment of the school by capital contributors.

- List of brief résumés of the school's founding members.

- List, form and written record of capital contributions made by stakeholders that undertake to contribute their capital to establish the school.

- Recommended Chair and Management Board of the school.

3. Implementation procedures:

a) Receive the application package for establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting postsecondary-, college-level pedagogy school.

- The requesting entity, organization or individual sends 01 set of application documents referred to in Clause 2 of this Article, whether directly or by post, to the Ministry of Education and Training (in case of application for establishment of a college-level pedagogy school), or the Department of Education and Training (in case of application for establishment of an postsecondary-level pedagogy school).

- The Ministry of Education and Training or the Department of Education and Training carries out brief review of the submitted documentation before sending it to the council on evaluation of the application for establishment of the school.

Within the permissible duration of 05 business days of receipt of the application documentation, the Ministry of Education and Training or the Department of Education and Training sends the received application documentation to its evaluation council if it is established that that application documentation is valid, or sends a written response to the entity, organization or individual applying for establishment or approval of establishment of the school which clearly specifies reasons for rejection, if it is established that the application documentation is invalid.

b) Evaluate the application documentation for establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting postsecondary-, college-level pedagogy school:

- The evaluation council conducts evaluation of the application documentation for establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting postsecondary-, college-level pedagogy school.

- The Minister of Education and Training grants the decision on establishment of the council on evaluation of the application documentation for establishment of a college-level pedagogy school and issues the statutes of organization and operation of that evaluation council. The evaluation council shall be chaired by the leader of the Ministry of Education and Training or the authorized person and joined as members who are representatives of ministries and state authorities such as the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the provincial-level People’s Committee of the local jurisdiction where the college-level pedagogy school is based and representatives of certain specialized divisions of the Ministry of Education and Training.

The President of the provincial-level People’s Committee grants the decision on establishment of the council on evaluation of the application documentation for establishment of a postsecondary-level pedagogy school and issues the statutes of organization and operation of that evaluation council. The evaluation council shall be chaired by the leader of the provincial-level People’s Committee or the authorized person, and joined as members who are representatives of subsidiary departments of the provincial-level People’s Committee such as the Department of Education and Training, the Department of Planning and Investment, the Department of Finance, the Department of Home Affairs and other relevant authorities.

- Within the permissible duration of 05 business days of receipt of the application documentation for school establishment from the Ministry of Education and Training or the Department of Education and Training, the evaluation council conducts evaluation of that application documentation;

- Based on the evaluation results achieved from the evaluation council (disclosed in the evaluation meeting), the entity, organization or individual applying for establishment or approval of establishment of the school prepares their complete application package for submission to the Ministry of Education and Training or the Department of Education and Training.

Within the permissible duration of 05 business days after the evaluation date, where the evaluation council determines that the submitted application package has not conformed to regulatory requirements, the Ministry of Education and Training or the Department of Education and Training sends a written response to the requesting entity, organization or individual in which reasons for determination of their failure to conform to such requirements should be clearly defined.

c) Issue a decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting postsecondary- or college-level pedagogy school as follows:

Within the permissible duration of 10 business days of receipt of the application documentation for establishment or approval of establishment of the school that has been improved based on the opinions received from the evaluation council, the Minister of Education and Training issues his/her decision on establishment of a public college-level pedagogy school or approval of establishment of a private college-level pedagogy school. The President of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall be accorded authority to grant the decision on establishment of a public postsecondary-level pedagogy school, or approval of establishment of a private postsecondary-level pedagogy school. In case of refusal to grant that decision, a written notice in which reasons for such refusal should be clearly defined must be sent.

The decision on establishment of a public postsecondary-level pedagogy school, or approval of establishment of a private postsecondary-level pedagogy school must be sent to the Ministry of Education and Training. The decision on establishment of a public college-level pedagogy school, or approval of establishment of a private college-level pedagogy school must be sent to the provincial-level People’s Committee of the local jurisdiction where the requesting school is based.

Article 80. Regulatory eligibility requirements for the certification of registration of vocational education practice awarded to the requesting school to provide training in a range of disciplines for postsecondary- or college-level teachers 

1. The requesting school must obtain the decision on establishment or the decision on approval of establishment of the school.

2. The project for construction of the requesting school must be located within a safe and convenient environment for the school’s students, teachers, administrative officers and employees.

3. The school must own school head office, facilities and equipment that meet regulatory requirements concerning educational operations specified in the proposal for school establishment under its prior commitments. Specifically, the minimum construction floor area is 5.5 and 7.5 m²/student with respect to the postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school, respectively.

4. The requesting school must ensure that its training curriculum, syllabus, teaching and learning materials conform to vocational education requirements and are appropriate for provision of training in a range of postsecondary- and college-level pedagogical disciplines under the instructions of the Ministry of Education and Training.

5. The requesting school's staff of administrative officers and teachers must meet stipulated educational standards, be adequate, be organized according to the personnel structure consistent with the procedures for registration of training disciplines or occupations and enrolment in accordance with regulations adopted by the Ministry of Education and Training.     

6. The requesting school must maintain a sufficient amount of financial resources as required by laws in order to ensure continued operation and development of its educational activities.

7. The school must adopt its statutes of organization and operations.

Article 81. Procedures for awarding the certificate of registration of vocational education practice to the requesting school to provide training in a range of disciplines for postsecondary- or college-level teachers 

1. The Director of the Department of Education and Training shall be vested with authority to award the certificate of registration of vocational education practice to the requesting school to provide training in a range of disciplines for postsecondary-level teachers.

The Minister of Education and Training shall be vested with authority to award the certificate of registration of vocational education practice to the requesting school to provide training in a range of disciplines for college-level teachers.

2. The application documentation shall be composed of the followings:

a) The application form for award of the certificate of registration of vocational education practice to provide training in a range of disciplines for teachers;

b) The certified duplicate copy of the establishment decision or the decision on approval of establishment of the school;

c) The review report on fulfillment of commitments specified in the proposal for school establishment;

d) The interpretation of conditions for training quality assurance:

- The list of particulars of tenured teachers and administrative officers, verified by the Department of Education and Training;

- Land, facilities and equipment meeting requirements of training activities as agreed upon in its commitments; inventory of all facilities used for training activities in the school, quantity and area of lecture halls, libraries, laboratory rooms, devices, teaching and reference materials, books used in educational activities, all of which are verified by the Department of Education and Training;  

- Financial resources required by applicable regulations for the purpose of ensuring continued operation and development of the school’s vocational education activities;

- Proposed student intake and enrolment plan;

- The school’s curriculum, syllabus, teaching and learning materials required by regulations.

dd) Statutes and rules of school organization and operation.

3. Implementation procedures:

a) The requesting school sends 01 set of application documents referred to in Clause 2 of this Article, whether directly or by post, to the Department of Education and Training in the province where it is based in order for it to consider making the decision to award such certificate for the school’s postsecondary-level education program, or to the Ministry of Education and Training in order for it to consider making the decision to award such certificate for the school’s college-level education program;

b) Within the permitted duration of 05 business days of receipt of these application documents, if the submitted set of documents has been found illicit, the receiving entity must send a written notification of contents that require the requesting school’s modification or revision;

c) Within the permissible duration of 10 business days of the valid application documents, if all regulatory eligibility requirements have been met, the competent person will grant such certificate for the postsecondary- or college-level vocational education program in which allowed training disciplines must be specified.  In case of refusal to grant such certificate, a written notice in which reasons for such refusal are clearly defined must be sent.

4. If the postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school that has been awarded the certificate of registration of vocational education practice wishes to apply for an addition of any vocational education activity to its existing registration for provision of training in a range of disciplines for postsecondary- and college-level teachers, it must submit a set of application documents including the request form for an addition of vocational education activity in which the training discipline that requires such addition must be specified; the statement of the requesting school’s conformity to eligibility requirements for such addition where appropriate for specific training disciplines, enclosing respective evidencing documents.

Application for additional registration of vocational education practice shall be carried out according to the procedures prescribed by Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 82. Merger, division or split-up of a postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school

1. Merger, division or split-up of a postsecondary-level pedagogy school or a college-level pedagogy school shall conform to the following requirements:

a) Such action must align with the plan for network of pedagogy schools and match the local socio-economic development demands;

b) Such action must help assure rights and benefits of students, teachers, administrative officers and employees; contribute to improving the quality and effectiveness of vocational education activities and the quality of pedagogical training;

c) The postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school that is newly established during the merger, division or split-up procedures must meet statutory requirements specified in Article 78 hereof.

2. The competent person vested with authority to issue the decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school shall have the authority to issue the decision on merger, division or split-up or approval of merger, division or split-up of that postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school.

3. Procedures for merger, division or split-up of a postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school shall be the same as the procedures for establishment of postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school, referred to in Article 79 hereof.

Article 83. Suspension of provision of training in a range of disciplines for postsecondary- and college-level teachers

1. The competent person having authority to grant the certificate of registration of vocational education practice for provision of training in a range of disciplines for postsecondary- and college-level teachers shall be vested with authority to suspend provision of vocational education program.

2. Provision of training in a range of disciplines for postsecondary- or college-level teachers shall be suspended when the following situations occur:

a) The school has committed any fraudulent act in order to obtain the decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school or the certificate of registration of vocational education practice for provision of training in a range of disciplines for postsecondary- or college-level teachers;

b) The school has not conformed to one of the regulatory eligibility requirements for registration of vocational education practice for provision of training in a range of disciplines for teachers as prescribed herein;

c) The school has provided training in a range of disciplines for teachers when it has yet to obtain the certificate of registration of vocational education practice;

d) The school has committed violations against laws on education to the extent that it is subject to suspension of its educational operations imposed as an administrative penalty;

dd) As otherwise prescribed by laws and regulations.

3. Implementation procedures:

a) The competent person having authority to award the certificate of registration of vocational education practice for provision of training in a range of disciplines for postsecondary- or college-level teachers establishes the inspection team, carries out inspection activities and makes a report on field inspection of the school subject to suspension;

b) Based on the inspection results, the competent person having authority to grant the certificate of registration of vocational education practice for provision of training in a range of disciplines for postsecondary- and college-level teachers makes a decision to suspend such provision of training.

The suspension decision must specify reasons for such suspension, duration of suspension, approaches to assuring legal rights and benefits of the school’s students, teachers, administrative officers and employees and must be made known to the public through mass media.

4. Upon expiration of the duration of suspension, if the defaulting school has succeeded in mitigating causes resulting in such suspension, the competent person vested authority to grant the suspension decision shall issue a decision on permission for restoration of the school’s operations which must be made known to the public through mass media. In case of refusal to grant permission for restoration of educational operations, a written notice must be sent to the school, give clear reasons for such refusal and provide any possible solution.

5. The documentation submitted to apply for permission for restoration of educational operations shall be composed of the followings:

a) The request form for permission for restoration of the school’s educational operations;

b) The decision on establishment of the inspection team;

c) The inspection report.

6. Grant of permission for restoration of vocational education practice of the school shall be carried out according to the process prescribed by Clause 3 Article 81 hereof.

Article 84. Revocation of the certificate of registration of vocational education practice for provision of training in a range of disciplines for postsecondary- or college-level teachers 

1. The certificate of registration of vocational education practice for provision of training in a range of disciplines for teachers when one of the following situations occurs:

a) The school has committed any fraudulent act in order to obtain the certificate of registration of vocational education practice for provision of training in a range of disciplines for teachers;

b) The school has committed a serious violation against applicable regulations on organization and operation of vocational education activities;

c) The school has committed violations against laws on vocational education to the extent that it is subject to revocation of its certificate imposed as an administrative penalty;

d) The school has been dissolved in accordance with laws;

dd) As otherwise prescribed by laws and regulations.

2. The competent person having authority to grant the certificate of registration of vocational education practice for provision of training in a range of disciplines for teachers, as prescribed by Clause 1 Article 81 hereof, shall be vested with authority to issue the decision on suspension of provision of vocational education program according to the following processes and procedures:

a) Inspect and evaluate the severity of violation, determine reasons for revocation of the certificate of registration of vocational education program;

b) Within the permissible duration of 10 business days of receipt of the results achieved from inspection and evaluation of the severity of violation and reasons for revocation, the competent person having authority to grant the certificate of registration of vocational education practice for provision of training in a range of disciplines for teachers, as prescribed by Clause 1 Article 81 hereof, shall issue the decision on revocation of that certificate, notify this to the relevant authority for its collaboration in implementation of this decision, disclose the decision through websites of the decision-making authority;

c) Within the permissible duration of 05 business days of receipt of the revocation decision, the school shall be obliged to give back the certificate to the decision-making authority and concurrently terminate its registered vocational education program promptly after the revocation decision enters into force.

Article 85. Dissolution of a postsecondary-, college-level pedagogy school

1. The postsecondary-, college-level pedagogy school shall be dissolved when one of the following situations occurs:

a) The school has committed any violation against laws which leads to serious consequence;

b) Upon expiration of the duration of suspension of vocational education practice for provision of training in a range of disciplines for teachers, causes for such suspension have not yet been corrected;

c) The school has not been awarded the certificate of registration of vocational education practice for provision of training in a range of disciplines for teachers for 3 years after the date of entry into force of the decision on establishment or approval of establishment;

d) The school has yet to provide the registered vocational education program for 3 years after the date of grant of the certificate;

dd) The school is dissolved upon the request of the organization or individual as the founder of the school.

2. The competent person vested with authority to issue the decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the school shall have the authority to issue the decision on dissolution or approval of dissolution.

3. The request for dissolution shall be composed of the following documents such as the written request form of the school for dissolution which specifies reasons for dissolution, approaches to dealing with issues relating to legitimate rights and benefits of students, teachers, administrative officers and employees (the organization or individual requests dissolution).

4. Implementation procedures:

a) The competent person vested with authority to issue the decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the school conducts field inspection of the school;

b) Based on the inspection results, the competent person issues the decision on dissolution of the school. The dissolution decision must clearly specify reasons for such dissolution, provide approaches to assuring legal rights and benefits of the school’s students, teachers, administrative officers and employees and must be made known to the public through mass media;

c) The processing duration shall be 20 business days after receipt of the written request.  

Article 86. Conditions and procedures for establishment or dissolution of a branch of a postsecondary-, college-level pedagogy school

Conditions and procedures for establishment or dissolution of a branch of a postsecondary-, college-level pedagogy school shall be the same as those for establishment of postsecondary- and college-level pedagogy school, referred to in Article 78, 79 and 85 hereof.

Section 2. HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

Article 87. Regulatory eligibility requirements for establishment of a public higher education institution, or approval of establishment of a private higher education institution

1. The requesting higher education institution must ensure that the proposal for its establishment is consistent with the socio-economic development and education network plan approved by the state regulatory authority. The proposal for establishment of an institution must specify name, training field, discipline and scale, objectives, curriculum and syllabus, financial resource, land, facilities, lecturers, administrative officers, functions, missions, organizational and management structure, scheme for construction and development of the requesting institution over time periods, duration and progress of execution of the project for construction and development of the requesting institution and socio-economic efficiency. In order to obtain permission for establishment of a public higher education institution, the requesting institution must adhere to a commitment that it will operate under the autonomous mechanism as a public service entity in accordance with the Government's applicable laws and regulations.  Establishment of a non-public not-for-profit higher education institution shall be preferred.

2. The requesting institution is required to obtain the written approval of its establishment within a centrally-affiliated city or province from the People’s Committee of the province where that institution is based (except when the subsidiary institution of the provincial-level People's Committee is established).

3. The requesting institution must reserve at least 05 hectares of land used for construction of its head office and provide an average space of at least 25 m²/student as of the time the institution’s training competency is stable after 10 years of its development; must ensure that its facilities, equipment and staff of tenured lecturers satisfy its operational requirements. The project for construction of the requesting institution must be located within a safe environment for the school’s students, teachers, administrative officers and employees.

4. There must be the project for construction of the requesting institution approved by its host entity in which the funding source for execution of that project in conformity with the stated plan must be clearly defined in case of establishment of a public higher education institution, and must ensure the minimum investment capital of VND 1,000 billion in case of establishment of a non-public higher education institution (exclusive of the value of land used for construction of the requesting institution). That amount of investment capital must be expressed in cash and assets already made available for investment, certified in writing by the competent authority, and at the date of evaluation carried out before grant of permission for establishment of a non-public institution, more than a half of such amount has been used.  

5. The requesting institution must make a detailed estimate of the number and structure of tenured lecturers and administrative officers that meet the training quality and qualification standards prescribed by applicable regulations adopted by the Ministry of Education and Training, and suit the specified scheme in order to create new disciplines and carry out enrolment as stated in the proposal for establishment of the requesting institution. 

Article 88. Procedures and documentation requirements for establishment of a public higher education institution, or approval of establishment of a private higher education institution

1. The Prime Minister shall have authority to issue the decision on establishment of a public higher education institution, or approval of establishment of a private higher education institution.

2. A higher education institution shall be established by taking two following steps:

a) Approve the policy on establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting institution;

b) Issue the decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting institution.

3. Documentation submitted to apply for approval of the policy on establishment or the policy on permission for establishment of a higher education institution shall include the followings:

a) The application form for approval of the policy on establishment of a public higher education institution, prepared by the host institution, or for approval of the policy on permission for establishment of a non-public higher education institution, prepared by the requesting organization or individual;

b) The written consent of the provincial-level People’s Committee to establishment of the requesting higher education institution at its local jurisdiction. The written consent should specify necessity and relevance of establishment of the requesting institution to the local socio-economic development plan, policy on allocation or leasing of land for construction of the requesting institution, land plot location and possibility of the local authority’s cooperation in or provision of favorable conditions for construction and development of the requesting institution, and legal documents on land use rights (if any);

c) The proposal for establishment of the requesting institution;

d) With respect to the application documentation for establishment of a non-public higher education institution, in addition to documents referred to in Point a, b and c of this Clause, the other documents provided under the instructions of the Ministry of Education and Training are required, including:

- The list of founding members;

- The statement on recommendation of the representative who is the bearer of the application for establishment of the requesting institution by capital contributors;

- The commitment to contribution of capital for construction of the higher education institution made by the organization or individual, and the uncontentious opinion obtained from the representative who is the bearer of the application for establishment of the requesting institution;

- The list of stakeholders committed to contributing their capital;

- The written agreement on capital contribution.

4. Application for approval of the policy on establishment or the policy on permission for establishment of a higher education institution shall be carried out according to the following processes:

a) The organization or individual applying for approval of the policy on establishment or the policy on permission for establishment of a higher education institution sends 01 set of application documents prescribed by Clause 3 of this Article, whether directly or by post, to the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) The Ministry of Education and Training conducts evaluation of the submitted documentation, makes a report, and requests the Prime Minister to consider and approve the policy on establishment or permission for establishment of the requesting institution;

c) Within the permissible duration of 45 business days of receipt of the application documentation for establishment of the requesting institution as required by applicable laws and regulations, the Minister of Education and Training shall be responsible for sending the written response to the results of processing of the application documentation submitted by the organization or individual undertaking the project for establishment of the requesting institution;

d) Within the duration of 03 years after the date of entry into force of the Prime Minister’s approval of the policy on establishment or permission for establishment of the requesting institution, if the project developer has not presented the application documentation to the Prime Minister for his decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting institution, the Minister of Education and Training shall be responsible for reporting to the Prime Minister to request him to consider granting the decision on cancellation of the written document on approval of the policy on establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting institution. 

Where the written document on approval of the policy on establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting institution expires or is annulled, the Government shall take back the allocated land to give it to another education institution and keep educational use of such land remain unchanged, and deal with assets associated with land in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

5. The application documentation for the Prime Minister’s decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting institution shall include:

a) The Prime Minister’s written document on approval of the policy on establishment or the policy on permission for establishment of the requesting higher education institution;

b) The certified duplicate copy of the investment certificate in case of establishment of a non-public higher education institution, issued by the provincial-level People’s Committee;

c) The legally valid document stating confirmation of the land use right or the one issued by the regulatory authority having power to allocate or lease land for a period of 50 years or more for the purpose of construction of the requesting institution with the following issues specified such as location, boundary line, address and area of the land plot where the requesting institution is based;

d) The construction planning of the requesting institution and general floor plan approved by the host entity in case of establishment of a public higher education institution, or by the provincial-level People's Committee in case of establishment of a non-public higher education institution;

dd) The written document containing the detailed report on the progress of execution of the project for establishment of the requesting institution, prepared by the host entity (in case of establishment of a public higher education institution) or by the Project Management Unit together with the opinion received from the People’s Committee of the province where the requesting institution will be based (in case of establishment of a non-public higher education institution);

e) The statement of proposed fields or disciplines of study, administrative officers and training scale;

g) The legally valid documents indicating confirmation of the investor’s capital put under management of the Project Management Unit, including:

- Interpretations on the competency in making fund investments, the decision on fund investments and facility and engineering conditions of the host entity (in case of establishment of a public higher education institution);

- The bank’s written confirmation of available amount of money in the custody of the project management unit, the legally valid documents providing evidence of the right to own assets associated with the written document indicating valuation of the contributed asset in case of capital contribution made in the form of assets or asset ownership rights; the evidencing documents relating to the amount of fund used for the purpose of construction of the requesting school and purchase of equipment thereof (attached confirmation by the competent financial institution of the amount of fund that has been used for construction of the requesting school and confirmation by the bank of the fund balance available in the account of the project management unit).  

6. The process for submission of application for the Prime Minister’s decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting institution shall be prescribed as follows:

a) The project developer sends 01 set of application documents referred to in Clause 5 of this Article, whether directly or by post, to the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) Within the permitted duration of 15 business days of receipt of these documents, if the submitted set of documents has been found illicit, the Minister of Education and Training assumes responsibility for sending a written notification to the project developer for any revision or modification;

c) If these documents have been found conforming to regulations laid down in Clause 5 of this Article within the duration of 60 business days, the Ministry of Education and Training shall take responsibility for undertaking or cooperating with the relevant regulatory authority in conducting evaluation of the submitted documentation and field evaluation in order to give accurate judgements on various conditions and subject matters specified in the project, preparing the complete documentation for submission to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Home Affairs to acquire their written opinions on the projects satisfying requirements set out by laws and send any notice to the project developer in case of failure to meet such requirements.  The field evaluation of the project shall be carried out by the Evaluation Board, composed of the representative of the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the People's Committee of the province where the requesting institution is based.   The Evaluation Board shall be established under the decision made by the Minister of Education and Training and perform the function of advising the Minister of Education and Training on the feasibility of the project before submitting that project to the Prime Minister for his consideration and grant of the decision;

d) Within the permissible duration of 30 business days of receipt of all written opinions from relevant authorities or entities, the Ministry of Education and Training consolidates all received opinions, completes the project-related documentation and submits such documentation to the Prime Minister;

dd) Upon expiration of the duration of 4 years after the entry into force of the Prime Minister’s decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting institution, unless the requesting institution meets licensing requirements for its educational operations, the Minister of Education and Training shall assume responsibility for reporting to the Prime Minister to apply for his decision on cancellation of the decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the said institution, and the Ministry of Education and Training shall send the People’s Committee of the province where the requesting school is based a written notification of recovery of the right to use land for construction of the requesting institution within its jurisdiction.

Where the decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the requesting institution expires, the Government shall take back the allocated land in accordance with applicable laws on land and deal with associated assets in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Article 89. Licensing requirements for educational operations of a higher education institution

1. The requesting institution has received the Prime Minister’s decision on establishment or approval of establishment.

2. The requesting school must prepare land, facilities, equipment, student’s dormitory and physical training facilities that meet regulatory operational requirements.  The project for construction of the requesting institution must be located within a safe environment for its students, teachers, administrative officers and employees as agreed upon in the proposal for establishment of the requesting institution.

3. The requesting institution’s curriculum, syllabus, teaching and learning materials must obey applicable laws and regulations.

4. The requesting institution’s staff of tenured lecturers and administrative officers must be adequate and consistent in terms of its personnel structure, be appropriate for training disciplines or fields, satisfy stipulated conduct and qualification standards and ensure that they are competent to fulfill educational objectives and execute educational programs, and meet eligibility requirements concerning higher education lecturers and administrative officers prescribed by applicable laws and regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training.

5. The requesting institution must maintain a sufficient amount of financial resources as required by laws in order to ensure its continued operation.

6. The requesting institution must adopt the statutes of its organization and operations as well as its internal financial rules.

Article 90. Procedures and documentation requirements for educational operations of a higher education institution

1. The Minister of Education and Training shall have authority to license educational operations of a higher education institution.

2. The application documentation for such license shall be composed of the followings:

a) The request form for the license to carry out educational operations;

b) The review report on fulfillment of commitments specified in the proposal for establishment of a higher education institution;

c) The training program;

d) The interpretation of conditions for training quality assurance:

- The list of particulars of tenured lecturers and administrative officers, certified by the provincial-level People’s Committee;

- The inventory of all facilities used for training activities in the requesting institution, quantity and area of lecture halls, libraries, laboratory rooms, devices, teaching and reference materials, books used in educational activities, all of which are verified by the provincial-level People’s Committee;  

- The proposed student intake and enrolment plan.

3. Implementation procedures:

a) The requesting institution sends 01 set of application documents referred to in Clause 2 of this Article, whether directly or by post, to the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) The Ministry of Education and Training receives and conducts the field evaluation determining whether licensing requirements for educational operations of the requesting institution are satisfied;

c) Within the maximum duration of 30 business days of receipt of all legally-required application documents, the Minister of Education and Training grants the decision on approval of educational operations of the requesting school. Where the submitted documents do not meet regulations laid down in Clause 2 of this Article, within the duration of 30 business days, the Ministry of Education and Training send a notification of the results of processing of the application documentation for a license to carry out educational operations of the requesting institution.

Article 91. Regulatory eligibility requirements for establishment of the branch of a public higher education institution, or approval of establishment of the branch of a non-public higher education institution

1. The requesting school’s proposal for its establishment must align with the socio-economic development plan of the local jurisdiction where the branch of a higher education institution will be based. The proposal for establishment of the branch of a higher education institution should specify necessity for establishment of a higher education institution’s branch, legal bases for development of the construction project, guidelines and strategies for construction and development of the branch over periods of time, name, location, legal status, functions, missions of the proposed branch, and approaches to execution of the construction project, e.g. the approach to organization of the management and personnel mechanism, the solution to construction of facilities, the financial solution, project execution steps, preferred missions and attached evidences of eligibility requirements for establishment of the proposed branch.  

2. The requesting institution must receive the written consent to establishment of the branch from the People’s Committee of the province where the requesting institution is based.

3. The requesting institution must reserve at least 02 hectares of land used for construction of its branch (or otherwise considered or decided by the Minister of Education and Training in certain particular cases) and provide an average space of at least 25 m²/student as of the time the branch’s training competency is stable after 10 years of its development; must ensure that its facilities, equipment and staff of tenured lecturers and administrative officers satisfy its operational requirements. The project for construction of the proposed branch must be located within a safe environment for its students, teachers, administrative officers and employees.

4. There must be the project for construction of the requesting institution approved by its host entity in which the funding source for execution of that project in conformity with the stated plan must be clearly defined in case of establishment of the branch of a public higher education institution, and must ensure the minimum investment capital of VND 250 billion in case of establishment of the branch of a non-public higher education institution (exclusive of the value of land used for construction of the proposed branch). That amount of investment capital must be expressed in cash and assets already made available for investment, certified in writing by the competent authority, and at the date of evaluation carried out before grant of permission for establishment of the branch of a non-public institution, more than VND 150 billion has been disbursed. 

5. There must be a detailed estimate of the number and structure of tenured lecturers and administrative officers that meet the training quality and qualification standards prescribed by applicable regulations adopted by the Ministry of Education and Training, and suit the specified scheme in order to create new disciplines and carry out enrolment as stated in the proposal for establishment of the proposed branch. 

Article 92. Procedures and documentation requirements for establishment of the branch of a public higher education institution, or approval of establishment of the branch of a non-public higher education institution

1. The Minister of Education and Training shall have authority to issue the decision on establishment of the branch of a public higher education institution, or approval of establishment of the branch of a non-public higher education institution.

2. A higher education institution’s branch shall be established according to the following dual-step process:

a) Approve the policy on establishment or approval of establishment of the branch in case of:

- Establishment of a new branch;

- Establishment of the branch of a higher education institution on the premises of existing higher education institutions.

b) Issue the decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the branch.

3. The application documentation submitted to apply for approval of the policy on establishment or the policy on permission for establishment of a branch shall include the followings:

a) In case of establishment of a new branch:

- The application form for approval of the policy on establishment of a branch, prepared by the host entity of a public higher education institution, or for approval of the policy on permission for establishment of a branch, prepared by the Chair of the Management Board of a non-public higher education institution. The application form for approval of the policy on establishment or the policy on permission for establishment of the branch should describe the main contents relating to necessity, name, legal status and objectives of its establishment, plan for construction and development prepared over periods of time, functions, missions, organizational, management and personnel mechanism, training disciplines and scale, financial resources, land and facilities of the branch;

- The written consent from the provincial-level People’s Committee to establishment of the branch. The written consent should specify necessity and relevance of establishment of the branch to the local socio-economic development plan, policy on allocation or leasing of land for construction of the branch, land plot location and possibility of the local authority’s cooperation in or provision of favorable conditions for construction and development of the branch, and legally valid documents on land use rights (if any);

- The proposal for establishment of the branch;

- With respect to a non-public higher education institution, in addition to the written documents mentioned above, the application documentation for establishment of the branch should additionally include the investment commitment of the Management Board of the higher education institution and attached evidences of financial capability of the higher education institution, verified by the competent authority.

b) Establishment of the branch of a higher education institution on the premises of an existing higher education institution:

- The application form for approval of the policy on establishment of a branch, prepared by the host entity of a public higher education institution and the existing higher education institution, or for approval of the policy on permission for establishment of a branch, prepared by the Chair of the Management Board of a non-public higher education institution and the existing higher education institution. The application form for approval of the policy on establishment or the policy on permission for establishment of the branch should describe the main contents relating to necessity, name, legal status and objectives of its establishment, plan for construction and development prepared over periods of time, functions, missions, organizational, management and personnel mechanism, training disciplines and scale, financial resources, land and facilities of the branch;

- The written consent to establishment of the branch from the People’s Committee of the province where the branch is based.

4. Application for approval of the policy on establishment or the policy on permission for establishment of the branch shall be carried out according to the following processes:

a) The host entity of the public higher education institution or the Management Board of the non-public higher education institution sends 01 set of documents referred to in Clause 3 of this Article, whether directly or by post, to the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) The Minister of Education and Training conducts evaluation of the submitted documentation, considers and approves the policy on establishment or the policy on permission for establishment of the branch;

c) Within the permissible duration of 45 business days of receipt of the application documentation for establishment of the branch as required by applicable laws and regulations, the Minister of Education and Training assumes responsibility for sending the written response related to the results of processing of the submitted documentation;

d) Upon expiration of the duration of 03 years after the date of entry into force of the Minister of Education and Training’s approval of the policy on establishment or the policy on permission for establishment of the branch, if the application documentation for establishment or approval of establishment of the branch is not presented, the Minister of Education and Training shall issue the decision on cancellation of the written document indicating approval of the policy on establishment or approval of establishment of the branch; 

Where the written document on approval of the policy on establishment or the policy on permission for establishment of the branch expires or is annulled, the Government shall take back the allocated land to give it to another education institution and keep educational use of such land remain unchanged, and deal with assets associated with land in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

5. The application documentation for the Minister of Education and Training’s decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the branch shall include:

a) The Minister of Education and Training’s written document on approval of the policy on establishment or the policy on permission for establishment of the branch;

b) The legally valid document containing confirmation of the land use right or the one issued by the regulatory authority having power to allocate or lease land for a period of 50 years or more for the purpose of construction of the branch with the following issues specified such as location, boundary line, address and area of the land plot where the branch is based;

c) The construction planning of the branch and the general floor plan approved by the host entity in case of establishment of the branch of a public higher education institution, or by the provincial-level People's Committee in case of establishment of the branch of a non-public higher education institution;

d) The written document containing the detailed report on the progress of execution of the project for establishment of the branch, enclosing the confirmation of the People's Committee of the province where the branch is based;

dd) The statement of proposed training fields or disciplines, administrative officers and training scale;

e) The legally valid documents indicating confirmation of the investor’s capital including:

- Interpretations on the competency in making fund investments, the decision on fund investments and facility and engineering conditions of the host entity (in case of establishment of the branch of a public higher education institution);

- The bank’s written confirmation of available amount of money, the evidencing documents relating to the amount of fund used for the purpose of construction of the branch (attached confirmation by the competent financial institution of the amount of fund that has been used for construction of the higher education institution and confirmation by the bank of the fund balance available in the account of the non-public higher education institution).  

6. Implementation procedures:

a) The requesting institution sends 01 set of application documents referred to in Clause 5 of this Article, whether directly or by post, to the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) Within the permitted duration of 15 business days of receipt of these documents, if the submitted set of documents has been found illicit, the Minister of Education and Training assumes responsibility for sending a written notification to the requesting higher education institution for any revision or modification;

c) If these documents have been found conforming to regulations laid down in Clause 5 of this Article within the duration of 60 business days, the Ministry of Education and Training shall take responsibility for undertaking or cooperating with the relevant regulatory authority in conducting evaluation of the submitted documentation and field evaluation in order to give accurate judgements on various conditions and subject matters specified in the project, preparing the complete documentation for submission to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Home Affairs to acquire their written opinions on the projects satisfying requirements set out by laws and send any notice to the requesting higher education institution in case of failure to meet such requirements.  The field evaluation of the project shall be carried out by the Evaluation Board, composed of the representative of the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the People's Committee of the province where a higher education institution’s branch is based.   The Evaluation Board shall be established under the decision made by the Minister of Education and Training and perform the function of advising the Minister of Education and Training on the feasibility of the project;

d) Within the permissible duration of 30 business days of receipt of all written opinions from relevant authorities or entities, the Ministry of Education and Training consolidates all received opinions, completes the project-related documentation and considers giving its decision;

dd) Upon expiration of the duration of 4 years after the entry into force of the Ministry of Education and Training’s decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the branch, unless the branch meets licensing requirements for its educational operations, the Minister of Education and Training shall assume responsibility for granting the decision on cancellation of the decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the said branch, and sends the People’s Committee of the province where the branch is based a written notification of recovery of the right to use land for construction of the said branch which has been allocated within his/her jurisdiction;

Where the decision on establishment or approval of establishment of the branch expires, the Government shall take back the allocated land in accordance with applicable laws on land and deal with associated assets in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Article 93. Procedures and requirements for the license for educational operations of the branch of a higher education institution

1. Requirements for the license for educational operations of the branch of a higher education institution shall include:

a) The branch must receive the Minister of Education and Training’s decision on establishment of the branch;

b) The branch must prepare land, facilities, equipment, student’s dormitory and physical training facilities that meet regulatory operational requirements.  The project for construction of the branch must be located within a safe environment for its students, teachers, administrative officers and employees as agreed upon in the proposal for establishment of the branch;

c) The branch must design the curricula relative to specific disciplines or specializations (except those of the higher education institution applying for permission for establishment of its branch which have already been licensed), syllabuses, teaching and learning materials in accordance with applicable regulations;

d) The branch’s staff of tenured lecturers and administrative officers must be adequate and consistent in terms of its personnel structure, be appropriate for training disciplines or fields, satisfy stipulated conduct and qualification standards and ensure that they are competent to fulfill educational objectives and execute educational programs, and meet eligibility requirements concerning higher education lecturers and administrative officers prescribed by applicable laws and regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training;

dd) The branch must maintain a sufficient amount of financial resources as required by laws in order to ensure its continued operation;

e) The branch must adopt the statutes of its organization and operations as well as its internal financial rules.

2. Procedures for grant of a license for educational operations of the branch shall be similar to those applied to a higher education institution as provided in Article 90 hereof.

Article 94. Merger, division or split-up of a higher education institution

1. Merger, division or split-up of a higher education institution shall conform to the following requirements:

a) Match the plan for development of network of higher education institutions;

b) Satisfy the socio-economic development demands of the country;

c) Assure legal rights and benefits of its students, teachers, administrative officers and employees;

d) Contribute to increasing the quality and effectiveness of the higher education.

2. The Prime Minister shall have authority to issue the decision on merger, division or split-up of a higher education institution.

3. The request documentation for these actions shall be composed of the followings:

a) The request form submitted by the host entity (if a public higher education institution requests such actions), the request form submitted by the requesting higher education institution (if a non-public higher education institution requests such actions) to the Ministry of Education and Training for merger, division or split-up of the requesting higher education institution, enclosing the opinion received from the People’s Committee of the province where the requesting higher education will be based upon completion of merger, division or split-up;

b) The minutes of the meeting of shareholders on merger, division or split-up of the requesting higher education institution (with respect to a public higher education institution);

c) The proposal for merger, division or split-up of the requesting higher education institution, which specifies purposes of such actions, the main office of the higher education institution formed upon completion of such actions, the proposed personnel structure, the alternatives for students, lecturers, administrative officers and employees, the procedures or documentation requirements and time limit for transformation of assets, contributed capital and shares.

4. Implementation procedures:

a) Within the permitted duration of 15 business days of receipt of these request documents, if the submitted set of documents has not conformed to regulations laid down in Clause 3 of this Article, the Ministry of Education and Training sends a written notification to the host entity of the requesting higher education institution (with respect to a public higher education institution), or to the requesting higher education institution (with respect to a non-public higher education institution) for any revision or modification;

b) If these documents have been found conforming to regulations laid down in Clause 3 of this Article, within the duration of 30 business days, the Ministry of Education and Training takes responsibility for undertaking evaluation and cooperating with the relevant ministries or regulatory authorities in submitting such evaluated documents to the Prime Minister for his consideration and decision.

Article 95. Suspension of educational operations of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution

1. A higher education institution shall be subject to suspension of its educational operations when the following situations occur:

a) The requesting institution has committed any fraudulent act in order to approval of establishment or permission for establishment or the license for its educational operations;

b) The requesting institution has failed to meet one of the stipulated licensing requirements for its educational operations as prescribed by this Decree;

c) The license for its educational operations has been granted ultra vires;

d) The requesting institution has committed violations against laws on education to the extent that it has to be subject to suspension of its educational operations imposed as an administrative penalty;

dd) As otherwise prescribed by laws and regulations.

2. The Minister of Education and Training shall have authority to issue the decision on suspension of educational operations of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution.

3. The suspension decision must clearly specify reasons for such suspension, duration of suspension, provide approaches to assuring legal rights and benefits of students, teachers, administrative officers and employees and must be made known to the public through mass media.

4. Upon expiration of the duration of suspension, if causes resulting in such suspension have been corrected, the competent person vested authority to grant the suspension decision shall issue a decision on permission for restoration of educational operations of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution and must make that decision known to the public through mass media. In case of refusal to grant permission for restoration of educational operations, a written notice must be sent to the requesting institution, give clear reasons for such refusal and provide any possible solution.

5. d) Documents submitted to request restoration of educational operations shall be composed of the followings:

a) The request form for permission for restoration of educational operations;

b) The decision on establishment of the inspection team;

c) The inspection report.

6. Grant of permission for restoration of educational operations of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution shall be subject to the procedures prescribed by Clause 3 Article 90 hereof.

Article 96. Dissolution of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution

1. A higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution shall be dissolved when the following situations occur:

a) It has committed serious violations against applicable regulations on organization or operation of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution;

b) Upon expiration of the duration of suspension specified in the suspension decision, causes for such suspension have not yet been corrected;

c) Educational objectives and contents specified in the establishment decision or the decision on approval of establishment have no longer matched the national socio-economic development demands;

d) The dissolution takes place upon the request of the organization or individual as the founder of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution;

dd) Upon expiration of the duration of 05 years, it has failed to comply with the commitment specified in the approved proposal for its establishment after the date of entry into force of the decision on establishment or approval of establishment. 

2. The Prime Minister shall have authority to issue the decision on dissolution of a higher education institution. The Minister of Education and Training shall have authority to dissolve the branch of a higher education institution.

3. The request documentation for dissolution of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution shall include:

a) The written request for dissolution of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution, submitted by the host entity of the requesting institution, or the organization or individual as the founder of that higher education institution or branch, which specifies reasons for or purposes of dissolution of the requesting institution;

b) The plan for dissolution of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution which specifies approaches to assuring legitimate rights and benefits of its students, lecturers, administrative officers and employees, the plan for treatment of assets and financial matters of the requesting institution.

4. Implementation procedures:

a) The Ministry of Education and Training receives the request documentation for dissolution of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution, and conduct its evaluation. Evaluation of the request documentation for dissolution of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution shall be carried out according to the procedures similar to those applied to establishment of a higher education institution under the provisions of this Decree;

- Within the permitted duration of 15 business days of receipt of the request documentation, if the submitted set of documents has been found illicit, the Ministry of Education and Training sends a written notification to the requesting institution or branch of the requesting institution for any revision or modification;

- Within the permissible duration of 30 business days of receipt of the request documentation meeting regulations, the Ministry of Education and Training undertakes cooperation with relevant ministries or sectoral authorities in conduct of evaluation of the request documentation, prepares a consolidated report for submission to the Prime Minister for his consideration and decision in respect of a higher education institution, or his decision in respect of a branch of a higher education institution.

b) Where a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution violates one of the regulations laid down in Point a, b, c and d Clause 1 of this Article, but its host entity or the organization or individual as the founder of that institution or branch does not make any request, the Ministry of Education and Training bears responsibility for cooperating with relevant ministries or regulatory sectoral authorities in evaluation of conformity with requirements for dissolution of that institution or branch and submit an evaluation report to the Prime Minister for his consideration and decision in respect of a higher education institution, or his consideration or decision in respect of a branch of a higher education institution.   

5. The decision on dissolution of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution must clearly specify reasons for such dissolution, provide approaches to assuring legal rights and benefits of its students, teachers, administrative officers and employees and must be made known to the public through mass media.

6. Upon the dissolution of a higher education institution or a branch of a higher education institution, the Government shall take back the allocated land in accordance with applicable laws on land and deal with associated assets in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.