Vietnam: From November 20, 2024, what are the requirements to be satisfied by secondary schools for conducting their educational activities under Decree 125?

From November 20, 2024, what are the requirements to be satisfied by secondary schools for conducting their educational activities in Vietnam under Decree 125?

Under Article 27 of Decree 125/2024/ND-CP, the requirements to be satisfied by secondary schools for conducting their educational activities in Vietnam are:

1. Own land, facilities and equipment meeting standards in terms of location, scale, area and basic facilities applied to lower and upper secondary schools according to regulations issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Regarding inner cities of special class urban areas, it shall be possible that the area of land used for construction of a secondary school is replaced by the floor area of land and the floor area of land shall not be smaller than the minimum average land area per student according to regulations.

2. Have education curriculum, syllabuses and learning materials that meet requirements for the general education curriculum according to regulations promulgated by the Ministry of Education and Training.

3. Employ adequate administrative officers, teachers, staff and employees that meet standards in order to organize educational activities, thereby meeting requirements for the general education curriculum according to regulations promulgated by the Ministry of Education and Training.

4. Have a sufficient amount of financial resources in order to maintain and develop educational activities:

+ Regarding a private secondary school, the investment capital shall be at least 50 million VND/student (excluding expenses incurred from land tenancy). The total minimum capital shall be calculated when the estimated education scale is greatest but not be smaller than 50 billion VND. The capital plan shall conform to the estimated scale of each stage.

Regarding a private secondary school of which the facilities are not newly built but are leased or the existing facilities are used to conduct educational activities, the capital shall be at least 70% of the capital specified in point a of clause 4, Article 27 of Decree 125/2024/ND-CP;

+ Regarding a public secondary school, its financial resources shall be maintained by a competent management authority so as to meet requirements for the general education curriculum according to regulations.

5. Have the statutes of organization and operation of the school.

From November 20, 2024, what are the requirements to be satisfied by secondary schools for conducting their educational activities in Vietnam under Decree 125? (Image from the Internet)

What does the application for permission for secondary schools to conduct their educational activities in Vietnam include?

Pursuant to Article 28 of Decree 125/2024/ND-CP, specific procedures for permission for secondary schools to conduct their educational activities in Vietnam are stipulated as follows:

The application includes:

- A written request for permission for educational activities (according to Form No. 03 Appendix I enclosed with this Decree);

- Copies of legal documents proving land use rights and house ownership or agreement on rental of location for a secondary school of which the minimum term is 05 years;

- In case of a private secondary school, a legal confirmation document on the amount of investment currently managed by the secondary school, ensuring legitimacy and conformity with estimated scale at the time of application for educational activities;

- Statutes of organization and operation of the secondary school, specifying legal status, missions and powers of the secondary school; organization and management structure; organization of educational activities; tasks and rights of administrative officers, teachers, staff, employees and students; finances and assets of the secondary school; other issues related to organization and operation of the secondary school.

Procedures:

Step 1: The secondary school shall submit an application specified in clause 2 of this Article in person, via online public service portal or by post, to the Subdepartment of Education and Training (regarding the lower secondary school) or the Department of Education and Training (regarding the upper secondary school);

Step 2: Within 05 working days from the date on which the sufficient application is received, if the application is unsatisfactory, the Subdepartment of Education and Training or the Department of Education and Training shall give a written notification of contents to be amended to the applicant; or if the application is satisfactory, it shall notify a plan to carry out the realistic assessment at the secondary school;

Step 3: Within 20 days from the date of receipt of the sufficient and satisfactory application, the Subdepartment of Education and Training or the Department of Education and Training shall preside over and cooperate with other relevant specialized units in organizing the assessment of realistic conditions concerning permission for the secondary school to conduct its educational activities; preparing an assessment report to assess the fulfillment of requirements mentioned in Article 27 of this Decree;

Step 4: Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the assessment report, if the requirements are fulfilled, the Head of the Subdepartment of Education and Training or the Director of the Department of Education and Training shall issue a decision on permission for the secondary school to conduct its educational activities; if the requirements are not fulfilled, he/she shall send a written notification in which reasons should be clearly specified to the applicant.

Note: The decision on permission for the secondary school to conduct its educational activities (according to Form No. 10 Appendix I enclosed with this Decree) shall be publicly announced on mass media.

Will secondary schools whose educational activities have not been conducted within 01 year in Vietnam have their educational activities suspended?​

Pursuant to clause 1 Article 29 of Decree 125/2024/ND-CP, specific regulations on suspension of educational activities conducted by secondary schools are as follows:

Suspension of educational activities conducted by secondary schools

1. A secondary school shall have its educational activities suspended in one of the following cases:

a) It commits any fraudulent act in order to obtain a license for educational activities;

b) The license for its educational activities has been granted ultra vires;

c) Its educational activities have not been conducted within the duration of 01 year from the licensing date;

d) It has committed any violation against regulations on imposition of penalties for administrative violations arising from educational activities to the extent that the decision on suspension thereof is granted;

dd) Other cases prescribed by law.

....

Thus, according to the above regulations, secondary schools whose educational activities have not been conducted within 01 year in Vietnam will have their educational activities suspended.