What actions are taken against higher education institutions offering new programs without meeting conditions in Vietnam?

What are the conditions for offering new programs at higher education institutions in Vietnam?

Under Clause 1, Article 33 of the Law on Higher Education 2012 as amended by Clause 18, Article 1 of the Law on Amendments to Law on Higher Education 2018, the conditions for offering new programs are stipulated as follows:

Offering new programs

1. Conditions for offering a new undergraduate, master’s or doctoral program:

a) The academic discipline is suitable for the demand for human resources for industrial, local, regional or national socio-economic development; facilitates international integration;

b) The full-time lecturers and academic personnel are capable in terms of quantity, quality, qualifications and ratio;

c) The institution’s facilities, library and textbook are suitable for the teaching and learning of the new academic discipline;

d) There is a training program conformable with Article 36 of this Law.

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Simultaneously, under Clause 1, Article 36 of the Law on Higher Education 2012 as amended by Clause 21, Article 1, Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Amendments to Law on Higher Education 2018 on training programs:

Higher education programs and textbooks

1. Training program:

a) A training program includes the targets, knowledge, structure, contents and assessment methods for each subject, academic discipline, training level and output standards according to the national training level framework;

b) Training programs shall be credit-based, include research-oriented programs, application-oriented program and profession-oriented programs; ensure connection between the training levels and disciplines; satisfy training program standards;

c) A foreign training program may be run if it is permitted by a the competent authority of the host country and it has an unexpired license or educational quality certification issued by a lawful training quality assessment organization and complies with intellectual property laws;

d) Higher education institutions are autonomous and responsible for the development, appraisal and introduction of the training programs at college, university, master’s and doctorate levels;

dd) Foreign-capitalized higher education institutions are autonomous and responsible for the development and implementation of the training programs evaluated by a Vietnam’s education quality assessment organization that do not harm the National defense and security, social interests, that do not distort history or negatively impact the culture, ethics, good customs, good traditions and solidarity of Vietnam’s communities as well as the world peace and security, that do not contain religious propagation;

e) The contents of training programs in the form of continuing education are similar to that of the training programs in the form of formal education.

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Thus, conditions for offering new programs at higher education institutions in Vietnam include:

- The academic discipline is suitable for the demand for human resources for industrial, local, regional or national socio-economic development; facilitates international integration;

- The full-time lecturers and academic personnel are capable in terms of quantity, quality, qualifications and ratio;

- The institution’s facilities, library and textbook are suitable for the teaching and learning of the new academic discipline;

- There is a training program conformable with following regulations:

+ A training program includes the targets, knowledge, structure, contents and assessment methods for each subject, academic discipline, training level and output standards according to the national training level framework;

+ Training programs shall be credit-based, include research-oriented programs, application-oriented program and profession-oriented programs; ensure connection between the training levels and disciplines; satisfy training program standards;

+ A foreign training program may be run if it is permitted by a the competent authority of the host country and it has an unexpired license or educational quality certification issued by a lawful training quality assessment organization and complies with intellectual property laws;

+ Foreign-capitalized higher education institutions are autonomous and responsible for the development and implementation of the training programs evaluated by a Vietnam’s education quality assessment organization that do not harm the National defense and security, social interests, that do not distort history or negatively impact the culture, ethics, good customs, good traditions and solidarity of Vietnam’s communities as well as the world peace and security, that do not contain religious propagation;

What actions are taken against higher education institutions offering new programs without meeting conditions in Vietnam?

Under Clause 4, Article 33 of the Law on Higher Education 2012 as amended by Clause 18, Article 1 of the Law on Amendments to Law on Higher Education 2018,  a higher education institution that offers a new program without satisfying every condition shall:

+ have such program suspended and

+ be suspended from opening new disciplines for 05 years from the day on which a conclusion is issued by a competent authority

What actions are taken against higher education institutions offering new programs without meeting conditions in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What is the power to suspend a training program at higher education institutions in Vietnam?

Under Clause 2, Article 12 of Circular 02/2022/TT-BGDDT stipulating the power to suspend a training program at higher education institutions in Vietnam:

Suspension of a training program

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2. The Minister of Education and Training decides to suspend a training program at the training institution concluded by a competent state authority to have violated as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, specifying the reasons, scope, duration of suspension, and publicly announcing it through mass media.

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Therefore, the Minister of Education and Training has the power to suspend a training program at higher education institutions in Vietnam.