Is a university lecturer in Vietnam a public employee or an official?

Is a university lecturer in Vietnam a public employee or an official?

Based on the provisions of Clause 2, Article 4 of the Law on Cadres and Officials 2008 (amended by Clause 1, Article 1 of the Law on Cadres, Officials, and Public Employees (Amended) 2019):

Officials

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2. Officials are Vietnamese citizens, recruited, and appointed to grades, positions, and titles corresponding to employed positions in the agencies of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State, socio-political organizations at the central, provincial, and district levels; in agencies and units of the People's Army, not including officers, professional soldiers, and defense employees; in agencies and units of the People's Police, excluding officers and non-commissioned officers serving under professional policies and police employees, within the staffing and receiving salaries from the state budget.

At the same time, based on the provisions of Article 2 of the Law on Public Employees 2010, public employees are stipulated as follows:

Public Employees

Public employees are Vietnamese citizens recruited according to employed positions, working at public service providers under employment contracts, receiving salaries from the salary fund of the public service providers as prescribed by law.

Based on Article 9 of the Law on Public Employees 2010, public service providers are as follows:

Public Service Providers and Organizational Structure of Public Service Providers

1. Public service providers are organizations established by authorized state bodies, political organizations, or socio-political organizations according to law, having legal status, providing public services, and serving state management.

2. Public service providers include:

a) Public service providers granted full autonomy in performing tasks, finance, organizational structure, and personnel management (hereinafter referred to as fully autonomous public service providers);

b) Public service providers not yet granted full autonomy in performing tasks, finance, organizational structure, and personnel management (hereinafter referred to as non-fully autonomous public service providers).

According to the above provisions, if university lecturers work at public service providers (public universities) under employment contracts, they will be considered public employees.

However, if university lecturers work under labor contracts with public service providers, they are not considered public employees but rather employees.

Is a university lecturer in Vietnam a public employee or an official?​ (Image from the Internet)

What is the minimum qualification for university lecturers in Vietnam?

According to Clause 3, Article 54 of the Law on Higher Education 2012 (amended and supplemented by Clause 29, Article 1 of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Higher Education 2018), the minimum qualifications for university lecturers in Vietnam are as follows:

Lecturers

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3. The minimum qualification for the title of lecturers teaching at the university level is a master's degree, except for the teaching assistant title; the qualification for the title of lecturers teaching at the master's and doctoral levels is a doctoral degree. Higher education institutions prioritize recruiting those with doctoral degrees as lecturers; develop and provide incentives for leading professors to develop training sectors.

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Thus, the minimum qualifications for university lecturers are as follows:

- For lecturers teaching at the university level, the minimum qualification is a master's degree, except for the teaching assistant title.

- For lecturers teaching at the master's and doctoral levels, the minimum qualification is a doctoral degree.

How to calculate the salary of university lecturers who are public employees in Vietnam?

According to the provisions of Article 10 of Circular 40/2020/TT-BGDDT, lecturers who are public employees at universities are classified into specific salary grades as follows:

- Senior lecturers (Grade 1) are applied the salary coefficient of public employees type A3, group 1 (A3.1) from the salary coefficient of 6.20 to 8.00.

- Principal lecturers (Grade 2) are applied the salary coefficient of public employees type A2, group 1 (A2.1) from the salary coefficient of 4.40 to 6.78.

- Lecturers (Grade 3) and teaching assistants (Grade 3) are applied the salary coefficient of public employees type A1 from the salary coefficient of 2.34 to 4.98.

The salary of university lecturers who are public employees is calculated according to the formula stipulated in Article 3 of Circular 07/2024/TT-BNV as follows:

Salary = Salary coefficient x Statutory pay rate

Wherein:

The statutory pay rate is implemented according to the provisions of Article 3 of Decree 73/2024/ND-CP as follows:

Statutory Pay Rate

1. The statutory pay rate is used as the basis for:

a) Calculating the salary in the salary tables, allowances, and implementing other policies according to the law for the subjects specified in Article 2 of this Decree;

b) Calculating the activity and subsistence allowances as prescribed by law;

c) Calculating deductions and policies based on the statutory pay rate.

2. From July 1, 2024, the statutory pay rate is 2,340,000 VND/month.

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Thus, the salary of university lecturers who are public employees is calculated based on the salary coefficient and a statutory pay rate of 2.34 million VND plus other allowances (if any).