Is the minimum Investment capital including land value for establishing a vocational education center in Vietnam 5 billion VND?

Is the minimum Investment capital including land value for establishing a vocational education center in Vietnam 5 billion VND?

Pursuant to Article 3 of Decree 143/2016/ND-CP, amended by Clause 1 Article 5 and Clause 1 Article 6 of Decree 140/2018/ND-CP, and repealed by Points e and l, Clause 21 Article 1 of Decree 24/2022/ND-CP:

Conditions for establishment or permission for establishment of a vocational education and training institution

1. Compliance with the network planning of vocational education and training institutions in Vietnam. For public vocational education and training institutions, they must operate under the self-governing mechanism of public service providers as stipulated by the Government of Vietnam.

3. The location for establishing schools or centers must ensure a minimum land area of 1,000 m² for vocational education centers; 10,000 m² for intermediate schools in urban areas or 20,000 m² in non-urban areas; 20,000 m² for colleges in urban areas or 40,000 m² in non-urban areas.

In cases where the location of intermediate and collegiate schools includes land areas in both urban and non-urban areas, the land area should be converted according to a ratio of 1:2 between urban and non-urban areas.

4. Investment capital for establishing vocational education and training institutions must be from legal sources, excluding the value of land. Specifically:

a) For vocational education centers, the minimum investment capital is 5 billion VND;

b) For intermediate schools, the minimum investment capital is 50 billion VND;

c) For colleges, the minimum investment capital is 100 billion VND.

Thus, according to the above regulations, the required minimum investment capital to establish a vocational education center is 5 billion VND, which must be from legal sources and does not include land value.

Is the minimum Investment capital including land value for establishing a vocational education center in Vietnam 5 billion VND? (Image from the Internet)

Who has the authority to decide the establishment of a vocational education center in Vietnam?

The authority to decide the establishment of a vocational education center in Vietnam is stipulated in Article 7 of Decree 143/2016/ND-CP as follows:

Authority to Establish or Permit the Establishment of vocational education and training institutions

1. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee decides on the establishment of public vocational education centers and intermediate schools under the province; permits the establishment of private vocational education centers and intermediate schools in the locality.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and heads of central agencies of socio-political organizations decide on the establishment of public vocational education centers and intermediate schools under their respective agencies or organizations.

3. The Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs decides on the establishment of public colleges and permits the establishment of private colleges.

According to the above regulations, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee decides on the establishment of public vocational education centers under the province and permits the establishment of private vocational education centers in the locality.

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and heads of central agencies of socio-political organizations decide on the establishment of public vocational education centers under their respective agencies or organizations.

What are the procedures for establishment or permission for establishment of a vocational education and training institution in Vietnam?

Under Article 8 of Decree 143/2016/ND-CP as amended by Clause 5 Article 1 of Decree 24/2022/ND-CP, regulatory procedures for establishment or permission for establishment of a vocational education and training institution in Vietnam are as follows:

(1) Receipt and verification of the application for establishment or permission for establishment of a vocational education and training institution

- Agencies, organizations, or individuals requesting the establishment or permission for establishment of a vocational education and training institution must submit the application in accordance with Article 6 of Decree 143/2016/ND-CP through the online public service portal, postal service, or directly to the agencies or organizations specified in points b, c, and d of Clause 1 Article 8 of Decree 143/2016/ND-CP.

- The General Department of Vocational Education receives applications for establishment or permission for establishment of colleges;

- Departments or specialized agencies within ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government of Vietnam, or central agencies of socio-political organizations receive applications for establishing public vocational education centers and intermediate schools under ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government of Vietnam, or central agencies of socio-political organizations;

- The Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs receives applications for establishing vocational education centers and public intermediate schools under provinces and cities under central authority; applications for permitting private vocational education centers and intermediate schools in the locality;

- Within 3 working days from the date of receipt of the application, agencies or organizations specified in points b, c, and d of Clause 1 Article 8 of Decree 143/2016/ND-CP will preliminarily review the application for establishment or permission for establishment of vocational education and training institutions. If the application is valid, it will be forwarded to the Appraisal Council for further processing. If the application is invalid, a written response will be provided, stating the reasons.

(2) Appraisal of the application for establishment or permission for establishment of a vocational education and training institution

- The Appraisal Council conducts the appraisal of the application for establishment or permission for establishment of a vocational education and training institution;

- The authority for establishment or permission for establishment of vocational education and training institutions stipulated in Article 7 of Decree 143/2016/ND-CP will establish the Appraisal Council and promulgate the regulations for its organization and operation;

- The Appraisal Council for the establishment of colleges is chaired by the Director General of the General Department of Vocational Education, with members from various ministries and agencies: the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Provincial People’s Committee where the college is headquartered, and representatives from certain specialized departments of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs;

- The Appraisal Council for establishing public vocational education centers and intermediate schools under ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government of Vietnam, or central agencies of socio-political organizations is chaired by the head of the Department or specialized agency within the ministry or agency, with members from related departments and agencies;

- The Appraisal Council for establishing public vocational education centers, and public intermediate schools subordinate to the province, and permitting the establishment of private vocational education centers and intermediate schools in the province is chaired by a leader from the Provincial People’s Committee or an authorized person, with members from related departments including the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, Department of Planning and Investment, Department of Finance, Department of Home Affairs, and other relevant agencies;

- Within 5 working days of receiving the application for establishment or permission for establishment of a vocational education and training institution, the Appraisal Council organizes the appraisal meeting;

- Based on the Appraisal Council's conclusion (announced publicly at the appraisal meeting), within 3 working days from the meeting date, the agencies or organizations specified in points b, c, and d of Clause 1 Article 8 of Decree 143/2016/ND-CP must inform the applicant organizations or individuals about the appraisal results.

(3) Decision on the establishment or permission for establishment of the establishment of a vocational education and training institution

- If the application fulfills the conditions according to the Appraisal Council's conclusion, within 5 working days of the conclusion, the agencies or organizations specified in points b, c, and d of Clause 1 Article 8 of Decree 143/2016/ND-CP will present the application to the authority for establishing or approving the establishment as stipulated in Article 7 of Decree 143/2016/ND-CP to make a decision on the establishment of a public vocational education and training institution or permit the establishment of a private vocational education and training institution according to Form No. 04, Appendix I, issued with Decree 143/2016/ND-CP. If not, a written response with reasons should be provided;

- If the application fulfills the conditions but requires completion according to the Appraisal Council's conclusion, within 5 working days of receiving the completed application, the agencies or organizations specified in points b, c, and d of Clause 1 Article 8 of Decree 143/2016/ND-CP will present it to the authority for establishing or approving the establishment as stipulated in Article 7 of Decree 143/2016/ND-CP to decide on the establishment of a public vocational education and training institution or permit the establishment of a private vocational education and training institution according to Form No. 04, Appendix I, issued with Decree 143/2016/ND-CP. If not, a written response with reasons should be provided.

(4) Public disclosure and distribution of the decision on the establishment or permission for establishment of the establishment of a vocational education and training institution

- The Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs; ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government of Vietnam, central agencies of socio-political organizations; Provincial People's Committees are responsible for publicly disclosing the decision on the establishment or permission for the establishment of the establishment of vocational education and training institutions on their electronic information pages;

- Within 2 working days from the date of issuing the decision on the establishment or permission for the establishment of the establishment of colleges, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs sends the decision to the managing agency of the college and the Provincial People's Committee where the college’s main office is located or where its branch is located, for monitoring and management;

- Within 2 working days from the date of the decision to establish vocational education centers or public intermediate schools under, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government of Vietnam, or central agencies of socio-political organizations, send the decision to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (General Department of Vocational Education), and the Provincial People's Committee where the vocational education center’s main office or the intermediate school’s main office or branch is located for monitoring and management;

- Within 2 working days from the date of the decision to establish vocational education centers or public intermediate schools under or approve the establishment of private vocational education centers or intermediate schools in the locality, the Provincial People’s Committee sends the decision to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (General Department of Vocational Education) for monitoring and management.