Vietnam: Do private kindergartens in Vietnam have legal status? What is the organizational structure of private kindergartens?

Do private kindergartens in Vietnam have legal status?

The position of private kindergartens is stipulated in Article 2 of the organizational and operational regulations of private preschools issued under Circular 13/2015/TT-BGDDT as follows:

- Private preschools, kindergartens and independent preschool education groups or classes are preschool education institutions under the national education system, and established by social organizations, social-professional organizations, enterprises or individuals upon the approval by competent state authorities. Funding for investment in material facilities and covering operating expenditures are derived from non-state budget.

- Private preschools and kindergartens shall have the legal status, their own accounts and seals.

Thus, according to the regulations, private kindergartens shall have the legal status, their own accounts and seals.

What is the organizational structure of private kindergartens in Vietnam?

Under the provisions of Article 6 of the organizational and operational regulations of private preschools issued under Circular 13/2015/TT-BGDDT, the organizational structure of private kindergartens in Vietnam is structured as follows:

The organizational structure of a private preschool or kindergarten must adhere to regulations on organizational structure prescribed in the Preschool Charter and correspond to its conditions and scale. A private preschool or kindergarten must consist of the following divisions:

- The Management Council (if any);

- The Supervisory Board;

- The Principal and Deputy Principals;

- Specialized panels;

- The administrative panel;

- Organizations or unions;

- Groups or classes.

Do private kindergartens in Vietnam have legal status? What is the organizational structure of private kindergartens in Vietnam? (Image from Internet)

What are the actions taken against violations of private kindergartens in Vietnam?

Taking actions against violations of private kindergartens is regulated in Article 26 of the organizational and operational regulations of private preschools, issued under Circular 13/2015/TT-BGDDT as follows:

(1) Private preschools, kindergartens, preschool education groups and classes are not allowed to give permission to any individual or organization to use their prestige or facilities to commit acts in violation of the law and conduct commercialization activities in the education sector for seeking personal profit and inconsistently with objectives in their operation plans.

(2) In cases where evidence is sufficient to prove that a private preschool, kindergarten, preschool education group or class fails to comply with state laws, regulations and rules adopted by the Ministry of Education and Training; fails to ensure safety and quality of child fostering, care and education; fails to satisfy requirements on facilities and equipment; or still carries out educational activities without decision on permission to found and carry out educational activities, one of the following disciplinary measures shall be imposed subject to the level of violation:

+ Written warnings;

+ Penalties for administrative violations as regulated by prevailing laws;

+ Suspension of individual, manager, teacher, employee from the preschool or preschool education institution, or suspension of educational activities of the preschool or preschool education institution;

+ Suspension of operation or compulsory dissolution;

+ Request competent authorities to take actions as regulated by laws

Thus, the actions taken against violations of private kindergartens in Vietnam include:

(1) Written warnings;

(2) Penalties for administrative violations as regulated by prevailing laws;

(3) Suspension of individual, manager, teacher, employee from the preschool or preschool education institution, or suspension of educational activities of the preschool or preschool education institution;

(4) Suspension of operation or compulsory dissolution;

(5) Request competent authorities to take actions as regulated by laws.

What are the licensing requirements for the educational operations of private kindergartens in Vietnam?

According to Article 5 of Decree 46/2017/ND-CP, amended by Clause 2 Article 1 of Decree 135/2018/ND-CP:

Requirement (1) Obtain the decision on establishment or the decision on approval of establishment, issued by the President of the district-level People’s Committee.

Requirement (2) Own land, school head office, facilities and equipment that meet requirements, help maintain and develop educational activities as well as satisfy the following specific requirements:

+ The preschool education group/class, preschool or kindergarten must be located within the precincts of a residential zone in compliance with regulations on safety and environmental sanitation;

+ The total area of project site is divided into multiple spaces used for building infrastructural facilities, playgrounds, roads and growing landscaping plants. The average area of project site must be at least 12 m2 per a child in lowland, delta and midland regions (except municipal and urban regions); 08 m2 per a child in municipal, urban, mountainous and island regions;

+ The preschool education group/class, preschool or kindergarten must build walls to separate its space from the outside;

+ The construction project is divided into the following blocks:

++ Block of child care and nursery education classrooms, e.g. general activity gathering classrooms, sleeping classrooms, toilets and play grounds, which must ensure conformity with the specified regulations;

++ Block of learning classrooms, e.g. physical education classrooms, art education classrooms or multifunctional classrooms;

++ Block of dining rooms, e.g. kitchen spaces and warehouses;

++ Block of administrative rooms, e.g. school offices, rector’s offices, vice rector’s offices, administrative management offices, healthcare rooms, security rooms, staff rooms, toilets intended for teachers, officers, employees, and parking lots for teachers, officers and employees;

++ Play grounds, e.g. play grounds for child groups or classes; commonly-shared play spaces.

Requirement (3) Employ an adequate staff of administrative officers, teachers and employees that are structured in a proper manner and meet stipulated standards for provision of early childhood education programs and organization of educational activities. 

Requirement (4) Maintain an sufficient amount of financial resources as required by laws in order to ensure continued operation and development of educational activities.

Requirement (5) Have the statutes of organization and operations of the preschool education group/class, preschool or kindergarten.

Thus, according to the above regulations, private kindergartens must meet the above 05 licensing requirements for the educational operations.