Vietnam: How is the investment capital of an educational institution with foreign investment?

How is the investment capital of an educational institution with foreign investment?

According to Article 35 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP of Vietnam's Government, the investment funds for foreign-invested educational institutions are regulated as follows:

- The investment project for establishing a preschool education institution must have an investment rate of at least 30 million VND/child (excluding land use costs). The total minimum investment is calculated based on the projected peak scale at the time. The investment plan must align with the projected scale for each phase.

- The investment project for establishing a primary and secondary education institution must have an investment rate of at least 50 million VND/student (excluding land use costs). The total minimum investment is calculated based on the projected peak scale, but not less than 50 billion VND.

- The investment project for establishing a short-term training and development institution must have an investment rate of at least 20 million VND/participant (excluding land use costs). The total minimum investment is calculated based on the projected peak scale.

- The investment project for establishing a higher education institution must have a total minimum investment of 1,000 billion VND (excluding land use costs). The foreign-invested economic organization as the project investor must demonstrate financial capability as stipulated by the Investment Law 2020. At the time of appraisal for university establishment, the investment value must exceed 500 billion VND.

- The investment project for establishing a branch of a foreign-invested higher education institution in Vietnam must have a minimum investment of 250 billion VND (excluding land use costs). At the time of appraisal for university branch establishment, the investment value must exceed 150 billion VND.

- For foreign-invested educational institutions that do not construct new facilities but rent or utilize existing facilities contributed by Vietnamese partners, the minimum investment must meet at least 70% of the amounts specified in clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Article 35 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP.

Investment regulations for foreign-invested educational institutions (Image from the Internet)

What are the regulations on facilities and equipment of foreign-invested educational institutions?

According to Article 36 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP, the facilities and equipment of foreign-invested educational institutions are regulated as follows:

- For short-term training and development institutions:

+ Have classrooms suitable for lighting, furniture, equipment, and teaching aids;

+ Have a study and teaching area ensuring an average of at least 2.5 m² per learner for short-term training and development institutions;

+ Have offices for directors, leaders, teachers' rooms, libraries, and other functional rooms.

- For preschool education institutions:

+ The school is concentrated in one location with a good environment. The building area is determined based on the number of classes and children, with an average of at least 08 m² per child for urban, district-level town areas, and 12 m² per child for rural areas.

+ Have classrooms, sleeping rooms, and functional rooms appropriate in terms of area, lighting, furniture, equipment, childcare, and educational tools.

+ Have school offices, management offices, administrative management rooms, medical rooms, security rooms, staff rooms equipped with appropriate areas, equipment, and tools for management, care, nurturing, and education.

+ Have a clean water system, drainage system, appropriate toilets, sanitary equipment ensuring safety, cleanliness, meeting all school activities.

+ Have a kitchen organized according to a one-way workflow with appropriate equipment and tools, ensuring food safety and hygiene if the school organizes meals for children;

+ Have a playground, closed walls around the school area, a school gate with a nameplate according to Article 29 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP;

+ The school area has greenery. All construction designs and equipment, tools, and toys of the school must ensure absolute safety for children.

- For primary and secondary education institutions:

+ The school is concentrated in one location with a good environment. The building area is determined based on the number of classes, students, and regional characteristics, with an average of at least 06 m²/student for urban, district-level town areas, and 10 m²/student for rural areas;

+ Have an area for study and teaching, ensuring an average of at least 2.5 m²/student;

+ Have school offices, board of management offices, teachers' rooms, and meeting rooms appropriate in terms of area and equipment;

+ Have specialized classrooms (for lower and upper secondary schools), libraries, furniture, equipment, and teaching aids meeting the current standards of the Ministry of Education and Training;

+ Have a multifunctional gym, arts and crafts room, computer room, support room for disabled students, school infirmary, dining room, and resting rooms if organizing semi-boarding study;

+ Have a clean water system, appropriate toilets consistent with the scale of the educational institution, ensuring conditions meet current standards of the Ministry of Education and Training;

+ Have a playground, sports field, and parking area covering at least 30% of the school's total area. Have closed walls around the school area, a school gate with a nameplate according to Article 29 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP.

- For higher education institutions and branches of foreign-invested higher education institutions in Vietnam:

+ The land area for school construction averages at least 25 m²/student at the projected peak scale in the school development plan;

+ The construction area averages at least 09 m²/student, including a study area of at least 06 m²/student, and living and activity area for students averaging at least 03 m²/student;

+ Have adequate lecture halls, classrooms, and functional rooms suitable for and meeting the training requirements according to sectors and training methods;

+ Have adequate office space, administration area, and board rooms ensuring the organizational structure of departments, faculties, and specialized subjects, with at least 08 m²/person;

+ Have an auditorium, library, experimental facilities, workshops, and other facilities meeting the requirements of training programs and research activities;

+ Have a dining room, recreation and sports facilities, cultural facilities, healthcare, service facilities for staff, lecturers, and students;

+ Have a technical infrastructure area, and parking spaces for cars, motorcycles, and bicycles.

- Renting facilities:

Foreign-invested educational institutions are allowed to rent facilities stably for a period of at least 5 years and must ensure the facilities meet the regulations in clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Article 36 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP.

Who has the authority to permit the establishment of foreign-invested higher education institutions?

According to Article 40 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP, the authority to permit the establishment of foreign-invested higher education institutions is as follows:

- The Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam decides on the establishment of foreign-invested higher education institutions.

- The Minister of Education and Training decides on the establishment of preschools and primary and secondary education institutions at the request of foreign diplomatic missions or intergovernmental international organizations.

- The Chairman of the provincial People's Committee decides on the establishment of preschools and primary and secondary educational institutions, except for those specified in clause 2 of Article 40 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP.