Vietnam: What are the conditions for the establishment of private preschools?

What are the conditions for the establishment of private preschools in Vietnam?

Article 3 Decree 46/2017/ND-CP stipulates the conditions for the establishment of private preschools as follows:

Regulatory requirements for establishment of public kindergartens, preschools or nursery schools; permission for establishment of non-public or private kindergartens, preschools or nursery schools

1. The scheme for establishment of a kindergarten, preschool or nursery school must be consistent with the local socio-economic and educational network development plan approved by the state regulatory authority.

2. The scheme for establishment of a kindergarten, preschool or nursery school must clearly define preschool objectives, missions, curriculum framework and outline; land, facilities, equipment and intended construction site; organization and personnel structure, financial and other resources; guidelines and strategies for construction and development.  

Thus, the conditions for the establishment of a private preschool include:

- The scheme for establishment of a preschool must be consistent with the local socio-economic and educational network development plan approved by the state regulatory authority.

- The scheme for establishment of the preschool must clearly define preschool objectives, missions, curriculum framework and outline; land, facilities, equipment and intended construction site; organization and personnel structure, financial and other resources; guidelines and strategies for construction and development.  

What are the conditions for the establishment of private preschools in Vietnam? (Image from Internet)

Who has the power to grant the permission for establishment of private preschools in Vietnam?

Under Clause 1, Article 4 Decree 46/2017/ND-CP stipulating the power to grant the permission for establishment of private preschools:

Procedures and documentation requirements for establishment of public kindergartens, preschools and nursery schools; permission for establishment of non-public or private kindergartens, preschools and nursery schools

1. The President of the People’s Committee of an urban/rural district or provincially-controlled town (hereinafter referred to as district-level People’s Committee) shall be accorded authority to grant the decision on establishment of a public kindergarten, preschool and nursery school, or permission for establishment of a non-public or private kindergarten, preschool and nursery school.

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Thus, the President of the district-level People's Committee has the power to grant the permission for establishment of private preschools.

What are the procedures for granting the permission for establishment of private preschools in Vietnam?

Under Clause 3, Article 4 Decree 46/2017/ND-CP amended by Clause 1, Article 1 Decree 135/2018/ND-CP, the procedures for granting the permission for establishment of private preschools in Vietnam are as follows:

Step 1: Submission of the application

Organizations or individuals requesting the establishment of a private preschool must submit directly or by post 01 application to the district-level People's Committee.

The documents include:

- A proposal for the establishment of the private preschool specifying the necessity of establishment; the name of the preschool; the proposed location for the headquarters for implementing the childcare, nurturing, and educational activities;

- The establishment project for the private preschool;

Step 2: Verification of application

Within 5 working days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the district-level People's Committee is responsible for directing the Division of Education and Training to organize the verification of the conditions for establishing the preschool;

Within 15 working days, the Division of Education and Training takes the lead, cooperates with relevant specialized Divisions in verifying, and submits their evaluation to the President of the district-level People's Committee;

Step 3: Decision on granting the permission for establishment

Within 5 working days from the date of receiving written verification from the Division of Education and Training and other relevant specialized Divisions, if the conditions are met as stipulated, the President of the district-level People's Committee issues a permit for the establishment;

If the conditions are not met as stipulated, the President of the district-level People's Committee provides a written response specifying the reasons.

* After a period of 2 years from the effective date of the granting the permission for establishment, if the preschool fails to conduct educational operations, the establishment decision or permission will be revoked.

What are the licensing requirements for the educational operations of private preschools in Vietnam? of Private Preschools

According to Article 5 Decree 46/2017/ND-CP amended by Clause 2, Article 1 Decree 135/2018/ND-CP, the licensing requirements for educational operations of private preschools in Vietnam are as follows:

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

[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 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;

As for administrative subdivisions short of unoccupied land, it shall be possible that the building area is replaced by the floor area and the stipulated area of vacant land must be adequate;

* Private preschool can:

Rent a part or the whole of the available reserves of state-owned houses and infrastructure facilities for use in educational activities in accordance with the Government’s regulations on incentives for private sector involvement in the sector of education, vocational education, healthcare, culture, sports, environment and judicial assessment.  

Rental of educational equipment and facilities which have not yet been operated at the maximum capacity by public service entities in the education sector shall be subject to applicable legislation on management and use of state-owned assets.

- The preschool 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, play spaces with landscaping plants.

- Equipment, toys, supplies, instructional materials on child care and education must be available in accordance with regulations laid down by the Ministry of Education and Training.

[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. 

[4]. Maintain a sufficient amount of financial resources as required by laws in order to ensure continued operation and development of educational activities.

[5].Have the statutes of organization and operations of the preschool.