What are conditions and procedures for permitting primary schools to conduct educational activities (effective from November 20, 2024) in Vietnam?

On October 5, 2024, the Government issued Decree 125/2024/ND-CP regulating conditions for investment and activities in the field of education. It includes regulations on conditions and procedures for permitting non-public and private preschools to conduct educational activities.

Decree 125/2024/ND-CP takes effect from November 20, 2024.

1. What are conditions and procedures for permitting primary schools to conduct educational activities (effective from November 20, 2024) in Vietnam?

According to Article 17 of Decree 125/2024/ND-CP regarding the permission for primary schools to operate educational activities:

- The school must have land, facilities, and equipment meeting the standards for location, scale, area, and minimum facilities for primary schools as regulated by the Ministry of Education and Training.

For the inner-city areas of special-grade urban centers, the land area for school construction can be replaced by the construction floor area, ensuring that the construction floor area is not less than the minimum average land area per student as regulated.

- The school must have educational programs, teaching materials, and study resources that satisfy the requirements of general education programs at the primary level as prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training.

- There must be a sufficient number of management staff, teachers, staff, and workers who meet standards to organize educational activities, fulfilling the requirements of general education programs at the primary level as specified by the Ministry of Education and Training.

- The school must have sufficient financial resources to ensure the maintenance and development of educational activities:

+ For private primary schools, the investment must be a minimum of 50 million VND per student (excluding land use fees). The total investment capital must be calculated based on the highest projected scale but not less than 50 billion VND. The investment capital plan must align with the expected scale of each phase.

In cases where a private primary school does not build new facilities but instead rents or uses existing facilities to conduct educational activities, the investment must reach at least 70% of the investment level stipulated at point a of clause 4, Article 17 of Decree 125/2024/ND-CP;

+ For public primary schools, the financial resources are ensured by the competent management authorities to meet the requirements of primary education programs.

- There must be regulations regarding the organization and operation of the school.

2. What are procedures for allowing primary schools to operate educational activities (effective from November 20, 2024) in Vietnam?

Article 18 of Decree 125/2024/ND-CP outlines the procedures for allowing primary schools to conduct educational activities as follows:

- The Head of the Department of Education and Training decides on permitting educational activities for primary schools.

- The dossier includes:

+ A proposal for allowing the primary school to conduct educational activities (according to Form No. 03 in Appendix I attached to Decree 125/2024/ND-CP);

+ Copies of legal documents proving land use rights, house ownership rights, or a lease contract for the primary school location with a minimum term of 5 years;

+ For private primary schools, there must be legal documentation confirming the investment amount managed by the school, ensuring legality and suitability with the projected scale at the time of registering educational activities;

+ Regulations of organization and operation of the school, including the following key contents: Legal position, rights, and responsibilities of the school; organization and management of the school; organization of educational activities within the school; responsibilities and rights of management staff, teachers, employees, workers, and students; finance and assets of the school; and other issues related to the organization's and operation of the school.

- Implementation procedure:

+ The primary school submits 01 dossier as stipulated in clause 2, Article 18 of Decree 125/2024/ND-CP via the online public service portal, by post, or directly to the Department of Education and Training;

+ Within 5 working days from receiving the complete dossier, the Department of Education and Training must notify in writing about the contents that need to be amended or supplemented in case the dossier is invalid; or announce a plan for on-site verification in the case the dossier is valid;

+ Within 20 days from receiving a valid dossier, the Department of Education and Training, in cooperation with relevant specialized departments, will conduct practical assessments of the conditions for the primary school to conduct educational activities and prepare an evaluation report assessing compliance with conditions stipulated in Article 17 of Decree 125/2024/ND-CP;

+ Within 5 working days from the evaluation report, if conditions are met, the Head of the Department of Education and Training decides to allow the primary school to conduct educational activities; if not, a written notification is sent to the primary school stating the reasons.

The decision to permit educational activities for primary schools (according to Form No. 10 in Appendix I attached to Decree 125/2024/ND-CP) is publicly announced on mass media.

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