Conditions for Foreign Language and Computing Exam Exemptions for Teachers in Certain Examinations

Firstly - Exemption from Foreign Language and Computer Science exams in Public Employee Recruitment

In Clause 4, Article 1 of Decree 161/2018/ND-CP of the government, effective from January 15, 2019, it stipulates that candidates participating in the recruitment exams for officials and public employees will be exempt from the foreign language exam (round 1) in the following cases:

- Holding a bachelor’s or postgraduate degree in a foreign language;- Holding a bachelor’s or postgraduate degree from foreign institutions or from institutions in Vietnam where the medium of instruction is a foreign language;- Candidates applying for an official post in ethnic minority regions who are either from an ethnic minority or have a certificate of the minority language recognized by competent authorities.

Additionally, candidates will be exempt from the computer science exam (round 1) if they hold a degree in information technology, computer science, or mathematics and computer science from at least the intermediate level or higher.

Therefore, candidates for the public employee exams, particularly teachers, will be exempt from the foreign language exam if they have a degree in a foreign language or have graduated from a foreign institution or a Vietnamese institution where the medium of instruction is a foreign language. They will also be exempt from the computer science exam if they have an intermediate or higher degree in information technology, computer science, or mathematics and computer science.

Secondly - Exemption from Foreign Language and Computer Science subjects in Professional Title Promotion Exams

Article 7 of Circular 20/2017/TT-BGDDT stipulates the cases in which public preschool and general education teachers are exempted from the foreign language and computer science subjects in the professional title promotion exams. Teachers are exempt from the foreign language subject in the following cases:

- Male teachers aged 55 and above and female teachers aged 50 and above by December 31 of the year in which the promotion exam is held;- Teachers in ethnic minority and mountainous regions or at ethnic boarding/day schools, holding a certificate of training in minority languages issued by competent training institutions;- Those who have studied and conducted full-time research abroad and have been awarded a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree by a foreign training institution where English, Russian, French, German, or Chinese is used in instruction, and the degree has been recognized by competent authorities as per current regulations;- Holding a second bachelor's degree in a foreign language in English, French, Russian, German, or Chinese;- Holding a Foreign Language Proficiency Level 3 certificate or higher according to the Vietnamese 6-level Framework (equivalent to B1 or higher according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), or holding an international English certificate with a TOEFL PBT score of 450, TOEFL CBT score of 133, TOEFL iBT score of 45, or IELTS score of 4.5 or higher for the promotion exam from rank IV to rank III; Holding a Foreign Language Proficiency Level 3 certificate or higher according to the Vietnamese 6-level Framework (equivalent to B1 or higher according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), or holding an international English certificate with a TOEFL PBT score of 450, TOEFL CBT score of 133, TOEFL iBT score of 45, or IELTS score of 4.5 or higher for the promotion exam from rank III to rank II; Holding a Foreign Language Proficiency Level 4 certificate or higher according to the Vietnamese 6-level Framework (equivalent to B2 or higher according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), or holding an international English certificate with a TOEFL PBT score of 500, TOEFL CBT score of 173, TOEFL iBT score of 61, or IELTS score of 5.5 or higher for the promotion exam from rank II to rank I.

For teachers teaching foreign languages, the foreign language exam exemption rules apply provided that the language of the exam is different from the language they are teaching at an equivalent level.

Teachers are exempt from the computer science exam if they hold an intermediate or higher degree in computer science or information technology.

Additional notes regarding the validity of foreign language certificates used for exemption:

+ Foreign language certificates with specified validity periods will be considered valid until the expiration date recorded on the certificate, calculated up to the application deadline for the exam;+ Foreign language certificates without specified validity periods will be accepted until any changes regarding the certificate’s validity period are promulgated by competent authorities.

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