Highlight of Documents from March 27 - April 1, 2017 in Vietnam

1. Duration of Intermediate and College-Level Training Programs in Vietnam

Circular 09/2017/TT-BLDTBXH (effective from April 26, 2017) stipulates the training duration for intermediate and college levels as follows:

Intermediate Level:

- Duration of training for those with a lower secondary school graduation certificate (or higher) according to the academic year system: 01-02 years;

- Duration of training according to the module/credit accumulation method is the time required to accumulate sufficient modules/credits for each program;

- Those with a lower secondary school graduation certificate who wish to continue to college must accumulate additional high school (upper secondary school) cultural contents.

College Level:

- Duration of training according to the academic year system:

+ 02-03 years (for those with a high school graduation certificate)

+ 01-02 years (for those with an intermediate certificate in the same field of study and a high school graduation certificate or having studied and passed the required high school cultural knowledge volume).

- Duration of training according to module/credit accumulation method is the accumulation of sufficient modules/credits for each program for those with a high school graduation certificate or having studied and passed the required high school cultural knowledge volume.

2. List of Pocket Calculators Allowed in the 2017 National High School Examination in Vietnam

On March 31, 2017, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Official Dispatch 1294/BGDDT-CNTT announcing the types of pocket calculators allowed in the 2017 National High School Examination.

Pocket calculators allowed to be brought into the examination room are those without text editing functions and without memory cards for data storage. These include commonly used calculators capable of performing arithmetic, trigonometric, and transcendental calculations such as:

- Casio FX 570 MS, FX 570 ES Plus, FX 570VN Plus, FX 500MS, FX 500 VN Plus;

- VinaCal 500 MS, 570 MS, 570 ES Plus, 570 ES Plus II;

- Vietnam Calculator VN-500RS, VN 500 ES, VN 500 ES Plus Function, VN 570 RS, VN 570 ES, VN-570 ES Plus;

- Sharp EL 124A, EL 250S, EL 506W, EL 509WM;

- Canon F-788G, F-789GA;

- Equivalent calculators.

3. Social Insurance Regime for Employees When Equitizing Public Service Providers in Vietnam

Vietnam Social Insurance issued Official Dispatch 998/BHXH-CSXH dated March 27, 2017, guiding social insurance policies for employees when equitizing public service providers into joint-stock companies (JSCs), according to Decision 22/2015/QD-TTg as follows:

- The subjects participating in social insurance are employees defined in Clause 1, Article 2 of Circular 35/2016/TT-BLDTBXH who, after equitization, continue to work with the following titles or jobs:

+ Enterprise managers receiving salary;

+ Those who have signed labor contracts with the joint-stock company after conversion.

- The salary basis for social insurance contributions in case the newly converted JSC has not completed the construction of salary scales, tables, and wage agreements:

+ Temporarily collected based on the last month's social insurance contribution salary of officials and public employees and those working under labor contracts in the public service provider before conversion; not lower than the regional minimum wage;

+ Adjusted after the salary scales and tables are finalized.

4. Electronic Toll Collection without Stopping

The Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam issued Decision 07/2017/QD-TTg on toll collection for road usage in the form of electronic toll collection without stopping, effective from May 15, 2017:

- Road traffic vehicles subject to toll service charges must have end-tags according to passive radio frequency identification standards for wireless communication;

- Vehicle owners must open and use prepaid accounts to pay road usage service charges at toll stations;

- Vehicle owners may deposit money into prepaid accounts through the following methods:

+ Transfer from bank accounts or use banking payment services;

+ Use recharge cards to deposit money via SMS or the service provider's electronic portal;

+ Direct cash deposit at authorized service charge agent locations;

+ Through payment intermediaries;

+ Other forms in accordance with legal regulations.

5. Resolution 351/2017/UBTVQH14 on the format and presentation techniques of legal documents by the National Assembly, Standing Committee of the National Assembly, and State President, effective from May 20, 2017.
6. Directive 03/CT-BCT dated March 28, 2017, on strengthening the management of hazardous chemicals abused in food preservation and processing.
7. Directive 11/CT-TTg dated March 29, 2017, on promoting ethics and lifestyle education within families.

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