New highlight policies which comes into force in Vietnam from the end of April

1. New Points in the Regulations of the National High School Examination 2016 in Vietnam

According to Circular 02/2016/TT-BGDDT issued on March 10, 2016, the Regulations of the National High School Examination 2016 have the following new points:

- Each province, city under central command organizes examination clusters as follows:

+ Examination cluster for candidates taking the exam to obtain results for high school graduation recognition and university, college admissions, organized by universities and cooperate with the Department of Education and Training and other universities and colleges.

+ Examination cluster for candidates taking the exam to obtain results for high school graduation recognition, organized by the Department of Education and Training, cooperate with universities and colleges.

Depending on the specific local situation, the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province decides not to organize the graduation exam cluster but to organize for both types of candidates to take the exam at the local university cluster.

- Candidates suspended from any exam subject will receive a score of 0 for that subject, and will not be allowed to continue participating in subsequent exams or use their exam results for high school graduation recognition or university/college admissions.

Circular 02/2016/TT-BGDDT takes effect from April 25, 2016.

2. Regulations on Admission for Full-time University and College Programs 2016

From April 29, 2016, candidates using results from the National High School Examination for university and college admissions must follow Circular 03/2016/TT-BGDDT. To be specific:

- Submit the Application Form and admission fee to the university through the methods announced by the university;

- First round registration: Candidates can only apply to a maximum of 2 universities, each with no more than 2 programs, and cannot change their application intention for the university and program during this round.

- Supplementary rounds registration: Candidates can apply to a maximum of 3 universities, each with no more than 2 programs, and cannot change their application intention for the university and program during each round.

- In case candidates apply to universities that form a consortium for admission, they can apply to multiple universities within the group. The maximum number of programs to apply to in each round follows the specified regulation above.

- Successful candidates must submit the original Certificate of Exam Results (with the signature of the Exam Council Chairman and the official seal of the organizing university) to the university they wish to attend within the specified time of each round.

- Registration period: From August 1 to October 20 for university level and until November 15 for college level.

More details can be found in Circular 03/2016/TT-BGDDT.

3. Guidance on Deploying Police Forces to Secure Court Sessions in Vietnam

On March 10, 2016, the Ministry of Public Security issued Circular 13/2016/TT-BCA which regulates duties of the People's Public Security forces in securing court sessions.

Based on the characteristics, nature of the case, location of the trial, number of defendants, witnesses, judicial participants, litigants, and attendees, appropriate security forces are deployed to secure the court session.

- Each court session must appoint at least 2 police officers or more to carry out the security duties.

- For court sessions processing complex cases that cause public concern, organized crime, national security crimes, or mobile court sessions, additional forces, equipment, weapons, support tools, and technical facilities may be deployed in coordination with local authorities and armed forces at the location to secure the court session.

- Based on the approved general plans, participating units must have specific plans and measures to ensure fulfillment of the assigned security duties.

Circular 13/2016/TT-BCA takes effect from April 24, 2016, and replaces the regulations on court security in the Process of Securing Court Sessions, Escorting Defendants, and Leading Witnesses to Court issued together with Decision 810/2006/QD-BCA-C11.

4. 11 Standards for Evaluating the Quality of Undergraduate, Master's, and Doctoral Training Programs in Vietnam

From April 29, 2016, the standards for evaluating the quality of training programs at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels must follow Circular 04/2016/TT-BGDDT regulating the quality evaluation standards of higher education training programs. To be specific:

- Objectives and expected outcomes of the training program;- Curriculum description;- Structure and content of the training program;- Teaching and learning approaches;- Evaluation of learners' performance;- Faculty members and researchers;- Administrative staff;- Learners and learner support activities;- Facilities and equipment;- Quality enhancement;- Training outcomes;

Each criterion in the standards is evaluated using a 7-level scale.

More details can be found in Circular 04/2016/TT-BGDDT.

5. Procedures for Recognizing Members of the Open Market Operations  in Vietnam

Credit institutions and branches of foreign banks (excluding microfinance institutions, people's credit funds) are recognized as members of the open market operations if they meet the following conditions:

- Have a payment account in Vietnamese dong at the State Bank.- Have a bank code issued by the State Bank.

Institutions meeting the above conditions and wishing to participate in open market operations must carry out the following procedures:

- Directly send or mail the Application for Open Market Operations Membership according to Appendix No. 01/TTM attached to this Circular to the State Bank for consideration to issue the Membership Certificate.

- Within 5 working days from the receipt of the Application for Open Market Operations Membership of the credit institution or branch of a foreign bank, the State Bank will issue the Membership Certificate if the above conditions are met.

In case of not meeting the conditions, a written response will be provided to the credit institution or branch of a foreign bank.

- The procedure for re-recognition of membership for members who have terminated membership as stipulated in Point b, Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 7 of this Circular, is the same as the initial membership recognition procedure.

More details can be found in Circular 42/2015/TT-NHNN, which comes into force in Vietnam from April 30, 2016, replacing Decision 01/2007/QD-NHNN and Decision 27/2008/QD-NHNN.

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