Latest regime of vocational training for inmates in Vietnam

Latest regime of vocational training for inmates in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. Latest regime of vocational training for inmates in Vietnam

According to Article 15 of Decree 133/2020/ND-CP regarding the regime of vocational training for inmates in Vietnam:

- Based on the abilities, educational level, health, gender, labor market demands, specific conditions, and the ability to cooperate with organizations, individuals, or correctional facilities that provide basic and simple vocational training or advanced skill development for inmates, correctional facilities collaborate with vocational education institutions or vocational education centers (with legal personalities as prescribed by law) to organize vocational training, skill improvement, and knowledge transfer for inmates.

- Inmates under 18 years old, inmates aged between youth and 30 years old without any vocational skills, and inmates with sentences below 5 years who are about to complete their imprisonment are given priority in arranging vocational training and skill improvement. Each inmate is only allowed to learn one occupation.

- Vocational training plans and programs for Inmates:

+ Based on the funding targets and annual plans, correctional facilities develop their own vocational training plans and submit them to the competent authority responsible for the execution of criminal judgments under the Ministry of Public Security (for correctional facilities managed by the Ministry of Public Security) or under the Ministry of National Defense (for correctional facilities managed by the Ministry of National Defense) for approval. The vocational training plans include the legal basis, training occupations, number of classes and trainees, training locations, training methods, training duration, estimated training expenses, and funding sources. Inmates in vocational training can receive primary-level training or regular training.

+ Basic-level vocational training program for inmates: The minimum training program consists of 300 hours and covers three learning units, including occupational knowledge, practical skills, and the right attitude towards the occupation. The training duration ranges from 3 months to less than 1 year. The content and structure of the basic-level training program must ensure scientific, systematic, and practical aspects, use consistent terminology, be easily understandable, and be equivalent to the objectives of basic-level vocational training as regulated in Article 4(1) and Point a, Article 2 of the Law on Vocational Education 2014, in accordance with the national qualifications framework and vocational skill standards.

+ Regular vocational training program for inmates: Inmates receive vocational training through knowledge transfer, mentoring, apprenticeships, and practical training. The practical training duration ranges from 100 hours to less than 300 hours, and the course duration is less than 3 months. The regular training program ensures that the learners have the capacity to perform job tasks, enhance labor productivity, and enable inmates to independently perform simple tasks or some parts of a job. The program also provides knowledge on occupational safety and hygiene.

+ The vocational training programs and content are subject to evaluation by the Program Assessment Council and approval by the head of the training institution.

- The competent authorities responsible for the execution of criminal judgments under the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense determine the training occupations and fields for inmates based on actual conditions and labor market demands.

2. Latest regime of cultural education for inmates in Vietnam

According to Article 13 of Decree 133/2020/ND-CP regarding the regime of cultural education for inmates in Vietnam in Vietnam:

- Correctional facilities organize literacy programs for inmates who are illiterate or have limited literacy skills. For inmates under 18 years old who are illiterate or have not completed primary education, compulsory elementary education is provided. For inmates who have not completed lower secondary education, based on the inmates' records and academic transcripts, regular education programs for lower secondary education are organized according to the facility's conditions. Encouragement is given to inmates to self-study cultural subjects. Foreign inmates and ethnic minority individuals who do not know Vietnamese are encouraged to study and learn the Vietnamese language. Inmates who are currently studying cultural subjects but reach the end of their prison sentences are allowed to retain their study results to continue their education in the national education system.

- Depending on the program, appropriate textbooks and teaching materials are used according to the regulations and guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training. The time for cultural education for inmates is arranged one day per week, determined by the head of the correctional facility, except for Sundays, holidays, and Tet (Vietnamese New Year). Correctional facilities organize cultural classes for inmates and provide Vietnamese language instruction for inmates who cannot speak Vietnamese (a common language). The head of the correctional facility, based on the actual situation and the inmates' cognitive abilities, decides the appropriate teaching methods, times, and forms. The state encourages the inmates' families, organizations, institutions, and individuals to support textbooks, notebooks, study materials, educational equipment, books, newspapers, sports equipment, cultural, artistic, and recreational activities while ensuring compliance with relevant laws.

- The teachers who teach cultural subjects to inmates are officers and soldiers from correctional facilities or local educational institutions. Only inmates who have shown progress in rehabilitation, have educational qualifications, teaching abilities, and good character, and are not masterminds, leaders, professional criminals, hoodlums, violent offenders, infected with infectious diseases, or drug addicts, and are not inmates who have committed offenses that pose a threat to national security, can be designated to support officers and soldiers in teaching cultural subjects to illiterate inmates.

- The Department of Education and Training, and the Education and Training Bureau in the location where the correctional facility is located coordinate to send teachers to teach cultural subjects to Inmates; manage and direct the implementation of cultural education programs, organize the recognition of completion of literacy programs, elementary education, and issue lower secondary school graduation certificates for Inmates; organize professional development and pedagogical training for officers teaching cultural subjects to Inmates. Correctional facilities arrange auditoriums and classrooms to ensure teaching and learning for Inmates.

To Quoc Trinh