Rights and obligations of degree/certificate holders in Vietnam

Rights and obligations of degree/certificate holders in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. What are degrees/diplomas and certificates?

1.1. What are degrees/diplomas?

Degrees/diplomas are certificates of graduation or a certificate of a degree or diploma.

According to Clauses 1 and 2, Article 12 of the Education Law 2019, the qualifications are as follows:

- Degrees/diplomas of the national educational system are conferred to learners upon successful completion of an educational level or educational programme and meeting the graduation standards of the corresponding qualification as prescribed in the Education Law 2019.

- Degrees/diplomas of the national educational system consist of the following:

= Lower secondary diploma,

= Upper secondary diploma,

= Diploma of vocational secondary schools,

= College degree,

= Bachelor degree,

= Master degree,

= Doctoral degree

= Degrees/diplomas of equivalent qualifications.

1.2. What are certificates?

A certificate can be understood as an official certificate issued by a competent educational authority for a certain level of education, with lasting legal validity.

Specifically, Clause 3, Article 12 of the Education Law 2019 stipulates that the certificates of the national educational system are granted to learners to acknowledge their learning results upon successful completion of courses for knowledge or professional upgrading or conferred to candidates of certification examinations as prescribed by law.

2. Rights and obligations of degree/certificate holders in Vietnam

2.1. Rights of the degree/certificate holders in Vietnam

According to Clause 1, Article 4 of the Regulation promulgated together with Circular 21/2019/TT-BGDDT, a degree/certificate holder has the rights to:

- Request the authority with competence in issuance of the degree or certificate (“issuing authority”) to issue the degree or certificate promptly;

Ensure information on the degree or certificate is accurate and adequate; and reissue the degree or certificate or amend contents thereof  according to regulations in this Regulation;

- Request the issuing authority to issue a copy of the degree or certificate based on the master register when necessary.

2.2. Obligations of degree/certificate holders in Vietnam

A degree/certificate holder has the obligations to:

- Provide information to be written on the degree or certificate to the issuing authority accurately and adequately;

- Review the information written on the degree or certificate before signing to acknowledge receipt of the degree or certificate;

- Provide a letter of authorization as regulated if the degree or certificate is received by another person;

- Protect the degree or certificate; neither erase or alter any content written on the degree or certificate nor allow another person to use it;

- Use the degree or certificate together with the decision on amendment to the degree or certificate after such amendment;

- Inform the issuing authority and nearest public security authority upon loss of the degree or certificate;

- Return the degree or certificate to the authority with competence in its revocation within 30 days starting from the date of receipt of the revocation decision. In case the degree or certificate is lost, draw up a written confirmation of such loss and be held accountable to the law for the confirmed contents.

(Clause 2, Article 4 of Regulation issued together with Circular 21/2019/TT-BGDDT)

3. Regulations on conditions for issuance of degrees and certificates in Vietnam

According to Article 16 of the Regulation promulgated together with Circular 21/2019/TT-BGDDT, the conditions for issuance of degrees and certificates include: 

- A degree of the national educational system will be conferred to learners upon successful completion of an educational level or a training program, achievement of outcome standards of the training qualification as regulated and fulfillment of learner’s obligations and responsibilities.

- A certificate of the national educational system will be granted to learners to acknowledge their learning results upon successful completion of a training or refresher course to improve their academic or professional qualification, or conferred on candidates of a certification examination as prescribed by the Minister of Education and Training.

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