Decree No. 116/2020/ND-CP dated September 25, 2020 of the Government on support for tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses for students of teacher training institutions

DECREE

On support for tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses for students of teacher training institutions

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Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Education Law dated June 14, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Higher Education dated June 18, 2012; the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Higher Education dated November 19, 2018;

Pursuant to the Law on Public Employees dated November 15, 2010; the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants and Law on Public Employees;

Pursuant to the Law on State Budget dated June 25, 2015;

At the proposal of the Minister of Education and Training;

The Government promulgates the Decree on support for tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses for students of teacher training institutions.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. This Decree stipulates policies to support tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses for students of teacher training disciplines at national or regional universities, academies, universities and colleges that are licensed for teacher training (hereinafter referred to as teacher training institutions) according to the method of commissioning, ordering or procurement, and in conformity with social demands.

2. This Decree applies to:

a) Students taking Bachelor’s degree or three-year undergraduate programs in teacher training disciplines in the formal and formal association forms, and students taking second degree programs in the Bachelor’s degree or three-year undergraduate education form in teacher training disciplines who gain excellent degree academic results for the first degree (hereinafter referred to as pedagogical students).

b) People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities (hereinafter referred to as provincial-level People's Committees) or affiliates authorized for commissioning, ordering or procurement for training of pedagogical students (hereinafter referred to as commissioning, ordering or procuring agencies); teacher training institutions and organizations and individuals having training demands.

3. This Decree shall not apply to teachers who are sent for training and retraining to raise qualification standards as prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 71/2020/ND-CP dated June 30, 2020, on the roadmap for raising qualification standards for teachers of early childhood, primary and lower secondary schools.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

In this Decree, the following terms are construed as follows:

1. The number of rounded months used for calculation of working time in the education sector is determined as follows: the number of working days in a month of at least 15 days is determined as one month.

2. Pedagogical students serving in the education sector after graduation, including:

a) Teachers or lecturers performing teaching, research or other professional tasks, public employees responsible for academic administration activities at educational institutions of the national education system, and other educational institutions approved by competent authorities, scientific research institutions for education and training;

b) Civil servants and public employees working at state management agencies in charge of educational affairs in accordance with the Decree regulating the responsibilities for state management of education.

3. The persons competent to certify the working time in the education sector shall be the heads of the agencies and units as specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 3. Determination of training needs, assignment of tasks, placement of orders, or bidding

1. On an annual basis, provincial-level People's Committees shall make a report on review, calculation and estimation of the needs for recruitment and training of teachers in their localities for each academic level, grade level, discipline and subject in the enrollment year, send it to the Ministry of Education and Training before January 31, and publicize it through mass media or means of communication.

Based on the needs to recruit teachers according to academic levels and disciplines at localities and social needs, training quality assurance conditions and training capabilities of teacher training institutions, the Ministry of Education and Training shall identify and notify the quotas for teacher training institutions to conduct enrollment.

2. Based on the quotas announced by the Ministry of Education and Training, teacher training institutions shall publicly announce them to localities, organizations and individuals having the teacher training needs, and notify them on the portal of the Ministry of Education and Training, and their own websites.

3. Based on the quotas informed by teacher training institutions and local teacher training needs, agencies in charge of assigning tasks, placing orders, or bidding that have such needs shall issue decisions on assignment of tasks, placement of orders, or bidding for provision of teacher training services with teacher training institutions in one of the following forms:

a) Assigning teacher training tasks to the affiliated teacher training institutions;

b) Ordering teacher training services from teacher training institutions;

c) Bidding for selection of teacher training institutions providing teacher training services.

4. Decisions on assigning tasks and teacher training contracts between agencies in charge of assigning tasks, placing orders, or bidding and teacher training institutions must be made based on the annual needs and teacher training plans, in line with the roadmaps specified in local educational development plans, or local annual and long-term teacher training plans.

5. The unit prices for assignment of tasks, placement of orders, or bidding for provision of teacher training services shall be determined in accordance with Article 4 of this Decree.

6. Other regulations on assignment of tasks, placement of orders, or bidding that have not yet been specified in this Decree shall comply with the Government’s Decree No. 32/2019/ND-CP dated April 10, 2019, prescribing the assignment of tasks, placement of orders, or bidding for provision of public products and services covered by state budget funds.

Chapter II

POLICIES ON SUPPORT FOR TUITION FEES, COST-OF-LIVING EXPENSES AND REIMBURSEMENT OF SUPPORT FUNDS

Article 4. Support level and duration

1. Support level:

a) Pedagogical students shall be entitled to the state-funded support for tuition fees equal to the tuition fees charged by teacher training institutions where they are taking training programs;

b) Pedagogical students shall be entitled to the state-funded support for cost-of-living expenses equal to 3.63 million VND/month while studying at the school.

2. The duration of support for tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses shall be determined in proportion to the actual number of academic months as prescribed, but not exceeding 10 months/academic year. In cases where a teacher training institution provides credit-based training programs, the teacher training institution may convert support levels to adapt to the credit system. Total financial support in the whole training course provided according to the credit system shall not exceed the specified support level applied to a course in each academic year.

Article 5. Estimation and payment of support funds

1. Estimation:

a) With regard to pedagogical students trained according to the method of assigning tasks, ordering or bidding (hereinafter referred to as subjects of training assignment, ordering or bidding): Based on local teacher training needs and support levels specified in Article 4 of this Decree, agencies in charge of training assignment, ordering or bidding shall prepare the annual estimate of teacher training costs, and report it to competent authorities for approval of funds to support tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses for pedagogical students through teacher training institutions;

b) With regard to pedagogical students trained according to social needs (other than subjects of training assignment, ordering or bidding): Based on the remaining quotas within the differential in the quotas between the quotas announced by the Ministry of Education and Training and the quotas of subjects of training assignment, ordering or bidding, teacher training institutions shall annually prepare the estimate of costs for submission to superior authorities that then proceed to submit the general report to financial institutions to seek their decisions on cost budgets in accordance with the Law on State Budget. Funds to support tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses for pedagogical students trained according to social needs shall be granted to the teacher training institutions in the form of allocation of estimated costs in accordance with regulations.

2. Payment of support funds from the state budget:

a) Funds to support tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses for pedagogical students shall be included in the annual state budget estimates for education and training in localities, ministries and branches in accordance with current regulations;

b) Agencies in charge of training assignment, ordering or bidding shall directly pay teacher training institutions funds to support tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses for pedagogical students according to the mechanism of the State’s assignment of tasks, ordering or bidding for those falling into subjects of training assignment, ordering or bidding.

Funds to support tuition fees and living expenses for pedagogical students in the quotas announced by the Ministry of Education and Training, but not falling into subjects of training assignment, ordering or bidding, shall be included in the annual estimates of teacher training institutions assigned by competent authorities in accordance with the Law on State Budget;

c) Teacher training institutions shall be responsible for paying the supports for cost-of-living expenses for pedagogical students through students’ deposit account at banks.

3. Estimation, execution of estimates, and settlement or finalization of funds for implementation of policies on support for tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses for pedagogical students in this Decree shall comply with the Law on State Budget and its guiding documents.

Article 6. Reimbursement of support funds

1. Subjects required to reimburse funds to support tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses include:

a) Pedagogical students who have already received financial support policies but have not served in the education sector for 2 years from the date of issuing graduation decisions;

b) Pedagogical students who have already received financial support policies and worked in the education sector but fail to meet the requirement for working time as prescribed at Point a, Clause 2 of this Article;

c) Pedagogical students who have received financial support policies but change their disciplines during their course period, drop out of school, fail to complete the training programs or are disciplined in the form of expulsion.

2. Subjects not required to reimburse funds to support tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses include:

a) Within 02 years from the date of issuing graduation decisions, pedagogical students have worked in the education sector at least twice times greater than the period of academic program from the date on which they are officially recruited;

b) Pedagogical students, after graduation, have worked in the education sector for the period of time less than the one prescribed at Point a, Clause 2 of this Article and are assigned by competent state agencies to work outside the education field;

c) Pedagogical students, after graduation, continue to receive training assignment, ordering or bidding policies to take higher-level teacher training programs and continue to serve in the education sector for a period of time in accordance with the working time specified at Point a, Clause 2 of this Article.

3. Pedagogical students who are temporarily absent from school, temporarily suspended from school shall not be entitled to support policies during their absence or suspension.

4. With regard to pedagogical students who cease to study due to their illness, accident, repeat study, grade repetition (not more than once) or for non-disciplinary or drop-out reason, and are allowed to continue to study by teacher training institutions according to regulations, they shall be continuously entitled to the support policies specified in this Decree for a period of time not exceeding the maximum time required for completion of a training program.

Article 7. Procedures for registration of support for tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses support

1. Annually, based on the quotas announced by the Ministry of Education and Training, teacher training institutions must inform candidates who have been admitted to teacher training disciplines in order for them to apply for support policies, based on their eligibility for training assignment, ordering or bidding policies or training programs according to social needs, within the quotas notified by the Ministry of Education and Training.

2. Within 30 days of receipt of notices of admission, pedagogical students shall submit applications for entitlement to support policies and commitments to reimbursing tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses to teacher training institutions (made according to Form No. 01 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree), directly or by post or online (if any).

Students only submit 01 set of dossiers for the first time to apply for support policies during the period of their study at teacher training institutions.

3. Teacher training institutions shall collect these applications and notify localities that have performed training assignment, ordering or bidding to reach agreement on support for pedagogical students who fall into subjects of training assignment, ordering or bidding.

4. Agencies in charge of training assignment, ordering or bidding shall develop criteria for selection of pedagogical students granted admission, cooperating with teacher training institutions to ensure fairness, public disclosure and transparency.

5. Within 15 days from submission deadlines, teacher training institutions must reach agreement with agencies in charge of training assignment, ordering or bidding to confirm and notify pedagogical students entitled to support policies if they are eligible to become subjects of training assignment, ordering or bidding programs, and consider granting approval to pedagogical students entitled to support policies if they are eligible to become subjects of support policies applied to those falling within the quotas announced by the Ministry of Education and Training, and not falling within the quotas selected by the ordering method.

6. The list of pedagogical students entitled to support for tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses shall be publicly posted on the websites of teacher training institutions and concurrently sent to agencies in charge of training assignment, ordering or bidding for performance.

Article 8. Reimbursed costs and calculation of reimbursed costs

1. Reimbursed costs shall include funds to support tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses that the state budget has granted to a student.

2. Pedagogical students falling into the subjects specified at Points a and c, Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree must fully reimburse the State budget's support funds.

3. Pedagogical students falling into the subjects specified at Point b, Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree must partially reimburse the State budget's support funds. Reimbursed costs shall be calculated according to the following formula:

S = (F / T1) x (T1 -T2)

In which:

- S refers to reimbursed cost;

- F refers to the tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses supported by the state;

- T1 refers to the total working time in the education sector as prescribed, which is determined by the number of rounded months;

- T2 refers to the working time in the education sector, which is determined by the number of rounded months;

Article 9. Recovery of reimbursement expenses

1. Annually, based on training and learning results of pedagogical students, teacher training institutions shall notify the list of students who fall into the subjects specified at Point c, Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree to the provincial-level People's Committees to notify the recovery of support funds for pedagogical students and their families as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 8 of this Decree.

2. With regard to pedagogical students required to reimburse support funds in accordance with Points a and b, Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree, provincial-level People's Committees shall issue notices of recovery of such support funds based on which pedagogical students or their families fully pay the to-be-reimbursed amount in accordance with Article 8 of this Decree.

3. Within 30 days from the date of receiving the competent authority’s decisions, the students or their families must contact authorities in charge of recovery of reimbursed costs to complete reimbursement procedures.

The maximum time limit for payment of reimbursement obligations shall be 4 years starting from the date of receipt of the reimbursement notice.

In cases where the students or their families defer paying their reimbursement obligations according to the prescribed time limit, they must bear the maximum interest rate applicable to demand deposits as prescribed by the State Bank of Vietnam for the late payment amount. In cases where the State Bank does not specify the maximum interest rate applicable to demand deposits, they must bear the interest rate applicable to demand deposits as prescribed by Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade at the time of fulfillment of their reimbursement obligations.

4. For pedagogical students subject to reimbursement specified in Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree, in cases where they are beneficiaries of state policies or in difficult situation, based on specific and particular conditions of pedagogical students, provincial-level People’s Committees shall decide on the method of withdrawal of support funds, the policy of exemption, reduction or cancellation of the reimbursed costs owed.

5. Costs recovered from pedagogical students shall be remitted into the state budget according to the current budget management authorization and in accordance with the State Budget Law’s provisions on management of amounts remitted to the state budget.

6. In cases where pedagogical students or their families fail to fulfill their obligations to pay reimbursements to collecting authorities, these authorities shall have the right to file lawsuits to the Court in accordance with the law provisions.

Chapter III

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 10. Responsibilities of ministries and branches

1. The Ministry of Education and Training shall:

a) Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in, directing and guiding localities to implement the contents specified in this Decree;

b) Determine and notify enrollment quotas for teacher training disciplines to teacher training institutions;

c) Carry out the inspection and evaluation of the compliance of teacher training institutions with this Decree;

d) Direct teacher training institutions to coordinate with provincial-level People's Committees and relevant ministries and branches in implementing support policies for pedagogical students in an effective manner.

2. Relevant ministries and branches shall, within their assigned functions and tasks, cooperate with the Ministry of Education and Training in implementing the contents specified in this Decree.

Article 11. Responsibilities of provincial-level People's Committee

1. Annually, based on the teacher shortage or deficiency situation, determine training needs, allocate budget to perform assignment of tasks, place orders or bid with teacher training institutions, develop criteria for pedagogical student recruitment meeting the teacher demands.

2. Publicize the needs for teacher training, the results of training assignment, ordering or bidding with teacher training institutions, plans on recruitment and job placement in educational institutions.

3. Pay expenses for implementing decisions on assignment of tasks and teacher training contracts with teacher training institutions in accordance with Article 4 of this Decree.

4. Direct and guide the implementation of policies on supporting pedagogical students according to the provisions of this Decree in their localities; inspect and supervise the implementation and report on the implementation every year to the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Finance.

5. Carry out or decentralize the recruitment of graduated pedagogical students who fall into subjects of training assignment, ordering or bidding, and arrange job positions suitable to their training majors in educational institutions according to current regulations on recruitment and employment of public employees.

6. Provide guidance on procedures for monitoring, urging and recovering reimbursement of tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses in cases where reimbursement is required as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree, and handle cases of failure to make reimbursement in accordance with the law provisions.

7. Prepare annual reports on the results of implementation of decisions on assignment of tasks, teacher training contracts, support funds, and teacher recruitment situation in their localities to the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Finance.

Article 12. Responsibilities of teacher training institutions

1. Based on the announced training quotas, carry out the enrollment and training of teachers in accordance with current regulations.

2. Fully implement regimes and policies for pedagogical students as prescribed.

3. On an annual basis, notify authorities in charge of recovering reimbursed costs of academic results and graduation deadlines of pedagogical students, lists of violating students required to reimburse funds to support tuition fees and cost-of-living expenses as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree.

4. Take responsibility for publicizing tuition levels for each academic year and expected tuitions for the entire course, training costs, graduation standards, learning results, select and train teachers according to the method of assigning tasks, placing orders and bidding with localities in need in accordance with regulations.

5. Carry out the settlement and finalization of training costs in accordance with regulations.

6. Assure training quality and bear the responsibility to superior authorities for the quality of training services that they are rendering.

7. Submit annual reports on training results and teacher training support funds to the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Finance.

Article 13. Responsibilities of trainees and their families

1. Comply with laws, rules and regulations of teacher training institutions; complete the training program according to their discipline.

After graduation, students must notify agencies in charge of training assignment, ordering or bidding of academic results to receive educational employment-related instructions or support in accordance with Clause 2, Article 2 of this Decree.

2. After receiving graduation decisions, periodically before December 31 of the subsequent year to the end of the required duration of their service specified at Point a, Clause 2 of Article 6, report on their employment status (made according to Form No. 02 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree) to authorities in charge of recovery of reimbursed costs to notify the removal or withdrawal of support funds.

3. Pedagogical students who fall into the subjects specified in Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree or their families shall be responsible for paying the reimbursement of support costs to authorities in charge of recovery of reimbursed costs in accordance with Article 9 of the Decree to the state budget.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 14. Transitional provisions

Pedagogical students who have been admitted to academic programs from the 2020-2021 school year or earlier shall continue to comply with Article 6 of the Government's Decree No. 86/2015/ND-CP dated October 2, 2015, on mechanism for collection and management of tuition fees applicable to educational institutions in the national education system and policies on tuition fee exemption and reduction and financial support from academic year 2015-2016 to 2020 - 2021 until their graduation.

Article 15. Effect and implementation responsibilities

1. This Decree takes effect from November 15, 2020 and applies from the enrollment period for the 2021-2022 school year.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of governmental agencies, chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities and related agencies and organizations shall be responsible for the implementation of this Decree./.

For the Government

The Prime Minister

NGUYEN XUAN PHUC