Decree 66/2026/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of the Law on Education

DECREE

On detailing a number of articles of the Law on Education

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government No. 63/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Law No. 43/2019/QH14 on Education, which was amended and supplemented by the Law No. 123/2025/QH15;

At the proposal of the Minister of Education and Training;

The Government hereby promulgates the Decree detailing a number of articles of the Law on Education.

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Decree prescribes in detail a number of articles of the Law on Education, including: Clause 2 Article 47; Point d Clause 2 Article 66a; Article 79; Clause 1 Article 85; Article 86; Clause 3 Article 102.

Article 2. Subject of application

This Decree applies to education institutions within the national education system, learners, and relevant organizations and individuals.

Article 3. Transformation from private nursery schools, pre-primary schools and early childhood schools into not-for-profit private nursery schools, pre-primary schools and early childhood schools

1. A transfer dossier must comprise:

a) Report on proposal for the transformation from private nursery schools, pre-primary schools or early childhood schools into not-for-profit ones (using the Form No. 01 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree);

b) Commitment document of investors who present at least 75% of the total contributed capital amount for private nursery schools, pre-primary schools or an early childhood schools transformed into not-for-profit private nursery schools, pre-primary schools and early childhood schools, ensuring to operate not for profit purposes and neither withdraw funds nor receive dividends; annually accumulated earnings shall belong to indivisible common ownership by integration and be used for further investment in the development of private nursery schools, pre-primary schools or early childhood schools;

c) Draft of organization and operation regulation; draft of internal financial regulation of the not-for-profit private nursery schools, pre-primary schools or early childhood schools;

d) Copies attached to the originals for comparison, or electronic copies or certified electronic copies from the originals or copies issued from the original records or certified true copies from the originals of audit results report; agreement on resolving the capital contribution for investors who do not agree to the transformation into not-for-profit private nursery schools, pre-primary schools, early childhood schools (if any); documents about land, assets, finance, organization, human resources of transformed private nursery schools, pre-primary schools, early childhood schools;

In cases competent agencies are able to obtain the above information from specialized databases or from state agencies, the education institution is not required to provide it and only provide information as a basis for data comparison and extraction;

dd) Impact assessment reports of the transformation about human resources, finance, assets and resolving plan (using Form No. 02 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree);

e) Foreign-language papers in the dossier must be translated into Vietnamese and Vietnamese translations must be certified under the law regulations.

2. Process of handling transfer dossiers shall be performed as follows:

a) Private nursery schools, pre-primary schools, or early childhood schools of which the establishment is requested by domestic investors and foreign investors shall submit 01 dossier to the commune-level People’s Committees; private nursery schools, pre-primary schools, or early childhood schools of which the establishment is requested by foreign diplomatic representative missions or inter-governmental international organizations shall submit 01 dossier to the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training. The dossier components shall comply with Clause 1 of this Article and the dossiers shall be submitted online on the national public service portal or via postal services or directly to the competent public administrative service centers;

b) Within 13 working days from the date of receiving complete and valid dossiers prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the commune-level People’s Committees or the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training shall, according to their competence, organize the collection of opinions from relevant agencies and units and appraise the dossiers for submission to the Chairpersons of the commune-level People’s Committees or the Directors of the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training according to their competence for decision on transformation.

The decisions on transformation (made using the Form No. 03 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree) shall be publicized on portal or website of agencies issuing the transformation decisions.

c) If the dossiers do not comply with regulations, within 03 working days after receiving the dossiers, the commune-level People’s Committees or the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training shall, according to their competence, notify in writing to private nursery schools, pre-primary schools, early childhood schools, stating clearly the reason.

Article 4. Transformation from private general education institutions into not-for-profit private general education institutions

1. A transfer dossier must comprise:

a) A report on proposal for transformation (made using the Form No. 01 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree);

b) Commitment document of investors who present at least 75% of the total contributed capital amount for transformed private general education institutions with contents that they shall operate not for profit purposes and neither withdraw funds nor receive dividends; annually accumulated earnings shall belong to indivisible common ownership by integration and be used for further investment in the development of private general education institutions;

c) Draft of organization and operation regulation; draft of internal financial regulation of not-for-profit private general education institutions;

d) Copies attached to the originals for comparison, or electronic copies or certified electronic copies from the originals or copies issued from the original records or certified true copies from the originals of audit results report; agreement on resolving the capital contribution for investors who do not agree to the transformation into not-for-profit private general education institutions (if any); documents about land, assets, finance, organization, human resources of transformed private general education institutions.

In cases competent agencies are able to obtain the above information from specialized databases or from state agencies, the education institution is not required to provide them and only provide information as a basis for data comparison and extraction;

dd) Impact assessment reports of the transformation about human resources, finance, assets and resolving plan (using Form No. 02 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree);

e) Foreign-language papers in the dossier must be translated into Vietnamese and Vietnamese translations must be certified under the law regulations.

2. Process of handling transfer dossiers shall be performed as follows:

a) Private primary schools, private lower secondary schools and private multi-level general education schools with lower secondary level being the highest education level in which domestic investors invest funds and ensure operation conditions shall submit 01 dossier to commune-level People’s Committees; private upper secondary schools and private multi-level general education schools with upper secondary level being the highest education level in which domestic investors invest funds and ensure operation conditions and private general education institutions in which foreign investors invest funds and ensure operation conditions shall submit 01 dossier to provincial-level Departments of Education and Training; private general education institutions proposed by foreign diplomatic representative missions or inter-governmental international organizations shall submit 01 dossier to provincial-level People’s Committees. The dossier components shall comply with Clause 1 of this Article and the dossiers shall be submitted online on the national public service portal or via postal services or directly to the competent public administrative service centers;

b) Within 13 working days from the date of receiving complete dossiers as prescribed, the commune-level People’s Committees or provincial-level Departments of Education and Training or provincial-level People’s Committees shall, according to their competence, organize the collection of opinions from relevant agencies and units and appraise the dossiers for submission to the Chairpersons of the commune-level People’s Committees or the Directors of the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training or Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees according to their competence for decision on transformation.

The decisions on transformation (made using the Form No. 03 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree) shall be publicized on portal or website of agencies issuing the transformation decisions.

c) If the dossiers do not comply with regulations, within 03 working days after receiving the dossiers, the commune-level People’s Committees or the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training or provincial-level People’s Committees shall, according to their competence, notify in writing to private general education institutions, stating clearly the reason.

Article 5. Transformation from private vocational education institutions into not-for-profit private vocational education institutions

1. A transfer dossier must comprise:

a) A report on proposal for transformation (made using the Form No. 01 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree);

b) Commitment document of investors who present at least 75% of the total contributed capital amount for transformed private vocational education institutions with contents that they shall operate not for profit purposes and neither withdraw funds nor receive dividends; annually accumulated earnings shall belong to indivisible common ownership by integration and be used for further investment in the development of private vocational education institutions;

c) Draft of organization and operation regulation; draft of internal financial regulation of not-for-profit private vocational education institutions;

d) Copies attached to the originals for comparison, or electronic copies or certified electronic copies from the originals or copies issued from the original records or certified true copies from the originals of audit results report; agreement on resolving the capital contribution for investors who do not agree to the transformation into not-for-profit private vocational education institutions (if any); documents about land, assets, finance, organization, human resources of transformed private vocational education institutions.

In cases competent agencies are able to obtain the above information from specialized databases or from state agencies, the education institution is not required to provide them and only provide information as a basis for data comparison and extraction;

dd) Impact assessment reports of the transformation about human resources, finance, assets and resolving plan (using Form No. 02 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree);

e) Foreign-language papers in the dossier must be translated into Vietnamese and Vietnamese translations must be certified under the law regulations.

2. Process of handling transfer dossiers shall be performed as follows:

a) Private professional secondary schools and intermediate vocational schools shall submit 01 dossier to the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training; private colleges shall submit 01 dossier to the Ministry of Education and Training. The dossier components shall comply with Clause 1 of this Article and the dossiers shall be submitted online on the national public service portal or via postal services or directly to the competent public administrative service centers or the dossier receipt and result notification section of the Ministry of Education and Training according to their competence;

b) Within 13 working days from the date of receiving complete dossiers, the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training or the Ministry of Education and Training shall, according to the competence, organize the collection of opinions from relevant agencies and units and appraise the dossiers for submission to the Directors of the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training or the Minister of Education and Training according to the competence for decision on transformation.

The decisions on transformation (made using the Form No. 03 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree) shall be publicized on portal or website of agencies issuing the transformation decisions.

c) If the dossiers do not comply with regulations, within 03 working days after receiving the dossiers, the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training or the Ministry of Education and Training shall, according to the competence, notify in writing to private general education institutions, stating clearly the reason.

Article 6. Procedures and processes for appointment of administrators of education institutions

1. Procedures and processes for appointment of administrators of public education institutions

Procedures and processes for appointment of administrators of public education institutions shall comply with the regulations of the Party and relevant laws.

2. Procedures and processes for appointment of administrators of people-founded and private education institutions

The procedures and processes for appointment of administrators of people-founded and private education institutions shall be directed and implemented by their school councils on the collegial principle and decided by a vote of majority after collection of opinions from the investors.

The resolutions of the school councils on the personnel of administrators of people-founded and private education institutions shall be valid when they obtain the consent of investors representing at least 75% of the total contributed capital of the people-founded or private education institutions.

3. Procedures and processes for appointment of rector and vice rectors of private vocational education institutions

a) The school councils of private vocational education institutions (hereinafter collectively referred to as the private school councils) shall report to the investors for consideration and approval of the standards and plan for personnel for the rectors and vice rectors of the private education institutions proposed by the private school councils that satisfy the procedures and processes prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, and clearly stating the process for determining the personnel for the rector and vice rectors of the private vocational education institutions and the dossiers and supporting documents attached thereto (curriculum vitae, diplomas, certificates, written consent of the person proposed for appointment as rectors and vice rectors of the private vocational education institutions);

b) After receiving the complete dossiers proposed by the private school councils, the investors shall issue a written approval of the private school councils’ decision on the appointment of the rectors and vice rectors of the private vocational education institutions; in case of disagreement, they must send a written reply, clearly stating the reasons;

c) In cases the term of office of the private vocational education institutions’ rector ends simultaneously with the term of the private school councils, the rectors shall continue to perform the duties until the private school councils decide on the appointment of the principal of the private vocational education institutions for the subsequent term, on the basis of the proposal of the private school councils of the subsequent term.

4. Procedures and processes for appointment of administrators of educational institutions established under agreements between the Government of Vietnam and foreign governments shall comply with such agreements. In cases the agreements do not provide provisions, the agreements between the parties shall apply.

Article 7. Encouragement scholarships

1. Subjects entitled to consideration for the grant of encouragement scholarships:

a) Pupils of gifted upper secondary schools (hereinafter referred to as gifted schools), pupils of gifted upper secondary schools in higher education institutions who achieve the highest level of conduct assessment and learning outcomes among the assessment levels for upper secondary school students in the term of consideration and grant of scholarships and have an average score of the gifted subject of the semester of 8.5 or higher or win consolation prizes or higher prizes in any of the national outstanding pupil-selection exams organized or co-organized by the Ministry of Education and Training or the regional or international exams of such academic year in which the Ministry of Education and Training decides to select participants;

b) Students of schools for students with art and sport aptitudes who have conduct assessment of fair or higher class, learning outcomes of pass or higher class and win medals in any of the contests organized or co-organized by the line ministry or the regional or international contests of such academic year in which the line ministry decides to select participants;

c) Learners studying in vocational education institutions, higher education institutions who have fair conduct assessment and learning outcomes or higher and are not disciplined from the reprimand level or higher in the term of consideration and grant of scholarships.

2. The scholarship level for subjects specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article is prescribed as follows:

a) For schools for gifted students, schools for students with art and sport aptitudes: The scholarship level granted for a pupil shall be decided by the provincial-level People’s Council but shall not be lower than three times the tuition fee used as the basis for tuition fee exemption for public upper secondary schools in the locality;

b) For gifted upper secondary schools in higher education institutions: The monthly scholarship level granted for a pupil shall be defined by the principal of the higher education institution but shall not be lower than the tuition fee used as the basis for tuition fee exemption for public upper secondary schools in the locality where such institution is headquartered.

3. The scholarship level for subjects specified at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article is prescribed as follows:

a) Scholarships for learners with fair learning capacity: The scholarship level shall be equal to or higher than the ceiling level of the current tuition fees of occupations, majors, disciplines that such learner must pay at school, provided by the principal or director (hereinafter collectively referred to as the principal) for learners who have the average academic scores and conduct scores of fair or higher class. For a private school, the minimum scholarship level shall be decided by the principal.

For training disciplines exempted from tuition fees, unit prices for groups of training disciplines ordered or assigned by the State shall be applied;

b) Scholarships for learners with distinction learning capacity: The scholarship level that is higher than the fair scholarship, for learners who have the average academic scores of distinction class and conduct scores of good class or higher shall be defined by the principal;

c) Scholarships for learners with high distinction learning capacity: The scholarship level that is higher than the distinction scholarship, for learners who have the average academic scores of high distinction class and conduct scores of excellent class shall be defined by the principal;

d) The average academic scores and conduct scores specified at Points a, b and c of this Clause shall be determined according to regulations of the Minister of Education and Training; of which, average academic scores used to consider scholarships under this Decree shall be calculated from the first test score, end of subject exam score.

4. Source of scholarships:

a) For schools for gifted students, schools for students with art and sport aptitudes, encouragement scholarships shall be allocated in the expenditure estimate of the local budget to grant for at least 30% of gifted pupils of schools.

For gifted upper secondary schools in higher education institutions, encouragement scholarships shall be allocated from higher education institutions’ lawful revenues and gifted upper secondary schools’ lawful revenues;

b) For vocational education institutions, higher education institutions, allocated encouragement scholarships shall be equal to at least 8% of tuition fee revenues for public schools and at least 2% of tuition fee revenues for private schools.

5. Consideration and grant of scholarships for subjects specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article:

a) For schools for gifted students and schools for students with art and sport aptitudes: Principals shall determine the amount of scholarships for each class and base on the scholarship of year to grant for students according to the following priority order: from international prizes to international regional prizes to national prizes to gifted subject scores (for gifted schools) or learning outcomes (for schools for students with art and sport aptitudes);

b) For gifted upper secondary schools in higher education institutions: Principals shall determine the amount of scholarships for each grade, class, based on the scholarship of year to consider and grant for students according to the following priority order: from international prizes to international regional prizes, national prizes to gifted subject scores;

c) Scholarships shall be granted according to each semester and granted for 09 months in a academic year;

d) Apart from encouragement scholarships under this Decree, Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees may have other regimes and policies for pupils of schools for gifted students and schools for students with art and sport aptitudes in their areas or within their management.

6. Consideration and grant of scholarships for subjects specified at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article:

a) Principals shall determine the amount of scholarships for each course and discipline based on encouragement scholarship sources. In case the number of learners entitled to consideration and grant of scholarships are more than the number of scholarships, the consideration and grant of scholarships shall be decided by principals;

b) Principals shall base on learners’ learning outcomes and conduct assessment to consider and grant scholarships in the order from high distinction/excellent class to less until ending the specified scholarship amount;

c) Scholarships shall be granted according to each semester and for at most 10 months in an academic year. Learners who are trained in the form of module or credit accumulation shall be considered and granted scholarships according to the amount of module or credit accumulated in an academic year; the amount of module or credit equivalent to one semester shall be determined by the education institutions in accordance with the standard learning volume of the training program and shall be publicly announced in the scholarship regulations of the education institutions.

Learners entitled to policy scholarships, social allowances, and preferential policies shall be considered and granted encouragement scholarships according to this Decree.

Article 8. Policy scholarships

1. Subjects and scholarship levels:

a) Students studying under the regime of enrollment through nomination; students of pre-university schools, boarding general education schools for ethnic minority students; students of vocational education institutions for invalids and persons with disabilities shall be entitled to the scholarship level equal to 80% of the base salary/month;

b) Learners from poor households who study in vocational education institutions for invalids and persons with disabilities shall be entitled to the scholarship level equal to 100% of the base salary/month.

2. Principles to be entitled to scholarships:

a) Students and learners specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall only be entitled to the regime of one-time policy scholarships throughout the learning process. Policy scholarships shall be granted twice in an academic year, each for 06 months, the first grant is in October, the second grant is in March. If pupils, students and learners (hereinafter referred to as learners) have not yet received policy scholarships according to the prescribed time limit, they may be reimbursed in the next scholarship grant term;

b) For learners entitled to many policies at the same time, they may enjoy only one highest policy or those who study many disciplines, education institutions at the same time may enjoy the highest policy in only one discipline at one education institution;

c) Learners who are eligible for policy scholarships as prescribed in this Article and concurrently belong to subjects entitled to preferential allowance policies, social allowances, encouragement scholarships, they may enjoy such policies as prescribed;

d) Policy scholarships shall be granted for 12 months/year, the number of academic year to be entitled to such policy must not exceed the maximum years or semesters required to complete training programs corresponding to disciplines as prescribed. For the last academic year, the scholarship to be entitled shall be calculated according to the actual studying months.

For pupils of boarding general education schools for ethnic minority students, pre-university schools repeating grades, they shall be entitled to policy scholarships as prescribed for the first repeating academic year;

dd) For training programs in the form of module or credit accumulation, policy scholarships shall be granted according to the converted training duration but not exceed the training duration for corresponding disciplines and qualifications for training programs under academic year-based regime, the following formula shall be applied:

In which:

e) Policy scholarships shall not be applied to learners who study second diplomas, place-based education, distance education, in-service joint training.

3. Such a dossier comprises:

A written request certified by the school where the learner is studying (made according to Form No. 04 provided in Appendix issued together with this Decree) and a certificate of poor household (if the learner belongs to a poor household). In cases competent agencies are able to obtain the above information about the poor households from specialized databases or from state agencies, the learner is not required to provide it and only provide information as a basis for data comparison and extraction.

4. Order of scholarship consideration and grant:

a) For students enrolled by regime of nomination:

Within 10 working days from the date of enrollment, the students shall submit 01 dossier to the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training by one of the following methods: online on the national public service portal or via postal services or submitted directly to the provincial-level public administration service center of the place of permanent residence. Each student may submit 01 dossier to request for grant of scholarship for the whole studying duration in the education institution.

Within 10 working days from the date of completion of dossier receipt, the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training shall receive the dossiers, appraise them, make the list and estimate the funding demand (using the Form No. 05 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree), and make the payment of policy scholarships to the students in accordance with the regulations (using the Form No. 06 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree). In case dossiers do not comply with regulations, the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training shall be responsible for notifying the learners within 03 working days from the date on which the dossiers are received.

Students shall receive the policy scholarship through direct payment at the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training or via bank transfer or other lawful money transfer methods (if any) according to the term of scholarship consideration and grant;

b) For pupils of pre-university schools, boarding general education schools for ethnic minority students:

Within 10 working days from the admission date, pupils shall submit 01 dossier as prescribed to schools where they are studying for the consideration and grant of policy scholarships. Each pupil may submit one-time dossier to request for grant of scholarship for the whole studying duration in the education institution.

Within 10 working days from the date of completion of dossier receipt, the education institution shall receive the dossiers, appraise them, make a list and estimate expenses (using the Form No. 05 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree), and submit them to the directly managing agency for issuance of the decision on grant of the scholarship (using the Form No. 06 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree). If the dossier does not comply with regulations, the education institution shall be responsible for notifying the learner within 03 working days from the date on which the dossier is received.

Pupils shall receive policy scholarships directly at education institutions where they are studying according to the term of scholarship consideration and grant as prescribed;

c) For a student of vocational education institutions for invalids and persons with disabilities:

Within 10 working days from the admission day, vocational education institutions shall notify students about the regime of policy scholarships, time for submitting dossiers and provide guidance for them to submit 01 dossier as prescribed. Each student may submit one-time dossier to request for grant of scholarship for the whole studying duration in the vocational education institution.

For students of public vocational education institutions: Within 10 working days from the date of completion of dossier receipt, the public vocational education institutions shall organize to appraise dossiers, summarize, make a list and estimate expenses for the implementation of study expense support regimes for students (made according to Form No. 05 provided in Appendix issued together with this Decree) and submit them to directly managing agencies for approval, summarization and send to financial agency to submit competent authorities for approval (using the Form No. 06 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree). If the dossier does not comply with regulations, the public vocational education institution shall be responsible for notifying the learner within 03 working days from the date on which the dossier is received.

For students of private vocational education institutions: Students shall make written requests (made according to Form No. 04 provided in the Appendix issued together with this Decree) and send to vocational education institutions where they are studying to confirm in such requests; within 03 working days after receiving written requests and guidance, students shall send dossiers to the commune-level People’s Committees of their places of permanent residences in one of the following methods: online on the national public service portal or via postal services or directly to the commune-level public administration service centers. Within 10 working days from the date of receiving complete and valid dossiers, the commune-level People’s Committees shall organize appraisal, approve the list of subjects entitled to the policy, and make the estimate of funding for implementation (using the Form No. 05 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree) and send them to the competent finance agency, submit to the competent authority for approval (using the Form No. 06 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree). If a dossier does not comply with regulations, the commune-level People’s Committees shall be responsible for notifying the learner within 03 working days from the date on which the dossier is received.

Learners who submit complete dossiers as prescribed shall receive payment of the policy scholarship calculated from the date on which the vocational education institutions or the commune-level People’s Committees receive their complete dossiers as prescribed.

5. Funding for implementing policy scholarships:

a) Funding for the implementation of policy scholarships from the State budget shall be balanced in the annual expenditure estimate of the State budget for training, education and vocational education according to decentralization of State budget management;

b) Funding for the implementation of the policy scholarship regime for pupils and students enrolled through nomination; learners who are invalids and persons with disabilities in vocational education institutions for invalids and persons with disabilities under the local management; and pupils of pre-university schools under the local management shall be guaranteed by the local budget.

c) Funding for implementation of the policy scholarship regime for pupils of boarding general education schools for ethnic minority students under the local management shall be guaranteed by the local budget. Central budget shall provide the support according to the targeted-support principle from central budget for local budget for the implementation of social security policies promulgated by competent authorities and applicable to each period;

d) Central budget shall ensure funding for the implementation of the policy scholarship regime for pupils and students who are studying in pre-university schools, boarding general education schools for ethnic minority students under the management of ministries and central branches.

6. Methods of payment of policy scholarships:

a) For students enrolled by regime of nomination: Based on the notified estimate of education expenses, the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training shall, according to their competence, manage expenses and organize to grant policy scholarships for students entitled to policy scholarships as prescribed.

Payment of scholarships shall be made through direct cash payment or bank transfer or other lawful money transfer methods (if any) to the learners;

b) For pupils of pre-university schools, boarding general education schools for ethnic minority students: Based on the notified estimate of education expenses, education institutions shall manage expenses and organize to grant policy scholarships for pupils entitled to policy scholarships as prescribed;

c) For a student of vocational education institutions for invalids and persons with disabilities:

For learners of public vocational education institutions: Education institutions where learners are studying shall be responsible for managing and organizing to directly pay policy scholarships in cash or through bank transfer or other lawful money transfer methods (if any) to the learners;

For students of private vocational education institutions: The commune-level People’s Committees of the learners’ places of permanent residence shall be responsible for managing and organizing to pay policy scholarships in any of the following methods: Paying directly in cash or transferring via bank accounts or other lawful money transfer methods (if any).

7. Management, use and finalization of funding:

a) The formulation of estimates, allocation of funding, management, use and finalization of funding shall comply with the Law on State Budget, its guiding documents and the current State budget Index;

b) On an annual basis, ministries, branches, central bodies and provincial-level People’s Committees shall be responsible for summarizing and reporting to the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Finance on the implementation result of allocating expenses for pupils and students at the end of the academic year.

Article 9. Award of the title of Honorary Doctor

1. Awarded subjects:

a) Teachers, scientists;

b) Political and social activists.

2. Conditions of award:

a) Awarded subjects prescribed at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article who are overseas Vietnamese or foreigners and have made great achievements contributing to the cause of education and science of Vietnam, and being awared this title by a Vietnamese higher education institution which provides training at doctor’s levels, based on the level of contribution to the higher education institution’s strong research or fields of training, or development orientation and the criteria of the higher education institution;

b) Awarded subjects prescribed at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article who are overseas Vietnamese or foreigners, have made great achievements contributing to the cause of education and science of Vietnam, have international prestige, have made great achievements and services contributing to the friendship, the socio-economic development of Vietnam, and being awared this title by a Vietnamese higher education institution which provides training at doctor’s levels, based on the level of contribution to the higher education institution’s strong research or fields of training, or development orientation and the criteria of the higher education institution.

3. Process of award:

a) A higher education institution shall convene its research and training council to consider the award, ensuring the right subjects and conditions prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article;

b) Pursuant to the resolution of the research and training council, the director or principal of the public higher education institution shall issue a decision of award and organize an awarding ceremony, or issue a decision on cancellation of the award decision (if any);

Pursuant to the resolution of the research and training council, the director or principal of the non-public higher education institution shall submit it to the school council for consideration and approval. Pursuant to the resolution of the school council, the director or principal shall issue a decision of award and organize an awarding ceremony, or issue a decision on cancellation of the award decision (if any);

c) In case of necessity, the principal or director of the higher education institution shall send a written request for opinions to the Ministry of Public Security or representative missions of the country's proposed recipient on his/her non-violations of Vietnamese law, law of his/her country and treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party.

4. Higher education institutions which provide training at doctor’s levels shall design and print blank degrees of Honorary Doctor, grant and manager degrees of Honorary Doctor. Higher education institutions must state the title “Honorary Doctor”, not include the content “hoc vi Tien si” (Doctor degree) and training disciplines; publicize information of awardees on the website of higher education institutions and send the decision of award (hard copy or electronic copy) to the Ministry of Education and Training after each award for the Ministry of Education and Training to compile statistics and monitor the award by the higher education institutions.

5. The title of Honorary Doctor must not be used as a substitute for an academic degree or academic title in administrative, academic, or legal transactions. The title shall not be awarded to individuals who are being examined for legal liability or who are involved in serious disputes or complaints relating to scientific reputation or ethics.

In cases where the awardee violates the Vietnamese law, the law of his/her country, or treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party, the competent person shall, based on the competence prescribed at Point b Clause 3 of this Article, shall consider and decide on the cancellation of the title of Honorary Doctor.

Article 10. Award of the title of Honorary Professor

1. Awarded subjects:

a) Teachers, scientists;

b) Political and social activists.

2. Conditions of award:

a) Satisfying all conditions provided in Clause 2, Article 9 of this Decree;

b) Having doctor’s diploma.

3. Process of award shall comply with Clause 3, Article 9 of this Decree.

4. Decision of awarding the title of Honorary Professor must clearly state the title “Honorary Professor”. Higher education institutions must publicize information of awardees on websites of higher education institutions and send the decision of award (hard copy or electronic copy) to the Ministry of Education and Training after each award for the Ministry of Education and Training to compile statistics and monitor the award by the higher education institutions.

5. The title of Honorary Professor must not be used as a substitute for an academic degree or academic title in administrative, academic, or legal transactions. The title shall not be awarded to individuals who are being examined for legal liability or who are involved in serious disputes or complaints relating to scientific reputation or ethics.

In cases where the awardee violates the Vietnamese law, the law of his/her country, or treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party, the consideration and decision on the cancellation of the title of Honorary Professor shall be carried out based on the competence prescribed at Point b Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 11. Exemption from and reduction of public service fares for pupils and students

1. For public transport services:

a) Pupils and students shall be entitled to reduction of fares for means of transport such as train, bus, metro, and ferry;

b) Units engaging in public transport services shall issue reduced tickets for pupils and students when such pupils and students produce their pupil or student cards.

2. For public services regarding entertainment, visiting museums, historical relics and cultural works:

a) Pupils and students shall be entitled to reduction of fares when directly using services as follows: Museums, historical relics, exhibitions;

b) Cultural and entertainment institutions shall issue reduced tickets for pupils and students when such pupils and students produce their pupil or student cards.

3. Based on specific conditions, the Chairpersons of the provincial-level People’s Committees shall decide on the level of exemption from and reduction of public service fares for pupils and students under their management.

4. Pupils and students being people with disabilities shall be entitled to exemption from and reduction of fares when using public transport, entertainment services and visiting museums, historical relics and cultural works in accordance with the Government’s Decree on guiding the Law on Persons with Disabilities.

Pupils and students being social policy beneficiaries shall be entitled to exemption from and reduction of fares when traveling by rail in accordance with law regulations.

Article 12. Notification of capital transfer for private schools

1. Within 14 working days from the date on which the capital transfer takes effect, the private school shall publicize the list of investors receiving the transferred capital on its website; at the same time notify the change of investors of the school (using the Form No. 07 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree) to the directly managing agency and the commune-level People’s Committee (for private nursery schools, pre-primary schools and early childhood schools; private primary schools, private lower secondary schools, and private multi-level general education schools with lower secondary level being the highest education level) or the provincial-level Department of Education and Training and the commune-level People’s Committee (for private upper secondary schools and private multi-level general education schools with upper secondary level being the highest education level) or the provincial-level People’s Committee and the commune-level People’s Committee (for private vocational education institutions and private higher education institutions) of the locality where such school’s head office is located.

2. In cases of capital transfer between domestic investors and foreign investors, within 30 working days from the date of completion of the capital transfer, the education institution must carry out procedures for request for adjustment or supplementation of the decision on permission for educational operation.

Article 13. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect on March 15, 2026.

2. This Decree replaces the Government’s Decree No. 84/2020/ND-CP dated July 17, 2020, on detailing a number of articles of the Law on Education.

3. Article 6, Article 12; Clause 4, Clause 5, Clause 6 Article 35 of Decree No. 142/2025/ND-CP dated June 12, 2025 of the Government, on providing regulations on delineation of authority of two-tier local administrations under the Ministry of Industry and Trade's state management and Article 6 of Decree No. 143/2025/ND-CP dated June 12, 2025 of the Government on delegation of powers and decentralization in the field of state management of the Ministry of Education and Training shall cease to be effective from the effective date of this Decree.

4. To amend and supplement Point b Clause 3 Article 4 of Decree No. 238/2025/ND-CP dated September 03, 2025 of the Government defining the policies on tuition fees, tuition fee exemption, reduction and support, support for study costs, and service charges in the field of education and training as follows:

“The provincial-level People’s Committees shall submit to the People’s Councils at the same level for decision specific tuition fee levels serving as the basis for implementation of tuition fee exemption for children in early childhood education institutions, secondary school students, learners in general education programs in public education institutions; and decide on the levels of tuition fee support for early childhood education institutions, secondary school students, learners in general education programs at people-founded and private education institutions under their management competence for application in their localities.

The provincial-level People’s Committees shall decide in detail the list of collection items, collection levels, and mechanisms for management of revenues and expenditures for admission services, services serving and supporting education and training activities in public education institutions under their management competence for application in their localities.”

5. To repeal the regulations relating to the recognition of private vocational education institutions transforming into not-for-profit private education institutions as prescribed in Clause 2 Article 40 and Clause 3 Article 41 of Decree No. 15/2019/ND-CP dated February 01, 2019 of the Government, on detailing a number of articles of, and providing measures to implement, the Law on Vocational Education, as amended and supplemented by Decree No. 24/2022/ND-CP.

Article 14. Transitional provision

1. Dossiers for conferment of Honorary Doctor and Honorary Professor that have been submitted to the school councils of public higher education institutions for consideration before January 01, 2026 shall be transferred to the directors or principals of such public higher education institutions for consideration and decision in accordance with the competence prescribed in this Decree.

2. Dossiers of request for transformation from private nursery schools, pre-primary schools, early childhood schools, general education institutions or vocational education institutions into not-for-profit private nursery schools, pre-primary schools, early childhood schools, general education institutions or vocational education institutions that have been submitted to competent agencies in accordance with the Decree No. 142/2025/ND-CP, Decree No. 143/2025/ND-CP, and Decree No. 15/2019/ND-CP as amended and supplemented by Decree No. 24/2022/ND-CP before the effective date of this Decree shall continue to be handled in accordance with those documents until the completion of the transformation.

3. Dossiers of request for consideration and grant of policy scholarships and encouragement scholarships that have been submitted to competent agencies in accordance with Decree No. 84/2020/ND-CP and Decree No. 142/2025/ND-CP before the effective date of this Decree shall continue to be handled in accordance with those documents until the completion of scholarship payment.

4. Private schools that have completed their capital transfer before the effective date of this Decree must publicize the list of investors receiving the transferred capital on their websites and notify the directly managing agencies and the commune-level People’s Committees or the provincial-level Departments of Education and Training or the provincial-level People’s Committees according to decentralization (the agencies in charge of education state management of the localities where the schools’ head offices are located) in accordance with Article 12 of this Decree within 14 working days from the effective date of this Decree.

5. Within 30 working days from the effective date of this Decree, private schools that have completed the capital transfer between domestic investors and foreign investors before the effective date of this Decree must carry out procedures for request of adjustment or supplementation of the decisions on permission for educational operations in accordance with the Government’s Decree on foreign cooperation and investment in education.

Article 15. Responsibility of implementation

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces, centrally-run cities and related agencies shall implement this Decree./.

* All Appendices are not translated herein.