Circular 07/2024/TT-BGDDT amend Circular 13/2021/TT-BGDDT conditions for recognition of diplomas granted by foreign education institutions

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing Article 7 of, and replacing Appendices II and III to, Circular No. 13/2021/TT-BGDDT of April 15, 2021, of the Minister of Education and Training, prescribing the conditions, order, procedures, and competence for recognition of diplomas granted by foreign education institutions for use in Vietnam^[1]

Pursuant to the June 14, 2019 Education Law;

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

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 86/2022/ND-CP of October 24, 2022, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

At the proposal of the Director General of the Vietnam Education Quality Management Agency;

The Minister of Education and Training promulgates the Circular amending and supplementing Article 7 of, and replacing Appendices II and III to, Circular No. 13/2021/TT-BGDDT of April 15, 2021, of the Minister of Education and Training, prescribing the conditions, order, procedures, and competence for recognition of diplomas granted by foreign education institutions for use in Vietnam,

Article 1. To amend and supplement Article 7 of, and replace Appendices II and III to, Circular No. 13/2021/TT-BGDDT of April 15, 2021, of the Minister of Education and Training, prescribing the conditions, order, procedures, and competence for recognition of diplomas granted by foreign education institutions for use in Vietnam, as follows:

1. To amend and supplement Article 7 as follows:

“Article 7. Dossiers and order for, and results of, recognition of diplomas

1. Those who request recognition of diplomas shall provide information on the diplomas specified in the form provided in Appendix I to this Circular and upload dossiers to the Public Service Portal of the Ministry of Education and Training or provincial-level Departments of Education and Training (below collectively referred to as agencies competent to recognize diplomas), and pay fees according to regulations.

2. A dossier must comprise:

a/ A copy of the diploma or a copy made with information from the master register of the diploma requested for recognition, enclosed with its notarized Vietnamese translation;

b/ A copy of the diploma supplement or academic transcripts, enclosed with its notarized Vietnamese translation;

c/ A notified copy of the diploma and directly relevant certificates (if any);

d/ Proofs of overseas study (if any): decisions on assignment to attend overseas study course and acceptance issued by the labor management unit; passport and passport pages with visa, entry and exit stamps suitable to the overseas study period or other proofs;

dd/ A letter of authorization for diploma verification (if requested by the verification unit).

3. A dossier shall be uploaded to the Public Service Portal as follows:

a/ In case the requester for diploma recognition possesses information and proofs for direct verification from the diploma-issuing education institution or the competent verification agency, he/she shall provide such information and proofs for direct verification to the agency competent to recognize diplomas and upload such information and proofs to the Public Service Portal: scanned copies of the documents specified at Points a and b, Clause 2 of this Article (certification of electronic copies is not required); electronic copies of the documents specified at Points c and d, Clause 2 of this Article must be certified;

b/ In case the requester for diploma recognition does not possess any information or proofs for direct verification, he/she shall upload certified electronic copies of the documents specified at Points a, b, c and d, Clause 2 of this Article, enclosed with a letter of authorization for diploma verification (if requested by the verification unit) to the Public Service Portal;

c/ If the requester does not upload the dossier to the Public Service Portal, he/she shall submit the dossier in person or by post to the agency competent to recognize   diplomas prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

4. Within 20 working days, the agency competent to recognize diplomas shall notify the dossier-processing result to the requester. In case information on the diploma needs to be verified by the foreign education institution or a foreign verification unit, the time limit for notification of the dossier-processing result shall be 45 working days after the agency competent to recognize diplomas receives the dossier of request for diploma recognition.

5. The diploma recognition result shall be written on a certificate, made according to the form provided in Appendix II or III to this Circular. In case the diploma is unqualified for recognition or when the time limit specified Clause 4 of this Article expires but grounds for verification of information on the diploma remain insufficient, the agency competent to recognize diplomas shall send a paper reply or email to the requester. In case it is impossible to determine the degree of equivalence of the diploma to the training levels specified in the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework, the agency competent to recognize diplomas shall provide information and recognize the value of the diploma according to the education system of the home country of the diploma-issuing education institution.

6. The agency competent to recognize diplomas shall make a diploma recognition certificate issuance register, inscribing full names and birth dates of iploma holders; names of diploma-issuing education institutions; forms of study; equivalent levels in the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework or qualifications according to education systems of home countries of diploma-issuing institutions; and register entry numbers.

7. Higher education institutions that self-assess diplomas for use in training activities shall make and retain diploma assessment dossiers according to regulations.”.

2. To replace Appendices II and III.

Article 2. Transitional provisions

For dossiers of request for recognition of diplomas submitted before the effective date of this Circular, Circular No. 13/2021/TT-BGDDT of April 15, 2021, of the Minister of Education and Training, prescribing the conditions, order, procedures, and competence for recognition of diplomas issued by foreign education institutions for use in Vietnam, shall still apply.

Article 3. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on November 2, 2024.

2. The Chief of the Office, the Director General of the Vietnam Education Quality Management Agency, and heads of related units under the Ministry of Education and Training; directors of provincial-level Departments of Training and Education; directors of general universities and academies; rectors of universities; and related organizations and individuals shall implement this Circular.-

For the Minister of Education and Training
Deputy Minister
HOANG MINH SON

* The appendices to this Circular are not translated.