Illustrative photo: SGGP
After collecting opinions of experts and people, the Ministry announced the draft decree supplementing something of Decree No. 86/2018 on cooperation and investment with foreign countries in the field of education.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, it has reviewed and evaluated the implementation of legal provisions on the cooperation and investment with foreign countries in educational facilities according to Decree No. 86 during 2019 and 2020.
After three years of implementation, in addition to the establishment of a legal corridor for foreign individuals and organizations to invest in the Southeast Asian country’s education sector, Decree 86 has revealed its shortcomings. Worse, some articles of the decree have not synchronized with the new laws. Therefore, the Ministry must complete the draft for submission to the government to solve the inadequacies thoroughly ensuring legitimacy in law-making.
Accordingly, the draft amendments focus on management regulations relating to educational programs, learners, conditions for ensuring education quality and publicity and transparency of foreign factors. Some main contents such as supplementing private educational institutions in Vietnam regardless of domestic or foreign investment capital are expected to be amended. Another amendment is that investors are permitted to pour capital as per a roadmap to create favorable conditions for investors in the early stages.
Additional draft regulations also disclosed foreign education programs and accreditation, foreign teachers, student nationality in educational institutions to ensure information transparency. In addition, the draft also added responsibility for inspection, supervision, assessment and settlement of complaints and denunciations, local authorities’ accountabilities in management of foreign-invested facilities.
Investment funds are interested in the education sector because Vietnam has in recent years achieved the highest GDP growth rate in Southeast Asia and has a young population and thus high spending on education.
