Decree No. 116/2016/ND-CP on policies to support students and general secondary schools in particularly difficult communes and villages

DECREE

REGULATIONS ON SUPPORT POLICIES FOR STUDENTS AND GENERAL EDUCATION SCHOOLS IN REMOTE AND DIFFICULT COMMUNITIES

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Education Law dated June 14, 2005, and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Education Law dated November 25, 2009;

At the proposal of the Minister of Education and Training;

The Government promulgates this Decree on support policies for students and general education schools in remote and difficult communities.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree stipulates the subjects, levels of support, application forms, procedures, authorities, implementation processes, and funding for the support policy for elementary school, lower secondary school, and upper secondary school students in remote and difficult communes and villages in mountainous areas, coastal areas, and islands; general education schools with boarding facilities for ethnic minority students and general education schools with centralized meal services for students who are beneficiaries under this Decree.

Article 2. Applicability

1. For students, including:

a) Elementary and lower secondary school students as provided for in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Decree;

b) Upper secondary school students from ethnic minorities as provided for in Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree;

c) Upper secondary school students from the Kinh ethnic group as provided for in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Decree.

2. For general education schools, including:

a) Ethnic minority boarding general education schools;

b) General education schools with centralized meal services for students who are beneficiaries under this Decree.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

1. Ethnic minority boarding general education school: A specialized general education school established by the State for children of ethnic minorities and children of families permanently residing in remote and difficult communes and villages to contribute to training cadres for these regions. Such schools have a number of boarding students as prescribed by current regulations.

2. Boarding student: A student whose self and parents or guardians have permanent residence registration in remote and difficult communes and villages, permitted by the People's Committee of the district to stay at the school or nearby area during the week for study purposes due to inability to travel to and from home daily.

Article 4. Conditions for Students to Enjoy Support Policies

1. For elementary and lower secondary school students, they must satisfy one of the following conditions:

a) They are boarding students studying at ethnic minority boarding general education schools;

b) They are students whose self and parents or guardians have permanent residence registration in remote and difficult communes and villages, studying at elementary and lower secondary schools located in commune areas classified as category III, remote and difficult villages in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; and particularly difficult communes in coastal and island areas.

Distant from school More than 4 kilometers for elementary school students and more than 7 kilometers for lower secondary school students, or difficult terrain and transportation: Must cross rivers or streams without bridges; pass through high mountains or cliffs; pass through landslides or rockfalls.

c) They are students whose self and parents or guardians have permanent residence registration in commune areas classified as category III, remote and difficult villages in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, studying at elementary and lower secondary schools located in commune areas classified as category II in ethnic minority and mountainous areas. The distance from their homes to the school or difficult terrain and transportation are as specified in Point b, Clause 1 of this Article.

2. For upper secondary school students from ethnic minorities, they must satisfy the following conditions:

a) They are currently studying at upper secondary schools or upper secondary levels in multi-grade general education schools;

b) Their self and parents or guardians have permanent residence registration in commune areas classified as category III, remote and difficult villages in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; and particularly difficult communes in coastal and island areas.

Distant from school More than 10 kilometers, or difficult terrain and transportation: Must cross rivers or streams without bridges; pass through high mountains or cliffs; pass through landslides or rockfalls.

3. For upper secondary school students from the Kinh ethnic group, in addition to the conditions stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article, they must also be members of households classified as poor.

Article 5. Level of Support

1. Students who are beneficiaries under the provisions of this Decree shall be supported with meal money, accommodation money, and rice at the following levels of support:

a) Meal support: Each student shall be supported with meal money equivalent to 40% of the base salary per month and may enjoy such support for no more than nine months per academic year per student;

b) Accommodation support: For students who must arrange their own accommodation because the school cannot provide dormitory accommodation, each student shall be supported with accommodation money equivalent to 10% of the base salary per month and may enjoy such support for no more than nine months per academic year per student;

c) Rice support: Each student shall be supported with fifteen kilograms of rice per month and may enjoy such support for no more than nine months per academic year per student.

2. Boarding schools for ethnic minorities shall be supported with:

a) Investment in physical infrastructure and equipment, including: Dormitories, beds, kitchens, dining rooms, bathrooms, sanitation facilities, clean water facilities, and other accompanying equipment for boarding students according to current school design standards;

b) Purchase and repair of sports equipment, musical instruments, video recording devices, and other items serving cultural, sports, and recreational activities for boarding students at a level of support of 100,000 VND per boarding student per academic year;

c) Establishment of a shared medicine cabinet for the boarding area, purchase of common medicines sufficient to meet disease prevention requirements and handle emergency cases at a level of support of 50,000 VND per boarding student per academic year;

d) In the case where boarding schools organize centralized meals for students, they shall be supported with funds for meal preparation for students at a minimum budget allocation rate of 135% of the base salary per month for thirty students, additional allocations for each additional fifteen students; however, each school may only enjoy no more than five times the aforementioned allocation per month and no more than nine months per year.

3. General secondary schools that organize centralized meals for students who are beneficiaries under the provisions of this Decree: Shall be supported with funds for meal preparation for students as stipulated in Point d Clause 2 of this Article; investment in physical infrastructure as stipulated in Points a, b, and c Clause 2 of this Article, depending on the number of students benefiting and available funding.

Article 6. Application Documents for Policy Support

1. For elementary and junior high school students studying at general secondary schools in particularly difficult communes and villages, the application documents include:

a) Request for support form (for elementary school students according to Form No. 01, and for junior high school students according to Form No. 02 attached to this Decree);

b) Household registration book (a certified copy with the original for comparison or a notarized copy from the original; in the case of lost household registration books, a confirmation letter from the Village Police Chief is required);

2. For high school students who are members of ethnic minority groups, the application documents include:

a) Request for support form (Form No. 02 attached to this Decree);

b) Household registration book (a certified copy with the original for comparison or a notarized copy from the original; in the case of lost household registration books, a confirmation letter from the Village Police Chief is required);

3. For high school students who are members of the Kinh ethnic group, the application documents include:

a) Request for support form (Form No. 02 attached to this Decree);

b) Household registration book (a certified copy with the original for comparison or a notarized copy from the original; in the case of lost household registration books, a confirmation letter from the Village Police Chief is required);

c) Proof of being a poor household issued by the People's Committee of the commune or confirmed for the beneficiary;

4. For boarding schools for ethnic minorities, the application documents include:

a) Budget proposal for requesting financial support and rice support;

b) List of boarding students currently enrolled at the school approved by the People's Committee of the district;

c) List of boarding students who must arrange their own accommodation;

5. For general secondary schools that organize centralized meals for students who are beneficiaries under the provisions of this Decree, the application documents include:

a) Budget proposal for requesting financial support and rice support;

b) List of boarding students eligible for support under this Decree eating and residing at the school.

c) List of boarding students who must arrange their own accommodation;

Article 7. Procedures and formalities for reviewing eligibility for support policies

1. Procedure and time frame for implementation

a) At the time when new students enroll, schools with students eligible for support policies under this Decree shall organize to disseminate widely, notify, and guide parents (or legal guardians) and eligible students to prepare application files according to Clause 1, Clause 2, or Clause 3 of Article 6 of this Decree;

b) Within 10 working days from the date of posting the notification, families or students submit their application files to the school. Each applicant submits one set of files for the first time when requesting review and issuance at the same school, except in cases of poor households which must submit additional proof of poverty status annually;

c) Within 5 working days from the deadline for submitting application files, the school is responsible for reviewing and preparing files according to Clause 4 or Clause 5 of Article 6 of this Decree and sending them to the Department of Education and Training for primary and secondary schools; sending to the Provincial Department of Education and Training for high schools.

2. Procedures, formalities, and authority to decide on eligibility for support policies

a) Within 5 working days from receiving the schools' support application files, the Department of Education and Training will compile and submit to the People's Committee of the district for approval; the Provincial Department of Education and Training will compile and submit to the People's Committee of the province for approval;

b) Within 3 working days from receiving the submitted files from the Department of Education and Training and the Provincial Department of Education and Training, the People's Committee of the district and province will examine and issue the Decision on approval;

c) The Department of Education and Training and the Provincial Department of Education and Training send the results of the approved students eligible for support policies to the schools for public announcement and implementation.

3. Handling complaints

Schools are responsible for resolving complaints about the results of the review of students eligible for support policies (if any) within 10 working days from the date of announcing the results.

Article 8. Process of organizing rice support for students

1. Building a plan for rice support for students

a) The People's Committee of the province builds a plan for the need for rice support for students for the academic year, including:

- Number of students eligible for support: Aggregate the number of students by each category and each school in each locality;

- Quantity of rice needed (calculated for the maximum of 9 months per academic year per student);

- Rice receiving unit: An organization or entity assigned by the People's Committee of the province to receive national food reserves;

- Anticipated rice receiving time during the academic year: Clearly state the date and month of receiving rice (by each rice receiving period per semester).

b) The People's Committee of the province reports the plan for the need for rice support for students in the province to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education and Training before June 30th every year.

2. Decision on rice support for students

Based on the reports from the provincial People's Committees, the Minister of Finance issues the Decision on rice support for students in various localities for the academic year; the Decision on rice support is issued before July 31st every year.

3. Transportation and delivery methods

a) National food reserve units organize transportation of national food reserve rice for students and deliver it to the provincial rice receiving units at the centers of districts, counties, towns, and cities in supported provinces;

b) The provincial rice receiving units organize transportation of national food reserve rice from the centers of districts, counties, towns, and cities in the province to schools, distributing it to eligible recipients.

4. Time for delivery of rice

Specific times for delivering rice are carried out according to the proposal of the provincial People's Committee but not more than twice per semester.

5. Process of issuing rice

a) The Ministry of Finance is responsible for organizing the issuance of national food reserve rice to support students in various localities;

b) The provincial People's Committee organizes the receipt and distribution of rice to eligible recipients according to regulations.

6. Management and use of rice support for students

a) National food reserve rice for students when issued and received must be strictly managed;

b) The Chairman of the provincial People's Committee directs the provincial rice receiving units to proactively coordinate with relevant departments, organizations, and local authorities to develop plans for implementation and timely distribution of national food reserve rice to the specified recipients. The Chairman of the provincial People's Committee is responsible under the law for the management, distribution, and use of rice support for students in his/her locality;

c) Annually, the provincial People's Committee sends reports on the receipt and distribution of rice for students to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education and Training for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister.

Article 9. Procedures for budget preparation, allocation, settlement, and financial support

1. Regarding the financial support for students' meals and accommodation expenses and financial support for general secondary schools as stipulated in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 5 of this Decree:

a) Annually, at the time of state budget preparation, schools base on the number of students benefiting from the support policy to compile lists and prepare budgets for student support and school support as follows:

- For schools under county management, send to the Department of Education and Training for review and consolidation, then submit to the same-level finance authority for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for budget allocation;

- For schools under provincial management, send to the Provincial Department of Education and Training for review and consolidation, then submit to the same-level finance authority for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for budget allocation.

b) Budget allocation: The People's Committee of the province submits to the People's Council of the same level for decision on the allocation of funds for implementing the policy within the annual education and training expenditure budget according to the prescribed regulations.

c) Management and settlement of funds

- Units entrusted with funds for implementing the student support policy have the responsibility to manage and use the funds in accordance with their intended purpose, in compliance with the State Budget Law and submit reports on the settlement of funds for implementing these policies to the higher-level management authority for consolidation, and submit to the same-level finance authority before July 20 each year as the basis for determining and allocating the budget for the planning year.

- The settlement figures for funds spent on student support policies are summarized in the annual state budget expenditure settlement report of the unit in accordance with the current provisions of the State Budget Law, guiding documents of the Law, and the current state budget schedule.

d) Student meal and accommodation support funds are disbursed monthly.

đ) Based on actual conditions at the local level, schools proactively decide on the organization of centralized meal provision for students in school or direct distribution of rice and meal money to students.

e) In cases where students belong to multiple support policies of the same nature, they shall only benefit from one policy with the highest level of support.

2. For investment support for infrastructure and equipment for boarding general secondary schools, it is implemented in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law, the Public Investment Law, and guiding documents.

Article 10. Sources of funds for implementing the support policy

1. Funds for student meal support, accommodation support, purchasing, supplementing, and repairing cultural, artistic, physical education, and sports equipment, establishing shared medical cabinets for boarding students, and organizing centralized meal provision for students at school, and transportation costs for rice are balanced within the annual education and training expenditure budget of the locality. The central budget provides support to localities in accordance with the State Budget Law, guiding documents of the Law, and the mechanism for supporting local budgets from the central budget decided by the Prime Minister for social welfare policies.

2. Infrastructure investment support funds include renovation, upgrading, new construction of dormitories, kitchens, dining rooms, bathrooms, sanitation facilities, clean water facilities, beds, and accompanying equipment are allocated from the annual local basic construction budget, the program target budget of the education sector, integrated program target budgets for building new rural areas, sustainable poverty reduction programs, and mobilized from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals.

3. Rice support sourced from the national grain reserve.

Article 11. Implementation Organization

1. Ministry of Education and Training

Take the lead in inspecting, evaluating, and summarizing the implementation of the policy, annually reporting to the Prime Minister.

2. Ministry of Finance

a) Allocate regular funding sources to support localities in implementing the policies stipulated in this Decree in the annual state budget according to the current administrative division;

b) Issue decisions on the release of national grain reserves to support students based on local requests, ensuring consistency with the timing and changes in the number of students benefiting from the policy during each semester of the academic year; report to the Prime Minister on the results of releasing national grain reserves as prescribed;

c) Present to the competent authority to ensure funding for purchasing additional quantities of national reserve rice released and supplying sufficient rice to localities implementing policies under this Decree.

d) Lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to inspect the management and use of funds and rice support for the policy beneficiaries stipulated in this Decree.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment

a) Allocate basic construction capital to support localities in implementing the policies stipulated in this Decree;

b) Coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training and other relevant ministries and sectors to inspect the use of basic construction capital for infrastructure in boarding general secondary schools in localities.

4. The Ethnic Committee

Coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training, central ministries and sectors, and localities to direct, inspect, and supervise the implementation of policies stipulated in this Decree.

5. People's Councils, People's Committees of provinces

a) Provincial People's Councils

Based on the provisions of Point b Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 4, Point d Clause 2 of Article 5 of this Decree and actual conditions of the locality to specify the distance and area as the basis for identifying students who cannot travel to school and return home on the same day; specify the proportion of cost-sharing for student meal service to enable schools to proactively organize meal services for students.

b) Provincial People's Committees

- Prepare the budget for implementing the support policies stipulated in this Decree, integrate them into the plans of programs, projects, and local budget plans, and submit to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Education and Training during the annual state plan reporting period.

- Mobilize local resources, organizations, and individuals both domestically and internationally to support schools in organizing care and nurturing activities for boarding students.

- Direct local functional agencies to regularly inspect and supervise to ensure that the policy is implemented correctly for the target group, support levels, and support duration of the academic year; annually summarize, evaluate, and report the results of policy implementation to the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Ethnic Committee for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister.

Article 12. Effectiveness and Responsibility for Implementing the Decree

1. This Decree takes effect from September 1, 2016.

2. The Decisions numbered: 85/2010/QD-TTg dated December 21, 2010, issued by the Prime Minister on certain support policies for boarding students and boarding general secondary schools for ethnic minorities; 12/2013/QD-TTg dated January 24, 2013, issued by the Prime Minister on support policies for general secondary school students in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions; 36/2013/QD-TTg dated June 18, 2013, issued by the Prime Minister on rice support policies for students in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions shall cease to be effective from the date this Decree takes effect.

3. The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees under central cities, and related agencies shall be responsible for implementing this Decree.

ANNEX

(Attached to Decree No. 116/2016/ND-CP dated July 18, 2016, issued by the Government)

Form No. 01

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Independence - Freedom - Happiness
---------------

APPLICATION FOR SUPPORT
(For parents of elementary school students living at boarding schools in particularly difficult communes and villages)

Respectfully submitted to School:...

Full name:…

I am the parent (or guardian) of the student:...

Born on...day...month...year...

Ethnicity:...belonging to a poor household □ (mark X in the box if belonging to a poor household).

Residing in village/hamlet...commune...

located in the region:...

District...Province...

Academic year...Student of class:...School...

Due to the following reasons (choose one of the two reasons below):

- Residence far from school (specify distance from place of study):...

- Difficult terrain and transportation: □

Therefore, the student cannot travel to and from school on the same day.

Thus, I submit this application requesting relevant management levels to consider so that the student...can enjoy support policies for money and rice as stipulated in Decree No. ...../2016/ND-CP dated...day...month...year 2016 of the Government, including:

1. Food allowance □

2. Accommodation allowance (for cases where the student must arrange their own accommodation) □

2. Rice: □

Form No. 02

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Independence - Freedom - Happiness
---------------

APPLICATION FOR SUPPORT
(For junior high school students and senior high school students living at boarding schools in particularly difficult communes and villages)

Respectfully submitted to School:...

Name of student:...

Date of birth: … month … year …

Ethnicity:...

Residing in village/hamlet...commune...

located in the region:...

District...Province...

Academic year...Student of class:...School...

Due to the following reasons (choose one of the two reasons below):

- Residence far from school (specify distance from place of study):...

- Difficult terrain and transportation: □

Therefore, I cannot travel to and from school on the same day.

Thus, I submit this application requesting the school to consider and submit to the competent authority so that I can enjoy support policies for money and rice as stipulated in Decree No.:.../2016/ND-CP dated...day...month...year 2016 of the Government, including:

1. Food allowance □

2. Accommodation allowance (for cases where the student must arrange their own accommodation) □

3. Rice: □