Circular No. 133/2008/TT-BTC guiding the training allowance for foreign exchange students (under Agreement) studying at universities in Vietnam

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for training expenses for foreign exchange students (under Agreement) studying at universities in Vietnam

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Pursuant to Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Implementing Decision No. 1231/QD-TTg dated September 10, 2008 of the Prime Minister on adjusting the training expense allowance for foreign exchange students studying in Vietnam under Agreements;

The Ministry of Finance provides guidelines for the training expense allowance for foreign exchange students under Agreements studying at universities in Vietnam as follows:

I. APPLICABLE OBJECTS

1. The objects subject to the training expense allowance are foreign exchange students sent by foreign governments to study at universities in Vietnam under Agreements signed between the Government of Vietnam and the Governments of other countries regarding cooperation in education, training, culture, science, and technology (hereinafter referred to as foreign exchange students).

2. Cambodian and Laotian exchange students are not within the scope of application of this Circular.

II. STRUCTURE OF TRAINING EXPENSE ALLOWANCE

The structure of the training expense allowance for foreign exchange students guaranteed by the state budget includes:

1. Training expenses: Training costs are provided for each level according to the rate: VND 1,723,000 per foreign exchange student per month, including:

a. Monthly recurring expenses:

- Teaching and learning expenses include: salaries for staff (including overtime teaching allowances), materials, experiments, practical work, course internships, translation services, and other related expenses. - Administrative expenses include: office supplies, cultural activities, sports, electricity, water, fuel, health insurance for students, agency health care, purchasing inexpensive consumable items, hospitality expenses, and other related expenses.

b. One-time expenses for the entire duration of the course: expenses for supporting equipment for teaching and practical work, and equipment for living facilities in dormitories, expenses for field trips, expenses for admission procedures, expenses for graduation and thesis defense, gift expenses, expenses for welcoming and seeing off foreign exchange students at Vietnam's international airports.

c. Expenses arising during the year: expenses for National Day of Vietnam and the country of origin.

Based on the above expenditure items, schools shall manage their expenditures actively but not exceed the rate of VND 1,723,000 per foreign exchange student per month.

In cases where schools do not have sufficient conditions to provide accommodation and living facilities for foreign exchange students, based on the aforementioned expenditure rates, universities and service providers shall negotiate and enter into contracts to ensure accommodation, living, and other conditions for foreign exchange students.

2. Living expense allowance for foreign exchange students (referred to as scholarships), including: food, pocket money, personal clothing, daily travel expenses, and learning material expenses are provided according to the following rates:

a. Long-term university students: VND 1,870,000 per foreign exchange student per month.

b. Postgraduate students: VND 2,120,000 per foreign exchange student per month.

c. Short-term training and internship students (less than 12 months): VND 2,480,000 per foreign exchange student per month.

III. BUDGET ESTIMATION, ISSUE, AND SETTLEMENT

1. Each year, universities assigned by the Ministry of Education and Training to receive and train foreign exchange students, based on the number of students assigned and the training expense allowance structure stipulated in Section II of this Circular, shall prepare a training budget for foreign exchange students and submit it to the competent ministry for consolidation and submission to the Ministry of Finance for review and approval by the authorized authority.

2. Universities shall send the annual budget approved by the authorized authority to the State Treasury branch for issuance purposes.

3. The issuance of the training expense allowance for foreign exchange students studying in Vietnam as stipulated in Section II of this Circular shall be carried out through the State Treasury.

4. The settlement of training expenses for foreign exchange students (under Agreement) funded by the state budget shall be implemented in accordance with current regulations.

5. These provisions of this Circular shall take effect from the academic year 2008-2009.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette./.