Circular No. 14/2007/TT-BTC guides the use of funds for health work in schools

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the use of funds to implement health work in schools

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Pursuant to Directive No. 23/2006/CT-TTg dated July 12, 2006 of the Prime Minister on strengthening health work in schools;

After soliciting opinions from the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs.

The Ministry of Finance hereby issues guidelines for the use of funds to implement health work in schools as follows:

I - GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The subjects implementing this Circular are public educational institutions under the national education system as stipulated in the Education Law (hereinafter referred to as educational institutions).

2. Sources of funds for implementing school health work:

- State budget funds allocated within the annual expenditure on education and training of educational institutions according to the current budget classification.

- Funds retained from the Voluntary Health Insurance Fund for students and trainees as prescribed by current regulations.

- Donations from organizations and individuals both domestically and internationally.

- Other lawful revenues (if any).

3. Funds ensuring school health work must be used for their intended purposes, in accordance with the regulations set forth in this Circular.

4. Non-public educational institutions may apply the provisions of this Circular to implement school health work and record such expenditures as part of the costs of non-public educational institutions.

II - SPECIFIC REGULATIONS

1. Contents of expenditures for health work in schools:

a) Expenditures for salaries, allowances, contributions based on salary, and overtime pay (if applicable) of full-time health staff at schools who have been trained in medical professions: Salary levels, allowances, and contributions based on salary shall be implemented according to the salary scale and grade for health personnel as stipulated in Decree No. 204/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 14, 2004 of the Government on the wage system for civil servants, public officials, and members of the armed forces and current guiding documents.

b) Expenditures for professional activities:

- Expenditures for implementing activities to care for, protect, and provide health counseling to students and trainees, including:

+ Emergency first aid and initial treatment for students and trainees when they suffer accidents or common illnesses during study time and other activities at school.

+ Expenditures for purchasing medicines for the school's medicine cabinet according to the list prescribed by the Ministry of Health.

+ Organizing regular health check-ups and categorizing the health status of students and trainees once a year at the beginning of the academic year through contracts with healthcare facilities at the current level of expenditure for partial hospital fees.

+ Expenditures for purchasing office supplies and file cabinets to manage student and trainee health records at school.

+ Expenditures for purchasing books, materials, and equipment to organize extracurricular lessons on health education, health counseling, adolescent reproductive health, and family planning for students and trainees.

- Expenditures for purchasing materials and equipment to serve health promotion and communication activities at schools, such as preventing school-related diseases; infectious and contagious diseases; accidents; ensuring food safety; environmental sanitation; preventing diseases within the school premises; encouraging students and trainees to participate in vaccination programs,... issued by competent authorities. In cases where it is truly necessary, units may develop and print their own models and materials for implementation.

- Expenditures for professional training of school health staff according to current regulations on travel expenses and conference fees.

- Expenditures for inspecting hygiene factors in schools.

c) Expenditures for procurement and repair:

- Expenditures for purchasing medical equipment and essential items for School (Health Station) in schools according to the list prescribed by the Ministry of Health.

- Maintenance and repair expenditures for medical equipment serving health activities in schools.

d) Other expenditures related to the implementation of school health work.

2. Budget preparation, execution, and settlement of expenditures for school health work shall be carried out in accordance with the current provisions of the State Budget Law, Accounting Law, and current guiding documents.

For the year 2007, educational institutions shall proactively use the allocated budget for education and training to implement school health work.

From 2008 onwards, educational institutions shall prepare budgets for this task and incorporate them into the overall budget for education and training of the unit as prescribed.

As for funds retained from the Voluntary Health Insurance Fund for students and trainees: Educational institutions are responsible for managing, using, and settling accounts with social insurance agencies according to current regulations.

III - IMPLEMENTATION

This Circular takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

In the course of implementation, if there are difficulties, units are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance for study, amendment, and supplementation to make them appropriate./.