Circular No. 35/2026/TT-BGDĐT guiding certain contents in the operation of public-private partnership (PPP) investment activities in the field of education and training.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines on certain aspects of public-private partnership investment activities in the field of education and training

Pursuant to Law No. 64/2020/QH14 on Public-Private Partnership Investment amended and supplemented by Laws Nos. 03/2022/QH15, 57/2024/QH15, and 90/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to Decree No. 37/2025/NĐ-CP dated February 26, 2025 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

Pursuant to Decree No. 312/2025/NĐ-CP dated December 6, 2025 of the Government stipulating financial management mechanisms for public-private partnership investment projects and payment and settlement mechanisms applicable to build-transfer (BT) contract projects;

Pursuant to Decree No. 243/2025/NĐ-CP dated September 11, 2025 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment;

Pursuant to Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC dated October 27, 2025 of the Minister of Finance stipulating tender document templates for selecting private investors under public-private partnership methods and projects with business investment; providing and publishing information on public-private partnership investments and tender selection of private investors on the National Tendering System;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Planning and Finance;

The Minister of Education and Training issues this Circular to guide certain aspects of public-private partnership investment activities in the field of education and training.

Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Application

1. This Circular guides certain aspects of public-private partnership (PPP) investment activities in the field of education and training, including: contents in pre-feasibility study reports and feasibility study reports; methods and criteria for evaluating tender documents and templates for build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts.

2. This Circular does not guide certain aspects of public-private partnership investment activities in vocational education and continuing education.

Article 2. Scope of Application

1. This Circular applies to organizations and individuals participating in or related to public-private partnership (PPP) investment activities in the field of education and training.

2. This Circular does not apply to organizations and individuals participating in or related to PPP investment activities in the fields of vocational education and continuing education.

Article 3. PPP Projects in the Field of Education and Training

PPP investment projects are implemented with the aim of investing, constructing infrastructure works, providing public services in the field of education and training.

Chapter II
GUIDANCE ON CERTAIN CONTENTS IN THE FEASIBILITY STUDY REPORT AND DETAILED FEASIBILITY STUDY REPORT

Article 4. Economic and Social Efficiency Indicators for Projects in the Field of Education and Training

1. The economic and social efficiency indicators of a project include: net present value (ENPV); benefit-cost ratio (BCR); internal rate of return (EIRR). Calculations of these economic and social efficiency indicators are carried out according to the provisions set forth in Model No. 01, Model No. 02 of Appendix I and Model No. 01, Model No. 02 of Appendix II issued together with Decree No. 243/2025/NĐ-CP dated September 11, 2025 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 243/2025/NĐ-CP).

2. The economic and social benefits of education and training projects include the following groups:

a) Group of benefits that can be quantified and converted into monetary value, including: benefits from reducing operational costs for infrastructure facilities; benefits from saving time and travel expenses for teachers and students; benefits from reduced healthcare costs due to improved learning and living conditions for teachers and students;

b) Group of benefits that can be quantified but not priced, including: benefits in increasing school attendance rates and reducing student dropout rates; benefits in improving academic performance of students; benefits in attracting teachers and lecturers due to improved facilities and infrastructure;

c) Group of benefits that can only be measured by qualitative indicators, including: benefits from improving educational standards and public awareness; benefits in enhancing employment opportunities and social development in the project area due to increased literacy rates; benefits in reducing social ills or crime rates, particularly among children; benefits in raising gender equality awareness; benefits for girls, women, and vulnerable groups through improved access to education.

3. The project preparation unit may supplement other benefits beyond those mentioned in Clause 2 of this Article, ensuring consistency with the type of contract, specific characteristics of each field or project, and relevant legal provisions.

4. In cases where it is not possible to determine quantifiable factors that can be converted into monetary value for calculating economic and social efficiency indicators of a project, an assessment may be made based on the remaining groups of factors.

Article 5. Profit Margin on Investor's Equity

1. Cost of Using Investor’s Equity The maximum cost of using investor’s equity (taking into account risk and inflation) is determined by the formula: i = iv + f Where: i: cost of using investor’s equity; iv: interest rate for borrowing investment capital, determined based on reference to medium- and long-term loan interest rates from at least three state-owned commercial banks for similar projects to serve as a basis for financial planning in pre-feasibility study reports and feasibility study reports (if applicable). The interest rate for borrowing investment capital is determined at the nearest point within three months prior to the preparation of pre-feasibility study reports or feasibility study reports; f: inflation rate, determined based on the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the past ten years as published by the General Statistics Office and taking into account exclusion of years with significant CPI fluctuations.

2. Profit Margin Framework for Investor’s Equity Based on legal provisions, economic and social conditions, and project characteristics, the profit margin on investor's equity in financial plans within pre-feasibility study reports and feasibility study reports must be ensured to fall within the following profit margin framework:

a) The maximum profit margin on investor’s equity shall not exceed the cost of using investor’s equity (i) as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article;

b) The minimum profit margin on investor's equity shall not be lower than the interest rate for borrowing investment capital (iv) as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. The profit margin framework set forth in Clause 2 of this Article serves as a basis for preparing pre-feasibility study reports and feasibility study reports, without adjusting during the investor selection process.

Article 6. Quality Indexes for Infrastructure Projects and Facilities Provided by Project Enterprises

1. Quality indexes for educational infrastructure projects and facilities provided by project enterprises (hereinafter referred to as PEs) include the extent of compliance with design standards, construction, operation, maintenance, and product/service quality:

a) The degree of compliance with design requirements for educational infrastructure systems and facilities in accordance with applicable National Standards;

b) The degree of compliance with construction quality, construction work, and maintenance as stipulated in Article 59 of the Public-Private Partnership Investment Law No. 64/2020/QH14 dated June 18, 2020, and Decree No. 06/2021/NĐ-CP dated January 26, 2021 issued by the Government detailing certain aspects of construction quality management, construction work, and maintenance of construction projects;

c) The degree of compliance with product/service quality provided in education and training projects supplied by PEs as stipulated in PPP project contracts.

2. Certain standards for evaluating the quality of infrastructure systems, facilities, public products, and services provided by PEs are set forth in Appendix I attached to this Circular.

Article 7. Depreciation period for infrastructure systems and educational facilities and equipment

1. The depreciation period for construction works and infrastructure systems of projects shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of law, based on suitability with each type of PPP project contract.

2. For BOT contracts, the time for depreciating infrastructure works and educational facility systems shall be carried out according to the provisions of Circular No. 23/2023/TT-BTC dated April 25, 2023, issued by the Minister of Finance guiding management regulations, depreciation rates, and depreciation of fixed assets at agencies, organizations, units, and state-owned fixed assets entrusted to enterprises for management without considering the state capital component in enterprises, as well as other relevant legal provisions.

Chapter III
GUIDANCE ON SOME CONTENTS REGARDING METHODS AND STANDARDS FOR EVALUATING BID DOCUMENTS AND SAMPLE CONTRACTS FOR CONSTRUCTION - OPERATIONS - TRANSFER

Section 1
METHODS AND STANDARDS FOR EVALUATING BID DOCUMENTS

Article 8. Evaluation of bid documents and proposal documents

1. For projects applying open tendering with competitive negotiations: The evaluation of bid documents for such projects shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 49 of Decree No. 243/2025/NĐ-CP.

2. For projects applying investor designation: The evaluation of proposal documents for such projects shall be conducted according to the provisions at point d, clause 2, Article 56 of Decree No. 243/2025/NĐ-CP.

3. For projects applying special circumstances investor selection procedures: The process and procedures for selecting investors in special cases shall be implemented as per Articles 57 and 58 of Decree No. 243/2025/NĐ-CP.

Article 9. Methods and criteria for evaluating capacity

Implementation shall follow the provisions at clause 3, Article 49 of Decree No. 243/2025/NĐ-CP and Section 2, Part 1, Chapter III of Appendix III promulgated together with Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC dated October 27, 2025, issued by the Minister of Finance regarding sample tender documents for selecting private investors under public-private partnership methods and business investment projects; providing and publishing information on public-private partnerships and investor selection tenders on the National Procurement System (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC).

Article 10. Methods and standards for technical evaluation

Are guided by Appendix II of this Circular, while ensuring the provisions of Decree No. 243/2025/NĐ-CP and Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC, specifically as follows:

1. Evaluation method: Implemented in accordance with Clause 5, Article 49 of Decree No. 243/2025/NĐ-CP and Section 3.1, Part I, Chapter III, Appendix III issued together with Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC.

2. Evaluation standards: Implemented in accordance with Clause 5, Article 49 of Decree No. 243/2025/NĐ-CP and Section 3.2, Part I, Chapter III, Appendix III issued together with Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC.

Article 11. Methods and standards for financial-commercial evaluation

1. Error correction: The error correction is carried out in accordance with Section 4.1, Part I, Chapter III, Appendix III issued together with Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC.

2. Based on the scale, nature, and type of specific project contract, the tenderer must determine one of the following methods to compare and rank investors meeting financial-commercial requirements:

a) Method of comparing and ranking based on price or fee standard for public products and services: The investor proposing the lowest price or fee for public products and services is ranked first and recommended as the successful bidder. In cases where the investor falls under an eligible beneficiary, the price or fee for public products and services must be calculated before proceeding with the ranking of investors according to the formula specified in Section 26.3 CDNĐT Chapter II, Part I, Appendix III issued together with Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC.

b) Method of comparing and ranking based on state capital support for construction (not applicable to PPP projects involving sub-projects using public investment funds as stipulated in point a, Clause 5, Article 70 of the Public-Private Partnership Law): The investor proposing the lowest amount of state capital support for construction is ranked first and recommended as the successful bidder. In cases where the investor falls under an eligible beneficiary, the value of state capital support for construction must be calculated before proceeding with the ranking of investors according to the formula specified in Section 26.3 CDNĐT Chapter II, Part I, Appendix III issued together with Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC.

c) Method of comparing and ranking based on social benefit or state interest standard: The investor proposing the highest amount to be paid into the state budget or the shortest contract duration is ranked first and recommended as the successful bidder. In cases where the investor falls under an eligible beneficiary, the value proposed for payment into the state budget or the period of the contract must be calculated before proceeding with the ranking of investors according to the formula specified in Section 26.3 CDNĐT Chapter II, Part I, Appendix III issued together with Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC.

d) Method of comparing and ranking based on combined criteria implemented as stipulated in point 4.2.4, Clause 4, Section 4, Part I, Chapter III, Appendix III issued together with Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC.

Section 2
SAMPLE CONTRACTS FOR PROJECTS

Article 12. Sample contracts for projects

1. The model BOT contract is prescribed in Appendix III attached to this Circular.

2. For other types of contracts as provided by the Public-Private Partnership Law, they shall include basic components and contents according to the guidance set forth in Appendix III of Decree No. 243/2025/NĐ-CP.

Chapter IV
IMPLEMENTATION

Article 13. Transitional provisions

1. For tender documents that have been approved before this Circular takes effect but have not yet been issued, the tendering entity shall modify and supplement them based on the provisions of this Circular and submit for approval by the competent authority.

2. For tender documents that have been issued before this Circular takes effect but have not yet resulted in an investment selection decision, the evaluation of submitted bids shall continue to be conducted based on the issued tender documents.

3. For projects where an investment selection decision has already been approved before this Circular takes effect, the competent authority, contract signing entity, and investor or project company shall negotiate and sign contracts based on the issued tender documents and bids submitted by the investor.

4. For projects that have signed contracts prior to the effective date of this Circular, they shall continue to be implemented according to the signed project contract. During implementation, if there are adjustments or supplements to the contract, the competent authority, contract signing entity, and investor or project company shall organize negotiations based on the provisions of this Circular to sign supplementary agreements for implementation.

Article 14. Effective date

1. This Circular takes effect from June 6, 2026.

2. In cases where legal regulations cited in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, the provisions of such amended, supplemented, or replaced legal regulations shall apply.

Article 15. Implementation

The Director of the Office, Heads of the Department of Planning and Finance, Heads of relevant units under the Ministry of Education and Training; Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities; Directors of Departments of Education and Training; Rectors of universities and academies; Principals of university-level institutions; and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.