Decree No. 60/2025/NĐ-CP amends and supplements some articles of Decree No. 116/2020/NĐ-CP dated September 25, 2020, of the Government on policies to support payment of tuition fees and living expenses for student teachers.

DECREE

Provincial People's Committees set specific pricesTo amend and supplement some articles of N |||Decree number 116/2020/CP- dated October 20, 2015 of dated 25 the 9 of the Cgovernment concerning support policies  for tuition fees and living expenses for student teachers

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Pursuant to the Government Organization Law on February 18, 2025;

Pursuant to the Law on Local Administration dated February 19, 2025;

Pursuant to the Education Law dated June 14, 2019;

Pursuant to the Higher Education Law dated June 18, 2012; and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Higher Education Law dated November 19, 2018;

Pursuant to the Civil Servant Law dated November 15, 2010; and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Civil Servant Law and the Civil Servant Law;

Pursuant to the State Budget Law dated June 25, 2015;

At the proposal of the Minister of Education and Training;

The Government promulgates this Decree amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 116/2020/NĐ-CP dated September 25, 2020 of the Government stipulating support policies for tuition fees and living expenses for student teachers.

Article 1. Amend and supplement certain provisions of Decree No. 116/2020/NĐ-CP dated September 25, 2020 of the Government stipulating support policies for tuition fees and living expenses for student teachers (hereinafter referred to as Decree 116) as follows:

1. Amending and supplementing Clause 1 of Article 1 as follows:

"1. This Decree stipulates support policies for tuition fees and living expenses for students studying teacher training programs at universities, academies, university-level institutions, and college-level institutions authorized to train teachers (hereinafter collectively referred to as teacher training institutions)."

2. Amend and supplement Point b Clause 2 Article 1 as follows:

"b) Provincial People's Committees (hereinafter collectively referred to as provincial People's Committees), teacher training institutions, and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals."

3. Amend and supplement Article 3 as follows:

“Article 3. Determination of teacher training needs and implementation methods for supporting student teachers

1. Determination of teacher training needs

a) Before June 15 each year, the provincial People's Committee sends the local teacher training needs according to each level, grade, major, and subject for the next recruitment year to the Ministry of Education and Training using Model No. 03 attached to this Decree, and simultaneously publicizes it through various information and communication channels;

b) Before June 30 each year, based on the local teacher recruitment needs according to each level, grade, and major, and the conditions ensuring quality and capacity of teacher training institutions, the Ministry of Education and Training determines and announces the enrollment quotas for the next academic year to the teacher training institutions;

c) Based on the announced quotas from the Ministry of Education and Training, the teacher training institution publicly announces the quotas on the Ministry of Education and Training’s website and its own website before July 5 each year.

2. Implementation methods for supporting student teachers

a) Based on the announced quotas of the teacher training institutions, ministries, sectors, and localities implement support policies for tuition fees and living expenses for student teachers through budget allocation according to the fiscal decentralization; in cases where localities have a need for teacher sources and wish to implement through assignment tasks or placing orders, they shall assign teacher training tasks to subordinate teacher training institutions or place orders for teacher training with teacher training institutions;

b) The decision to assign tasks and contracts for teacher training between the task assigner and the ordering agency and teacher training institutions must be based on the needs and annual teacher training plans, consistent with the educational development plan and the annual and long-term teacher workforce training plan of the locality;

c) The unit price for implementing task assignments and placing orders for teacher training is determined in accordance with Article 4 of Decree 116;

d) Other provisions regarding task assignments and placing orders not specifically provided for in Decree 116 and this Decree shall be implemented in accordance with Decree No. 32/2019/NĐ-CP dated April 10, 2019 of the Government stipulating task assignments, placing orders, or bidding for the provision of products and services using state budget funds."

4. Amend and supplement Article 5 as follows:

“Article 5. Establishing Budget Estimates, Funding Sources, and Payment for Student Teacher Support Policies

1. Preparing budgets

a) The state budget funds for implementing support policies for student teachers' tuition fees and living expenses shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law, guiding documents of the State Budget Law, relevant laws, and provisions of this Decree.

b) For training institutions: Each year, based on the number of student teachers currently benefiting from the support policy for tuition fees and living expenses at the training institution and the enrollment quota announced by the Ministry of Education and Training for the following year (after deducting the assigned quotas), the training institution shall prepare a budget estimate and submit it to the higher authority for consolidation and report to the competent financial authority to allocate the budget estimate according to the State Budget Law.

c) For agencies assigning tasks and placing orders: Based on the support standards stipulated in Article 4 of Decree 116, each year, the agency placing orders and assigning tasks shall prepare a budget estimate for training student teachers simultaneously with the annual budget estimate and consolidate it within the unit's budget estimate, reporting to the competent authority for approval of the funding to pay the support for tuition fees and living expenses for student teachers through the teacher training institution.

2. Funding Sources and Payment for Student Teacher Support Policies

a) The support funds for student teachers' tuition fees and living expenses shall be allocated in the annual state budget estimate for education and training at ministries, sectors, and localities as prescribed and provided to teacher training institutions in the form of budget estimates according to regulations.

In cases where localities implement the assignment of tasks and placement of orders for training student teachers, the locality shall allocate from its local budget to pay the support funds for tuition fees and living expenses for student teachers to the teacher training institution.

b) After receiving the support funds from the competent authority, the teacher training institution shall be responsible for paying the living expense support into the bank account of the student teachers before the 15th day of each month.

3. Implementation of Budget Estimates and Settlement of Accounts for the Support Policy for Tuition Fees and Living Expenses for Student Teachers under this Decree shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

4. The funds for implementing the policy under this Decree shall be balanced in the annual state budget expenditure estimate according to the current administrative management hierarchy. The central budget will support the local budget to implement the policy according to the principle of targeted support from the central budget to the local budget for implementing social welfare policies issued and applied during specific periods.

5. Amend and supplement Point c Clause 2 Article 6 as follows:

"c) After graduation, student teachers who are accepted to work in the education sector and continue to be sent by the recruiting agency for further teacher training and continue working in the education sector for the time specified in Point a Clause 2 Article 6 of Decree 116."

6. Amend and supplement Clause 1, Clause 6 Article 7 as follows:

"1. Each year, based on the quota announced by the Ministry of Education and Training, the teacher training institution shall notify successful candidates in teacher training programs to register for support for tuition fees and living expenses; publicly announce the number and list of successful candidates on the Ministry of Education and Training's electronic portal and the teacher training institution's website for localities to register for task assignments and orders for training student teachers.

6. The list of student teachers benefiting from the support policy for tuition fees and living expenses and the list of student teachers under the task assignment and order of localities shall be publicly announced on the locality's electronic portal and the teacher training institution's website no later than five working days after completing the review process for task assignment and order implementation, and submitted to the superior authority for monitoring."

6 ||| 7. Amend and supplement Article 9 as follows:

“Article 9. Recovery of Support Costs

1. Annually, based on the results of training and study of student teachers, the teacher training institution shall notify the list of students who fall under the category specified in point c, Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 116 to the People's Committee of the province where the students are registered or the agency that assigns tasks or places orders to announce the recovery of support costs provided to student teachers in accordance with Clause 2, Article 8 of Decree 116.

2. For student teachers receiving support costs in the form of budget allocation who must repay support costs according to Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 116, before December 30 each year, based on the Confirmation Letter of Working Time in the Education Sector in accordance with Form No. 02 attached to Decree 116 issued by the student teachers, the People's Committee of the province where the students are registered shall review, monitor, guide, and issue notices to recover support costs so that student teachers can fulfill their obligation to repay the amount due according to Article 8 of Decree 116 and this Decree.

3. For student teachers receiving support costs in the form of assigned tasks or placed orders who must repay support costs according to Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 116, the agency assigning tasks or placing orders shall monitor, guide, and issue notices to recover support costs so that student teachers can fulfill their obligation to repay the amount due according to Article 8 of Decree 116 and this Decree.

4. Within thirty days from the date of receipt of the notice from the competent authority, students who are required to repay support costs must be responsible for contacting the agency issuing the notice to recover support costs to complete the procedures for repaying the support costs.

The maximum time limit for fulfilling the obligation to repay support costs is four years, starting from the date when student teachers receive the notice to repay support costs.

During the period for fulfilling the obligation to repay support costs, students shall pay the repayment to the teacher training institution or the agency placing orders or assigning tasks (for students subject to orders or assignments) in accordance with the regulations.

If students fail to fulfill the obligation to repay support costs beyond the prescribed time limit, they must bear the maximum interest rate applicable to non-fixed-term deposits as stipulated by the State Bank of Vietnam for the overdue repayment amount. In case the State Bank does not specify the maximum interest rate for non-fixed-term deposits, they must bear the interest rate applicable to non-fixed-term deposits of VietinBank at the time of fulfilling the repayment obligation.

5. Student teachers who must repay support costs according to Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 116, if they are confirmed by the competent authority to have a labor capacity reduction of 61% or more or have passed away, will have their repayment obligations waived; if they are entitled to policies exempting or reducing tuition fees as stipulated by the Government, they will be exempted or have their repayment amounts reduced accordingly. Based on the specific conditions of student teachers, the People's Committee of the province where the students are registered shall decide to waive, reduce, or exempt the repayment costs for student teachers who are policy beneficiaries.

6. Within five working days from the date of receipt of the repayment of support costs from student teachers, the teacher training institution, the agency placing orders, or assigning tasks shall remit the recovered funds to the state budget in accordance with Decree No. 11/2020/NĐ-CP dated January 20, 2020 of the Government on administrative procedures under the Treasury Department.

7. If student teachers do not fulfill their obligation to repay support costs, the competent authority monitoring and guiding them may initiate legal proceedings against them in court as stipulated by law.

8. Supplement Clause 3 of Article 10 as follows:

"3. Ministry of Finance:

To aggregate and submit to the competent authority for the allocation of funds to implement the policy of supporting tuition fees and living expenses for student teachers as stipulated in this Decree in accordance with the budget management hierarchy."

9. Amend and supplement Article 11 as follows:

“Article 11. Responsibilities of the People's Committee of the province

1. Allocate the budget to implement the policy of supporting tuition fees and living expenses for student teachers in accordance with Decree 116 and this Decree in a timely manner; establish criteria for selecting student teachers that meet the demand for usage.

2. Publicize the training needs for teachers, the results of assigning tasks and placing orders with teacher training institutions, recruitment plans, and job placement plans in educational institutions.

3. Pay the funds to execute decisions on assigning tasks and teacher training contracts with teacher training institutions according to the prescribed standards set forth in Article 4 of Decree 116.

4. Direct and guide the implementation of policies supporting student teachers as stipulated in Decree 116 and this Decree at the local level; inspect, supervise the implementation, and report annually to the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Finance on the implementation situation.

5. Implement or delegate the implementation of the recruitment of graduating student teachers and appropriate job placements in educational institutions according to current regulations on the recruitment and utilization of civil servants.

6. Guide procedures for monitoring, urging, and issuing notices to recover the costs of supporting tuition fees and living expenses for student teachers residing locally who are required to reimburse as specified in Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 116 using Model 04 attached to this Decree, and handle cases where reimbursement is not carried out in accordance with the law.

7. Before January 31 each year, submit statistical data of the previous year directly or through postal service to the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Finance regarding the funds supporting tuition fees and living expenses for student teachers, and the reimbursement funds for student teachers as specified in Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 116 using Model 05 attached to this Decree. The reporting data period is from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year.

8. Develop the budget for implementing the support policies stipulated in this Decree and Decree 116, consolidate it into the annual local budget plan, and send it to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for approval.

9. Guide the agencies responsible for assigning tasks and placing orders for teacher training to pay the reimbursement funds into the state treasury for student teachers under the task assignment and order placement method subject to reimbursement.

10. Amend and supplement Clause 3; add Clause 8 to Article 12 as follows:

"3. Annually inform the People's Committee of the province where student teachers have registered their permanent residence, and the agencies responsible for assigning tasks and placing orders for student teacher training about the academic performance, discipline, graduation time of student teachers, lists of graduating students, lists of students currently enrolled at school who must reimburse the costs of supporting tuition fees and living expenses as specified in Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 116, sources of funding, amounts of support, and amounts of reimbursement for each student.

8. Pay the reimbursement funds into the state treasury for student teachers under the budget allocation method subject to reimbursement.

11. Amend and supplement Article 13 as follows:

“Article 13. Responsibilities of individuals benefiting from the policy of financial support for tuition fees and living expenses

1. Comply with laws and internal regulations of teacher training institutions; complete the training program as prescribed.

2. After receiving the decision recognizing graduation, before December 31 each year until the year when the period of non-obligation to repay the supported funds as stipulated in point a, Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree 116 has elapsed, report on their employment status according to Form No. 02 attached to Decree 116 to the People's Committee of the province (the supervising agency issuing the notice to recover the funds) where the student is registered or the agency assigning tasks to students who are subject to task assignment to notify the cancellation or recovery of the supported funds.

3. Students of education majors falling under the provisions of Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 116 shall be responsible for repaying the supported funds as prescribed in this Decree to the teacher training institution or the agency assigning tasks (for students under the task assignment method) to pay back to the state budget through the State Treasury system.

4. Students of education majors applying for financial support for tuition fees and living expenses shall be responsible for submitting the application form and commitment to repay tuition fees and living expenses to the teacher training institution or the agency assigning tasks according to Form No. 01 attached to this Decree.

5. Students of education majors required to repay the supported funds shall be responsible for sending copies of payment receipts for the repayment of the supported funds to the competent authority issuing the notice to recover the funds for monitoring, reporting, and confirming the fulfillment of the obligation.

12. Amend and supplement some forms in the Appendix as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Form No. 01 in the Appendix;

b) Supplement Forms No. 03, No. 04, and No. 05 after Form No. 02 in the Appendix.

Article 2. Transitional provisions

1. The central budget will support local budgets to implement the policy of supporting education major students from the 2021-2022 academic year to the end of the 2024-2025 academic year based on the principle of targeted support from the central budget to local budgets for implementing social welfare policies issued by the competent authority applicable for each period.

2. For localities that have signed contracts with training institutions to train education major students through bidding procedures, they may continue to implement according to the signed contracts.

3. Repeal the phrase "or bidding" in Clause 3, 4, 5, Article 7, and Clause 4, Article 12 of Decree No. 116/2020/NĐ-CP dated September 25, 2020 of the Government regarding the policy of financial support for tuition fees and living expenses for education major students.

Article 3. Implementation Provisions

1. This Decree takes effect from April 20, 2025 and applies starting from the 2025-2026 academic year.

2. The Minister, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, Chairmen of provincial and centrally-run city People's Committees, and related agencies are responsible for enforcing this Decree.