Decision No. 64/2013/QD-TTg Issuing Conditions and Procedures for Establishing or Permitting to Establish, Operating Training Programs, Suspending Training Activities, Merging, Dividing, Splitting, and Dissolving Universities and Academies

Pursuant to …;

Issuing conditions and procedures for establishing or permitting establishment,

permitting training activities, suspending training activities,

merging, dividing, splitting, dissolving universities and academies

_____________________

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

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;

Pursuant to the Higher Education Law on June 18, 2012;

Based on the Investment Law dated November 29, 2005;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 50/2010/QH12 of the XIIth National Assembly at its seventh session adopted on June 19, 2010 on implementing policies and laws regarding the establishment of schools, investment, and ensuring quality of education for higher education;

Pursuant to Decree No. 75/2006/NĐ-CP dated August 2, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Education Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 31/2011/NĐ-CP dated May 11, 2011 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 75/2006/NĐ-CP dated August 2, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Education Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 108/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Investment Law;

At the proposal of the Minister of Education and Training;

The Prime Minister issues this Decision on conditions and procedures for establishing or permitting establishment, permitting training activities, suspending training activities, merging, dividing, splitting, dissolving universities and academies,

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

1. This Decision stipulates conditions and procedures for establishing, permitting establishment, permitting training activities, suspending training activities, merging, dividing, splitting, dissolving universities and academies.

2. The establishment of universities based on upgrading currently operating colleges shall be implemented according to the provisions of this document.

3. The establishment of university branch campuses shall be implemented according to the provisions of this document.

Article 2. Applicability

1. This Decision applies to universities and academies, including member universities of universities (hereinafter referred to as universities), relevant organizations and individuals.

2. The establishment of universities with foreign investment shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 73/2012/NĐ-CP dated September 26, 2012 of the Government on cooperation and foreign investment in the field of education.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Section 1

CONDITIONS, DOCUMENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR ESTABLISHING OR PERMITTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIVERSITIES

Article 3. Conditions for establishing or permitting establishment of universities

A university may be established or permitted to be established when it meets the following conditions:

1. Having a proposal for establishing a university that aligns with the socio-economic development plan and the network planning of universities and colleges for the period 2006-2020. The proposal must clearly state: Name; fields of study, scale of training; objectives, content, curriculum; financial resources; land; infrastructure; lecturers and management staff; functions, tasks, organizational structure and management; plans for building and developing the university in each phase; time limit and progress of the investment project; economic and social benefits.

2. Having a document approving the establishment of the school in the province or centrally governed city from the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city (hereinafter referred to as Provincial People's Committee) where the main office of the school is located.

3. Having a construction area of not less than 5 hectares at the main office and achieving an average of at least 25 square meters per student at the point when the university has a stable training scale after 10 years of development; having infrastructure, equipment, and a core teaching staff, especially those with doctoral degrees or higher, meeting the requirements for the operation of the institution. The location for constructing the university must ensure educational environment and safety for students, teachers, and workers in the institution.²4. For public universities, there must be an approved investment project for constructing the university by the competent authority, clearly defining the sources of funds to implement according to the plan, and for private universities, there must be a minimum registered capital of 250 billion VND (excluding the value of the land for constructing the university), investment capital and registered capital must be determined in cash and assets prepared for investment and confirmed in writing by the competent authority.

5. Having specific forecasts about the number and structure of core teaching staff and management personnel, meeting the quality and training standards currently set by the Ministry of Education and Training, and aligning with the roadmap for opening majors and enrolling students as proposed in the proposal for establishing the university.

5. Specifies concretely the number and structure of the permanent faculty and administrative staff, meeting the quality and training level standards currently set by the Ministry of Education and Training, consistent with the roadmap for establishing new majors and enrolling students as outlined in the proposal to establish the institution.

Article 4. Procedure for establishing or approving the establishment of universities

The establishment or approval of the establishment of a university shall be carried out in two steps:

1. Approving the proposal to establish or approve the establishment of a university;

2. Issuing a Decision to establish or approve the establishment of a university.

Article 5. Documents and procedures for requesting approval of the proposal to establish a university or the proposal to approve the establishment of a university

1. The documents for requesting approval of the proposal to establish or approve the establishment of a university include:

a) A submission proposing the approval of the establishment proposal from the managing agency for public universities or a submission proposing the approval of the permission to establish from organizations or individuals for private universities;

b) A document from the People's Committee of the province agreeing to the establishment of the school in the locality. The agreement document must clearly state the necessity and suitability of the establishment of the school with the socio-economic development plan of the locality; the policy on land allocation or land lease for school construction, the location of the land plot, and the local government's ability to coordinate and create conditions for the construction and development of the school; legal documents regarding land use rights (if any);

c) A project to establish a university;

d) For the documents for establishing a private university, in addition to the documents mentioned in points a), b), and c) above, the documents need to include additional documents according to the general model guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training as follows:

- List of founding members;

- Minutes appointing representatives to sign for the establishment of the school by capital contributors;

- Commitment letter on capital contribution for school construction by individuals and organizations and the consent of the representative signing for the establishment of the school;

- List of shareholders committing to contribute capital;

- Minutes of the agreement on capital contribution.

2. Procedures for requesting approval of the proposal to establish or the proposal to approve the establishment of a university

a) Organizations or individuals requesting approval of the proposal to establish or approve the establishment of a university submit six sets of documents, including one original set to the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) The Ministry of Education and Training organizes the review of the documents, prepares a report, and submits it to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval of the proposal to establish or approve the establishment of the school;

c) Processing of documents:

Within forty-five days from the date of receipt of the establishment school documents in accordance with regulations, the Ministry of Education and Training is responsible for responding in writing about the result of processing the documents for the organizations or individuals in charge of the establishment project.

3. After three years from the date of the Prime Minister's approval document for the proposal to establish or approve the establishment of the school, if the project proposing the issuance of a decision to establish or approve the establishment of the school has not been submitted, the Investor and the Ministry of Education and Training are responsible for reporting to the Prime Minister for consideration and issuing a document to revoke the approval document for the proposal to establish or approve the establishment of the school mentioned above.

In cases where the approval document for the proposal to establish or approve the establishment of the school expires or is revoked, the handling of land and assets on the land shall be applied in accordance with Clause 3, Article 13 of this Decision.

Article 6. Documents and procedures for requesting the Prime Minister to issue a decision on establishing or permitting the establishment of a university

1. The documents for requesting the Prime Minister to issue a decision on establishing or permitting the establishment of a school include:

a) A document approving the policy to establish or permit the establishment of a university issued by the Prime Minister;

b) An investment certificate for the establishment of a private university issued by the provincial People's Committee;

c) A legal document confirming the right to use land or a document from the competent authority granting land or leasing land for 50 years or more for the construction of the school, specifying clearly the location, boundary markers, address, and area of the land where the main office of the school is located;

d) The master plan for constructing the school and the overall design that has been approved by the managing agency for public universities or by the provincial People's Committee for private universities;

đ) A detailed report on the implementation of the project to establish the school by the managing agency (for public universities) or by the project management board accompanied by the opinion of the provincial People's Committee where the main office of the school is located (for private universities);

e) Proposed fields of study, management staff, and scale of training;

g) Legal documents confirming the capital of the investor managed by the Project Management Board including:

- Financial investment capability explanations, financial investment decisions, and technical-material conditions of the managing agency (for public universities);

- Confirmation documents from banks regarding the current amount managed by the Project Management Board, legal documents proving ownership of assets accompanied by asset valuation documents if the contribution is made with assets or ownership rights; related documents concerning the capital invested in building and purchasing equipment for the school (with confirmation from the competent financial authority about the capital invested in building the school and confirmation from the Bank about the contributed capital in the Project Management Board account);

2. Procedures for requesting the Prime Minister to decide on establishing or permitting the establishment of a university.

a) The proposer prepares nine sets of documents (including one original set) and sends them to the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) Within fifteen working days from the date of receipt of the documents, if the documents are not complete according to regulations, the Ministry of Education and Training shall have the responsibility to notify the proposer in writing to make amendments and supplements;

c) For documents that are complete according to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article, within sixty working days, the Ministry of Education and Training shall be responsible for leading and coordinating with relevant agencies to review the documents and conduct on-site inspections to accurately assess the conditions and contents of the proposal, perfect the documents, and submit them to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Home Affairs for their written opinions on proposals meeting the prescribed conditions, and notify the proposer in writing for those proposals that do not meet the conditions. On-site inspection of the proposal is conducted by the Review Board consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the provincial People's Committee where the school's main office is located. The Review Board is established by the Minister of Education and Training and its task is to advise the Minister of Education and Training on the feasibility of the proposal to be submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision;

d) Within thirty working days from the date of receiving written opinions from relevant agencies and units, the Ministry of Education and Training shall compile the opinions to perfect the proposal documents and submit them to the Prime Minister;

3. After four years from the effective date of the Prime Minister's Decision on establishing or permitting the establishment of a school, if the school does not meet the conditions to operate training activities, the Ministry of Education and Training shall be responsible for reporting to the Prime Minister to issue a Decision to revoke the Decision on establishing or permitting the establishment of the school mentioned above, and at the same time, the Ministry of Education and Training shall issue a notification to the provincial People's Committee where the school's main office is located to handle the recovery of the land use rights granted for the construction of the school according to its authority;

In cases where the Decision on establishing or permitting the establishment of a school becomes invalid, the land and property thereon shall be handled as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 13 of this Decision.

Section 2

RULES ON CONDITIONS, DOCUMENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR PERMITTING UNIVERSITIES TO CONDUCT EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Article 7. Conditions for being permitted to conduct education and training

A university shall be permitted to conduct education and training when it meets all of the following conditions:

1. Having a decision on establishment or a decision permitting establishment of a university issued by the Prime Minister;

2. Possessing land, infrastructure, equipment, student dormitories, and facilities for physical education that meet the requirements for conducting education and training as stipulated by current regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training. The location for establishing the university must ensure an educational environment and safety for teachers, students, and workers as committed in the project proposal for university establishment;

3. Having curricula and teaching materials, learning materials in accordance with regulations;

4. Having a sufficient number of full-time lecturers and managers with a suitable structure, appropriate to the fields of training, meeting standards of quality and qualifications, ensuring the implementation of educational goals and programs; satisfying the requirements for university lecturers and managers as stipulated by current regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training;

5. Having adequate financial resources to ensure the operation of the university;

6. Having internal organizational and operational regulations and internal financial regulations of the university.

Article 8. Documents for requesting permission to conduct education and training

1. A request for permission to conduct education and training.

2. Report on the implementation of commitments according to the project proposal for university establishment.

3. Curriculum.

4. Explanation of conditions ensuring the quality of education and training.

a) List of full-time lecturers and managers with confirmation from the provincial People's Committee;

b) Statistics on infrastructure serving general education throughout the university, including the number and area of lecture halls, libraries, laboratories, types of machinery and equipment, textbooks, learning materials, books serving educational activities, confirmed by the provincial People's Committee.

5. Proposed enrollment quotas and recruitment plans.

Article 9. Procedures for granting permission for universities to conduct education and training

1. Procedures for granting permission for universities to conduct education and training

a) The Ministry of Education and Training receives and organizes on-site verification of conditions for granting permission to conduct education and training at the university;

b) Time limit for processing applications:

- Within thirty working days from the date of receipt of the application meeting the conditions specified in Article 7 of this Decision, the Minister of Education and Training issues a decision permitting the university to conduct education and training.

- If the application does not meet the provisions of Article 8 of this Decision, within thirty working days, the Ministry of Education and Training will notify the status of the application for permission to conduct education and training of the university.

2. After three years from the effective date of the decision permitting the conduct of education and training, if the university does not implement education and training activities, the decision permitting the conduct of education and training becomes invalid.

3. The Minister of Education and Training decides to permit universities to conduct education and training.

Article 10. Suspension of education and training activities of universities

1. Universities shall have their education and training activities suspended in the following cases:

a) Engaging in fraudulent behavior to obtain establishment or permission for establishment, or permission to conduct education and training;

b) Not meeting one of the conditions stipulated in Article 7 of this Decision;

c) The person granting permission to conduct education and training exceeds their authority;

d) Violating laws on education subject to administrative penalties requiring suspension of activities.

đ) Other cases as prescribed by law.

2. The Minister of Education and Training decides to suspend the education and training activities of universities. The decision to suspend education and training activities must clearly specify the reasons for suspension, the duration of suspension, measures to protect the rights of teachers, students, and workers in the university, and must be publicly announced through mass media.

3. After the suspension period, if the cause leading to the suspension has been resolved, the authorized decision-maker shall issue a decision to resume permission to conduct education and training.

Section 3

MERGER, DIVISION, SEPARATION, DISSOLUTION OF UNIVERSITIES,

ESTABLISHMENT OF BRANCHES

Article 11. Merger, Division, and Separation of Universities

1. The merger, division, and separation of universities must meet the following requirements:

a) Consistent with the planning of the university network;

b) Meeting the requirements for economic and social development of the country;

c) Ensuring the rights of lecturers, students, and employees of the university;

d) Contributing to improving the quality and effectiveness of higher education;

đ) Only allow the merger of universities and academies located in the same province or centrally governed city.

2. Documents for the merger, division, and separation of universities include:

a) A report from the managing agency (for public universities); A report from the university (for private universities) submitted to the Ministry of Education and Training regarding the merger, division, and separation of universities, accompanied by the opinions of the People's Committee of the province where the main headquarters of the university is located after the merger or new headquarters after the division and separation.

b) Minutes of the Shareholders' Meeting on the merger, division, and separation of universities (for private universities);

c) The proposal for the merger, division, and separation of universities, clearly stating the purpose of the merger, division, and separation of universities; the main headquarters of the university after the merger, division, and separation; the proposed organizational structure and personnel; plans and steps for implementing the merger, division, and separation; procedures and deadlines for asset conversion and capital contribution conversion.

3. Procedures for the merger, division, and separation of universities:

- Within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the documents, if the documents are not complete according to the requirements set out in Clause 2 of this Article, the Ministry of Education and Training will notify in writing the managing agency (for public universities); the university (for private universities) to amend and supplement the documents.

- In cases where the documents meet the requirements stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article, within 30 working days, the Ministry of Education and Training will lead the review, coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

Article 12. Establishment of University Branches

1. The establishment of university branches must comply with the conditions specified in Article 3 of this Decision.

2. The process of establishing university branches shall be carried out as prescribed in Article 4 of this Decision.

3. Documents for requesting approval of the policy to establish university branches.

a) A report proposing the establishment of a branch by the university;

b) An approval document from the provincial People's Committee regarding the establishment of a branch in the locality;

c) Proposal for the establishment of a branch: The proposal for the establishment of a branch must clearly define the objectives, content, programs, majors, scale of training; land, location, facilities, equipment, lecturers, financial resources, organizational structure; strategic direction for building and developing the branch;

d) Confirmation from the competent authority regarding the financial capacity of the university to prove that it has the ability to build a branch.

4. Procedures for requesting approval of the policy to establish university branches.

a) The proposer prepares six sets of documents for establishing a branch (including one original set) and sends them to the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) The Ministry of Education and Training receives the proposal documents for establishing a branch from the university and organizes the review of the conditions for establishing a university branch;

c) Time limit for processing documents:

- Within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the documents, if the documents do not meet the requirements set out in Clause 3 of this Article, the Ministry of Education and Training will notify the university to supplement and perfect the proposal documents.

- Within 30 working days from the date of receipt of the documents meeting the requirements set out in Clause 3 of this Article, the Ministry of Education and Training will consider and decide to approve the policy to establish or permit the establishment of a branch.

5. Documents for requesting the establishment of university branches.

a) Decision approving the policy to establish a university branch;

b) Legal document confirming the right to use land or document transferring land or leasing land for the construction of a branch (clearly defining the location, boundaries, address, area of the land) issued by the provincial People's Committee;

c) Overall design plan for the branch approved by the competent authority;

d) Report from the university on the implementation of the construction of the branch, confirmed by the provincial People's Committee where the branch is located. The report should clearly state the conditions: regarding lecturers, facilities, equipment, finance consistent with the development plan of each phase of the branch.

6. Procedures for requesting the establishment of university branches.

a) The proposer prepares six sets of documents for establishing a branch (including one original set) and sends them to the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) The Ministry of Education and Training receives the proposal documents for establishing a branch from the university and organizes the review of the actual conditions for establishing a university branch;

c) Time limit for processing documents:

- Within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the documents, if the documents do not meet the requirements set out in Clause 5 of this Article, the Ministry of Education and Training will notify the university to supplement and perfect the proposal documents.

- Within 45 working days from the date of receipt of the documents meeting the requirements set out in Clause 5 of this Article, the Ministry of Education and Training will consider and decide to establish or permit the establishment of a branch.

7. The Minister of Education and Training decides to establish a branch and permits the branch to operate educational activities.

8. The permission for a branch to operate educational activities shall be implemented in accordance with Articles 7, 8, and 9 of this Decision.

9. The suspension of educational activities of a branch shall be implemented in accordance with Article 10 of this Decision.

Article 13. Dissolution of Universities

1. A university shall be dissolved in any of the following cases:

a) Seriously violating laws on management and organization of university activities;

b) Exceeding the suspension period for training activities without being able to rectify the causes leading to such suspension;

c) The objectives and contents of activities as set forth in the decision on establishment or permission to establish the university no longer meet the requirements of national socio-economic development;

d) At the request of the organization or individual establishing the university;

đ) Failing to implement commitments stated in the approved project within four years from the effective date of the decision on establishment or permission to establish the university.

2. The decision on dissolution of a university must clearly specify the reasons for dissolution and measures to ensure the legitimate rights of lecturers, students, and employees.

3. For universities that are dissolved, the State will reclaim the land to allocate it for other educational institutions to use, without changing its purpose for education. As for assets on the land, they will be handled according to current regulations.

4. Documents for the dissolution of a university include:

a) A letter requesting the dissolution of the university from the managing agency or the organization or individual establishing the university, clearly stating the reasons and purposes for dissolution;

b) A plan for dissolving the university, including measures to ensure the legitimate rights of lecturers, students, and employees; plans for financial and asset resolution of the school.

5. In case a university violates any of the provisions stipulated in points a, b, and c Clause 1 of this Article without a request from the managing agency or the organization or individual establishing the university, the Ministry of Education and Training shall be responsible for coordinating with relevant ministries and sectors to assess the conditions for dissolution of the university and submit them to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

6. Procedures and formalities for the dissolution of a university.

a) The Ministry of Education and Training receives the application documents for the dissolution of the university and organizes the assessment. The assessment of the application documents for the dissolution of the university shall be carried out in accordance with Point c Clause 2 Article 6 of this Decision;

- Within fifteen working days from the date of receipt of the documents, if the documents do not meet the requirements specified in Clause 4 of this Article, the Ministry of Education and Training will notify the organization or individual establishing the university to supplement and complete the dissolution application documents.

- Within thirty working days from the date of receipt of the documents meeting the requirements specified in Clause 4 of this Article, the Ministry of Education and Training shall take the lead in coordinating with relevant ministries and sectors to assess the dissolution application documents, compile and submit them to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

b) The decision on the dissolution of the university shall be publicly announced through mass media.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 14. Implementation Organization

1. Ministry of Education and Training

a) Take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and localities to assess the establishment, permission to establish, permission to conduct training activities, suspension of training activities, merger, division, and dissolution of universities;

b) Take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and localities to direct, guide, inspect, and supervise the implementation of university establishment projects;

2. Ministries: Planning and Investment, Finance, Home Affairs, and related agencies shall be responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Education and Training to carry out the assessment of establishment, merger, division, and dissolution of universities.

3. Provincial People's Committees issue investment certificates, cooperate in on-site verification of the Project according to current regulations, and issue decisions to establish Project Management Boards (based on proposals from the Project sponsors) to implement construction investment projects; inspect and confirm the conditions for conducting training activities.

Article 15. Effective Date

1. This Decision takes effect from January 1, 2014.

2. This Decision replaces Decision No. 07/2009/QĐ-TTg dated January 15, 2009 of the Government on promulgating conditions and procedures for establishing, suspending operations, merging, dividing, and dissolving universities.

3. For projects to establish universities that have been approved for establishment or permission to establish, the provisions of Article 5 of this Decision do not need to be implemented.

Article 16. Responsibility for Implementation

The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees under the direct jurisdiction of the central government shall be responsible for implementing this Decision./.