JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for staffing norms in public preschool education institutions

public preschool education institution

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Pursuant to Decree No. 85/2003/ND-CP dated July 18, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

Pursuant to Decree No. 45/2003/ND-CP dated May 9, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Home Affairs;

Pursuant to Decree No. 71/2003/ND-CP dated June 19, 2003 of the Government on decentralization in administrative and public service staffing management;

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

Implementing the guidance opinion of Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem in Official Letter No. 3091/VPCP-KG dated June 9, 2006 of the Government Office regarding guidelines for staffing norms for educational public services at local levels;

The Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Home Affairs provide guidelines for staffing norms in public preschool education institutions as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

This Circular applies to units under the Ministry of Education and Training; departments of education and training, education and training divisions; preschool education institutions, general education institutions, regular education institutions, teacher training colleges, college of education, universities, universities, academies, other educational institutions, and related organizations and individuals (hereinafter referred to collectively as agencies and units).

This Circular guides staffing norms in public preschool education institutions including: managers, teachers, and staff in kindergartens, nursery schools, and public preschool institutions.

The staffing norms in this document do not include positions under contract as specified in Decree No. 68/2000/ND-CP dated November 17, 2000 of the Government on implementing the system of contracts for certain types of work in state administrative agencies and public service units.

2. Staffing norms in public preschool education institutions must be consistent with the planning of preschool education institution networks, characteristics of educational work, and local budget capacity.

3. Classification of kindergartens, nursery schools, and public preschool institutions shall be implemented as follows:

For kindergartens:

- Class I: from 50 children upwards;

- Class II: less than 50 children.

b) For nursery schools and preschool institutions:

The Class I and Class II categories of kindergartens, nursery schools, and preschool institutions specified above are equivalent to Categories Nine and Ten as stipulated in Article 8 of Decision No. 181/2005/QD-TTg dated July 19, 2005 of the Prime Minister on classification and ranking of public service organizations and enterprises.

4. The number of teaching hours per week for managers and teachers in public preschool education institutions is as follows:

a) Principals directly teach two hours per week;

b) Deputy principals directly teach four hours per week;

c) Teachers teach eight hours per day.

5. Administrative staff in public preschool education institutions, in addition to performing their duties according to their positions, also undertake other tasks assigned by the principal as stipulated in Clause 5, Section I of this Circular.

II. STAFFING NORMS IN PUBLIC PRESCHOOL EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

1. Managers

a) Each public preschool education institution has a principal and a number of deputy principals. Specifically:

A kindergarten of Class I with 100 children or more has one deputy principal;

A nursery school or preschool institution of Class I has two deputy principals;

A nursery school or preschool institution of Class II has one deputy principal.

b) A nursery school or preschool institution with five branches or more is allocated an additional deputy principal.

2. Teachers

a) For child groups: on average, each teacher cares for eight children. If there are more than five children, an additional teacher is allocated;

b) For nursery classes:

Classes without boarding children: one teacher is responsible for a class with 20 to 25 children;

Classes with boarding children: two teachers are responsible for a class with 25 to 30 children;

If a nursery class has more than ten children, an additional teacher is allocated.

c) For female teachers within childbearing age (who have not given birth to one or two children), the maternity leave time is counted towards the salary fund to pay the substitute teacher.

3. Staff

a) Kindergartens, nursery schools, and preschool institutions of Class I are allocated: one accountant, one school health officer, and one secretary;

b) Kindergartens, nursery schools, and preschool institutions of Class II are allocated: one accountant and one school health officer;

c) In areas without service providers for meal preparation for children, one person is hired to cook meals for 50 nursery children or 35 kindergarten children.

These staff members, in addition to performing their duties according to their positions, also undertake other tasks assigned by the principal as stipulated in Clause 5, Section I of this Circular.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. Based on the guidelines for staffing norms in public preschool education institutions in this Circular and the provisions in Circular No. 89/2003/TT-BNV dated December 24, 2003 of the Ministry of Home Affairs on the implementation of decentralization in administrative and public service staffing management, provincial people's committees direct the directors of education and training departments, home affairs departments, and finance departments to develop staffing plans for local educational public services to be submitted to the People's Councils at the same level for decision.

2. Provincial people's committees are responsible for directing, guiding, and inspecting subordinate public service units to implement laws on staffing management, recruitment, employment, and management of civil servants and officials in public service units of the state, rights of self-management and responsibility for fulfilling tasks, staffing, and finances for public service units, and annually report on the implementation of staffing norms.

3. For preschool education institutions that provide inclusive education for disabled children, staffing norms are applied according to current regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training on inclusive education for persons with disabilities. For preschool education institutions in areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, each teacher in kindergartens cares for six children; the number of children in nursery classes is fewer than five children compared to the general regulation.

4. Funding to implement staffing norms as stipulated in this Circular is provided according to current regulations on decentralized budget management and local budget capacity.

5. Non-state preschool education establishments shall implement this Circular.

6. This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. The Circulars No. 03/CB-UB dated March 7, 1980, issued by the Central Committee for Maternal and Child Welfare, and No. 08/TTGD dated February 28, 1986, issued by the Ministry of Education, are hereby abolished.

7. In the course of implementation, any arising issues or difficulties shall be reported to the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Home Affairs for consideration and resolution./.