JOINT CIRCULAR No. 88/2001/TTLT/BTC-BGD&DT-BNG Circular guiding the management and allocation of state budget funds for the "Training of Science and Technology Cadres at Overseas Training Institutions" Program

JOINT CIRCULAR

JOINT CIRCULAR NO. 88/2001/TTLT/BTC-BGD&DT-BNG OF THE MINISTRIES OF FINANCE, EDUCATION AND TRAINING, AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS DATED NOVEMBER 6, 2001 GUIDING THE MANAGEMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF STATE BUDGET FUNDS FOR THE PROJECT "TRAINING SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL STAFF AT FOREIGN INSTITUTIONS"

Pursuant to Decision No. 322/QĐ-TTg dated April 19, 2000 of the Prime Minister approving the Project "Training Scientific and Technical Staff at Foreign Institutions with State Budget Funds".
Pursuant to Decision No. 77/2001/QĐ-TTg dated May 14, 2001 of the Prime Minister on expenses for training scientific and technical staff at foreign institutions with state budget funds.
The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs jointly issue this circular guiding the implementation of management and distribution of state budget funds for the Project "Training Scientific and Technical Staff at Foreign Institutions" as follows:

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

1. Training objects:

In this Circular, the term "trainees" under the Project "Training Scientific and Technical Staff at Foreign Institutions" refers to all trainees specified in Point 2a, Article 1 of Decision No. 322/QĐ-TTg (hereinafter referred to as "Overseas Students"), specifically including:

Scientific and technical staff, teachers, managers of scientific and technical affairs currently working at universities, research institutes, national key laboratories, high-tech centers, scientific and technical staff directly directing production and business operations, participating in policy planning for economic and social development, excellent students with talent and good moral character, aged under 40 for doctoral training, under 35 for master's training, under 50 for scientific internship and survey to enhance professional skills, and under 22 for undergraduate training selected and sent abroad for training by the Ministry of Education and Training at foreign institutions.

2. Expenses for the project of training scientific and technical staff at foreign institutions using state budget funds include:

2.1 Expenses for educational institutions and overseas students:

a/ For training abroad: The state budget fully covers all expenses.

b/ For training at foreign institutions located in Vietnam: The state budget covers the costs payable to the educational institution, and overseas students receive stipends for study as prescribed in Appendix 1 attached to this Circular.

c/ For hybrid training: The state budget covers expenses according to specific agreements in government agreements or specific training contracts.

d/ For combined training (sandwich training - where overseas students study in Vietnam for a certain period and then continue their studies at foreign institutions): The state budget fully or partially covers expenses according to agreements or specific training contracts.

The decision of the Minister of Education and Training sending personnel for training must clearly specify the duration of training, level of training, form of training, and method of covering training expenses from the state budget to serve as the basis for distributing funds to those sent for training.

2.2 Other expenses:

- Service fees paid to service organizations under contract (if applicable)

- Costs for domestic language training for scientific and technical staff sent to study

- Costs for organizing selection, departure, arrival, and related office expenses for the project...

3. Responsibilities of agencies:

3.1 The Ministry of Education and Training is responsible for recruiting, admitting, and managing state funds allocated for the project (both domestic and foreign currency) and implementing payments to the subjects specified in Sections 1 and 2 of Part I of this Circular. Management, budget preparation, and settlement of accounts for project funds shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations.

3.2 Overseas representative offices of Vietnam (including those with dedicated staff from the Ministry of Education and Training) shall cooperate with the Ministry of Education and Training to manage overseas students in accordance with current regulations. If authorized by the Ministry of Education and Training, they shall sign training contracts with foreign educational institutions, receive training funds, make payments to educational institutions, and distribute living allowances to overseas students; report settlement and final accounts to the Ministry of Education and Training.

3.3 The Ministry of Finance shall allocate training funds for overseas students (both domestic and foreign currency) based on the request of the Ministry of Education and Training. Allocation shall be made through payment orders according to the annual/budgeted training expenditure plan while also being responsible for auditing and proposing necessary measures for handling cases of improper or excessive expenditures as stipulated in this Circular.

4. Responsibilities of overseas students:

4.1 At the end of each academic year and upon completion of the course, overseas students must submit academic performance reports (certified by the school and the Vietnamese representative office in the host country) to the Ministry of Education and Training, or directly to the Ministry of Education and Training (Political Work Department) if there is no Vietnamese representative office in the host country.

If overseas students fail to fulfill their commitments as stipulated by the school and extend their study period beyond the decision of the Ministry of Education and Training, they must bear all training costs until graduation, and the state budget will not cover extended training costs.

In special cases due to objective reasons leading to an extension of the study period, overseas students must submit a written application to the Minister of Education and Training (certified by the school and the Vietnamese representative office in the host country) for consideration and decision. If permission is granted for an extended study period, the Minister of Education and Training shall issue a supplementary decision and notify the Ministry of Finance and the Vietnamese representative office abroad to serve as the basis for allocation and management.

4.2 Students who have completed their training but refuse to return to the country or return but do not accept work assignments from the State shall be required to reimburse the entire training costs. The reimbursement of training costs shall be carried out in accordance with Circular Joint No. 75/2000/TTLB/BTC-GDDT dated July 20, 2000, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education and Training.

5. Revenue collected from students studying abroad: reimbursement fees due to students' voluntary stay abroad, recovery of funds provided by the state budget, must be deposited into the temporary holding fund of the state budget at Vietnamese representative offices abroad (if such revenue arises abroad) or submitted to the state budget (if such revenue arises in Vietnam).

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Costs for training scientific and technical personnel at foreign institutions include tuition fees, living expenses, health insurance, and airfare for travel to and from the country for students studying abroad. Specifically:

1.1 Tuition fees: the amount payable to foreign educational institutions based on:

a/ The agreed tuition fee level in the contract signed between the Ministry of Education and Training, or the individual student (with confirmation from the Vietnamese Representative Office in the host country) and the foreign educational institution.

b/ The tuition fee level announced by the educational institution in the acceptance letter for the student and approved by the Ministry of Education and Training.

1.2 Living expenses for students studying abroad are calculated to ensure minimum living needs (including food, accommodation, daily transportation costs, study materials, and learning supplies). Students will receive the stipulated living allowance as specified in Appendix 1 attached to this Circular.

In cases where living costs in the country where the student is studying increase rapidly, affecting the living conditions of Vietnamese citizens working and studying there, the adjustment of living allowances for students studying abroad will be considered simultaneously with the adjustment of living allowances for staff at Vietnamese representative offices abroad.

The living allowance for students studying abroad is granted every six months from the date of enrollment (confirmed by the educational institution or the Vietnamese representative office in the host country).

For students studying abroad, before departure for studies, they will be granted an advance of three months' living expenses.

1.3 Health insurance: The health insurance level for students studying abroad is set at the minimum health insurance level applicable to foreign students in the host country.

1.4 Airfare for arrival and departure:

a/ Departure airfare is granted based on the price quote from the State Budget Counter of Vietnam National Airlines or a lower-priced quote from a foreign airline compared to Vietnam National Airlines.

b/ Return airfare is settled through the PTA payment method via the Vietnamese representative office in the host country, or directly to the student. If the student purchases the return ticket independently, upon returning, the cost will be reimbursed directly according to the receipt and ticket stub, but not exceeding the PTA ticket fare limit in Vietnam for economy class and the shortest direct route.

1.5 Travel expenses (to cover airport fees in Vietnam and transportation from the airport to the place of residence) are granted once with a fixed amount: 100 USD per trip per person.

2. The full training cost level under a comprehensive contract (including tuition and living expenses for students studying abroad) is determined by the Ministry of Education and Training or the Vietnamese representative office authorized by the Ministry of Education and Training to sign contracts with foreign educational institutions, or notifications from foreign educational institutions (confirmed by the Ministry of Education and Training) and paid according to the comprehensive training contract signed with the foreign educational institution, but not exceeding the total training cost level (including tuition fees set by the school and the stipulated living allowance for students as specified in Appendix 1).

3. Issuance procedures:

3.1 Financial management from budget preparation, issuance, and settlement of expenditures under the project shall be carried out in accordance with current financial regulations.

3.2 Quarterly/yearly, the Ministry of Education and Training sends the budget estimate for the Project "Training Scientific and Technical Personnel at Foreign Educational Institutions" to the Ministry of Finance along with the following documents:

List of successful candidates sent abroad for training. The list should clearly indicate: country of study, academic level, duration of study (enrollment date and total course duration).

This estimate should clearly show:

- Amount of tuition fees per school/country.

- Amount of living expenses per month/student/country.

- Amount of health insurance per student/country.

- Airfare per student/country (as stipulated in Section 1.4, Part II of this Circular).

- Name of Bank, account number, name and address of the beneficiary.

4. Type of issuance:

4.1 Domestic expenditure: in Vietnamese Dong or foreign currency (in cases where foreign educational institutions in Vietnam are permitted to collect foreign currency).

4.2 Overseas expenditure: in US dollars (USD) or local currency of the host country depending on the foreign exchange regulations of the host country.

5. Method of issuance:

5.1 Based on the overseas training budget estimate of the project, the Ministry of Finance will initially allocate a certain amount of foreign currency (ceiling) into a special account opened by the Ministry of Education and Training at the Vietnam Commercial Bank. The ceiling will be adjusted in line with actual disbursement progress.

5.2 The Vietnam Commercial Bank will release funds from the special account based on the request of the Ministry of Education and Training detailing the transfer of payments for tuition fees, living expenses, airfare, and health insurance for students studying abroad and the accounts of individuals or units receiving the benefits.

5.3 At the end of each quarter or when the balance in the special account reaches 50% of the ceiling (whichever comes first), the Ministry of Education and Training will submit the payment vouchers for students and request the Ministry of Finance to verify and replenish the validly spent amounts.

III. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

1. This Circular takes effect from the date of issuance. In cases where scholarship students have been temporarily advanced living expenses by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Finance based on Decision No. 322/QĐ-TTg dated April 19, 2001 and Decision No. 77/2001/QĐ-TTg dated May 14, 2001 of the Government Prime Minister, they shall be adjusted according to the living expense levels prescribed in Section 1, Part II of this Circular.

2. During the implementation process, any difficulties encountered by scholarship students related to funding issues should be reported to the Ministry of Education and Training and the Vietnamese representative office in the host country. The Ministry of Education and Training will consolidate and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance to resolve these issues.

ANNEX 1:

(Attached to Joint Circular No. 88/2001/TTLT/BTC-BGD&ĐT-BNG dated November 6, 2001 issued by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

LIVING EXPENSE ALLOWANCE

RemarksScholarship students who are civil servants and are sent abroad continue to receive their current salary in addition to the living expense allowance.