Joint Circular No. 88/2001/TTLT/BTC-BGDĐT-BNG guides the management and allocation of state budget funds for the Project on Training Scientific and Technical Cadres at Foreign Educational Institutions.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Managing and Allocating State Budget Funds for the Project "Training Scientific and Technical Cadres at Foreign Educational Institutions"

for the Project "Training Scientific and Technical Cadres at Overseas Educational Institutions"

đào tạo nước ngoài" ||| foreign training"

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Pursuant to Decision No. 322/QĐ-TTg dated April 19, 2000 of the Prime Minister approving the Project "Training Scientific and Technical Cadres at Foreign Educational Institutions with State Budget Funding."

Pursuant to Decision No. 77/2001/QĐ-TTg dated May 14, 2001 of the Prime Minister on expenses for training scientific and technical cadres at foreign educational institutions using state budget funding.

The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs jointly issue guidelines for managing and allocating state budget funds for the Project "Training Scientific and Technical Cadres at Foreign Educational 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 trainees under the Project "Training Scientific and Technical Cadres at Foreign Educational Institutions" shall be understood as all trainees specified in Point 2a of 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 years old for doctoral training, under 35 years old for master's training, under 50 years old for practical training and scientific surveys to enhance professional skills, and under 22 years old for undergraduate training selected and sent abroad for training by the Ministry of Education and Training at foreign educational institutions.

2. Expenses for the project of training scientific and technical cadres at foreign educational institutions using state budget funding include:

2.1 Expenses for educational institutions and overseas students:

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

b/ For training conducted at foreign educational institutions located in Vietnam: The state budget covers the costs payable to the educational institution, and overseas students receive study support at the level specified 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 - i.e., overseas students study in Vietnam for a certain period and the remaining time they study at foreign educational institutions): The state budget fully or partially covers the costs according to agreements or specific training contracts.

The decision of the Minister of Education and Training assigning personnel for training must clearly specify the duration of training, the level of training, the form of training, and the method of covering training expenses from the state budget to serve as the basis for allocating funds to those assigned 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 assigned 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 admissions, receiving, and managing state budget funds (both domestic and foreign currencies) allocated for the project and implementing payments to the subjects specified in Sections 1 and 2 of Part I of this Circular. Management, budget preparation, and settlement of project funds are carried out according to current regulations.

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

3.3 The Ministry of Finance implements the allocation of training funds for overseas students (both domestic and foreign currencies) based on the request of the Ministry of Education and Training. Allocation is made through payment orders according to the annual/budgeted training expense plan, and it is responsible for auditing and settling accounts for project expenses, and recommending necessary measures for handling cases where expenses are paid to incorrect recipients or exceed the provisions of this Circular.

4. Responsibilities of overseas students:

4.1 At the end of each academic year and upon completion of the program, 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 send them 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 they receive their graduation certificate, 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 overseas students are permitted to extend their study period, the Minister of Education and Training will issue a supplementary decision and notify the Ministry of Finance and the overseas representative office of Vietnam to have a basis for allocation and management.

4.2 Overseas students who have completed their training but refuse to return to Vietnam or return but do not accept assigned work will be required to reimburse all training costs. Reimbursement of training costs is implemented according to Joint Circular No. 75/2000/TTLB/BTC-GDDT dated July 20, 2000, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education and Training.

5. The revenues obtained from Overseas Students: compensation payments due to Overseas Students staying abroad at their own will, recovery of funds provided by the state budget, shall be deposited into the State Budget Temporary Holding Fund at Vietnamese Representative Offices abroad (if such revenues arise abroad) or submitted to the State Budget (if such revenues arise in Vietnam).

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Costs for training scientific and technical cadres at foreign institutions include: tuition fees, living expenses, health insurance, airfare when traveling to and returning from abroad for Overseas Students. Specifically:

1.1. Tuition fees: are the financial expenses that must be paid to foreign training institutions based on:

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

b/ The tuition fee level announced by the training institutions in the acceptance letter for Overseas Students and approved by the Ministry of Education and Training.

1.2 Living expenses for Overseas Students are calculated to ensure minimum living needs (including food, accommodation, daily travel expenses, study materials and supplies). Overseas Students receive the living expense allowance specified in Appendix 1 attached to this Circular.

In cases where living costs in the country where Overseas Students are studying increase rapidly, affecting the lives of Vietnamese citizens working and studying there, adjustments to living expenses for Overseas Students will be made simultaneously with adjustments for staff of Vietnamese representative offices abroad.

Living expenses are granted to Overseas Students every six months starting from the time they begin their studies (confirmed by the training institution or the Vietnamese Representative Office in the host country).

For Overseas Students studying abroad, before departure, they will be temporarily granted three months' living expenses.

1.3 Health insurance: The health insurance level for Overseas Students is set according to the minimum health insurance level applicable to overseas students in the host country.

1.4 Airfare for arrival and return:

a/ Departure airfare is issued based on the pricing notice from the State Budget Counter of the National Carrier of Vietnam or the pricing notice from a foreign airline with a lower price than the National Carrier of Vietnam.

b/ Return airfare is issued through reimbursement via the form of PTA through the Vietnamese Representative Office in the host country, or directly to the Overseas Student. If the Overseas Student purchases the return ticket themselves, upon return, direct reimbursement will be made according to the payment receipt and ticket stub, but not exceeding the standard PTA fare for economy class and the shortest direct route.

1.5 Travel expenses (to cover airport fees 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 complete package contract (including tuition and living expenses for Overseas Students) signed by the Ministry of Education and Training or authorized Vietnamese representative agencies by the Ministry of Education and Training with foreign training institutions, or announced by foreign training institutions (confirmed by the Ministry of Education and Training) shall be settled according to the complete training contract signed with the foreign training institution but not exceeding the full training cost level (including tuition fees set by the school and the living expenses for Overseas Students specified in Appendix 1).

3. Issuance procedures:

3.1 Financial management from budget preparation, issuance, and settlement of expenditures under the project implementation shall follow current financial regulations.

3.2 Quarterly/yearly, the Ministry of Education and Training sends the budget estimate for the "Training Scientific and Technical Cadres at Foreign Training Institutions" project 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 (start date and total course duration).

This estimate should clearly show:

- Amount of tuition fees/school/country.

- Amount of living expenses/month/Overseas Student/country.

- Amount of health insurance/Overseas Student/country.

- Airfare/Overseas 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 training institutions in Vietnam are permitted to collect foreign currency).

4.2 Expenditure abroad: in US Dollars (USD) or local currency of the host country depending on the foreign exchange regulations of the host country.

5. Form 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 Bank for Foreign Trade. The ceiling will be adjusted in accordance with the actual disbursement progress.

5.2 The Vietnam Bank for Foreign Trade will disburse the special account based on the request of the Ministry of Education and Training detailing the transfer of funds for tuition fees, living expenses, airfare, and health insurance for Overseas 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 of the special account reaches 50% of the ceiling (whichever comes first), the Ministry of Education and Training will submit the payment vouchers for Overseas 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 signature. Cases of Overseas Students who have been temporarily granted living expenses by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Finance after Decision No. 322/QĐ-TTg dated April 19, 2001 and Decision No. 77/2001/QĐ-TTg dated May 14, 2001 of the Prime Minister shall be adjusted according to the living expense levels specified in Section 1 Part II of this Circular.

2. During the implementation process, any difficulties encountered by overseas students related to funding issues shall 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 compile and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance to resolve such issues.