Circular 33/2026/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health issued on August 29, 2026 stipulates and guides the implementation of a number of articles in Decree No. 165/2026/ND-CP of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Disease Prevention.
Accordingly, children in preschool education institutions and students in general education institutions are health checked once a year at the beginning of the school year.
Examination can be performed at educational institutions, commune-level health stations, medical examination and treatment facilities, or other locations suitable to actual conditions, and in accordance with the law on medical examination and treatment.
This regulation aims to proactively grasp the health status of learners right from the beginning of the school year. Through this, early detection of physical, nutritional, mental, and motor abnormalities as well as some common diseases and disabilities in school age.
For children in preschool education institutions, the content of health checks includes assessing vital signs; nutrition assessment; mental - motor assessment and vaccination assessment.
In mental - motor assessment, the basis for conducting assessments of children's behavior and abilities by age, including mental development and motor development. Children aged 16-30 months are assessed for autism risk.
In addition, children are clinically examined, including examination of head, neck, eyes, ears - nose - throat, teeth - mouth and muscles - bones - nerves.
For students in general education institutions, the Ministry of Health guides the implementation of obstetric exploration examinations, physical examinations and clinical examinations.
Health checks at the beginning of the school year are not only aimed at recording the health indicators of learners, but also have meaning in early detection of problems that need to be monitored, consulted or treated.
In case the learner is found to have abnormal health signs, the educational institution is responsible for advising and transferring them to a suitable medical examination and treatment facility.
The Ministry of Health also stipulates that in cases where localities have organized periodic health check-ups at the beginning of the school year for children in preschool education institutions and students in general education institutions according to the provisions of Circular No. 32/2023/TT-BYT, amended and supplemented by Circular No. 25/2026/TT-BYT, health check-ups at the beginning of the school year are not carried out.
For learners at higher education institutions and vocational education institutions, periodic health check-ups are carried out in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 165/2026/ND-CP and Circular No. 32/2023/TT-BYT, amended and supplemented by Circular No. 25/2026/TT-BYT.
According to the Ministry of Health, educational institutions are responsible for organizing health checks at the beginning of the school year according to the provisions of Decree No. 165/2026/ND-CP, and conducting checks according to the contents guided in the Circular.
A noteworthy requirement is that educational institutions must update health check data at the beginning of the school year to the Ministry of Health's Health Data Portal according to the guidance. Data updates contribute to forming a health information base for learners, serving the work of monitoring, managing and caring for school health.
At the same time, when detecting that learners have abnormal health signs, educational institutions need to provide counseling and transfer learners to appropriate medical examination and treatment facilities.
The Ministry of Health stipulates that the funding for health check-ups at the beginning of the school year is guaranteed from many sources. Specifically, including funding for medical, educational and training careers annually according to the current budget decentralization of units; funding from the Health Insurance Fund according to the provisions of law on health insurance; support from the Disease Prevention Fund.
In addition, funding can also be mobilized from sponsorship and support from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals in accordance with the law, along with other legitimate sources of income.
By clearly stipulating the frequency, location, content of inspection, responsibilities of educational institutions and funding sources for implementation, the guidance of the Ministry of Health creates a basis for the work of health checks at the beginning of the school year to be implemented uniformly, in accordance with actual conditions. Thereby, strengthening early detection and management of health problems of children and students right from the beginning of the school year.
