No tracking or management data
In the recently announced Inspection Conclusion, the Government Inspectorate concluded that the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) issued Circular No. 11/2022/TT-BGDDT with the content in Clause 4, Article 2 and Article 3 detailing the records, requirements, and conditions of the administrative procedure (TTHC) "Approval of joint organization of foreign language proficiency certificate examinations" when not assigned according to Clause 2, Article 21 and Clause 4, Article 15 of Decree No. 86/2018/ND-CP, which was beyond its authority, generating additional information and documents that are conditions that enterprises must meet, violating the provisions in Clause 1, Article 11, Clause 4, Article 14 of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents; not proactively advising and submitting to the Government to promptly amend and supplement a number of regulations on joint training activities with foreign countries.
Regarding the deadline for handling administrative procedure files, the Government Inspectorate said that for the administrative procedure "Extension and adjustment of joint activities in organizing foreign language proficiency exams", the reporting unit had 1/10 files that were overdue, but after reviewing, 3/10 files reported on time, of which 2 files were overdue.
Regarding the administrative procedure "Approval of joint organization of foreign language proficiency certificate examinations", the reporting unit reported that 2/21 files were overdue, but after reviewing 10 files reported on time, 7/10 files were overdue.
During the period from August 2018 to September 2022 (before Circular No. 11/2022/TT-BGDDT takes effect), the Ministry of Education and Training reported that it had not approved any unit to cooperate in organizing foreign language proficiency exams according to the above regulations and administrative procedures; the Ministry of Education and Training does not have data to monitor and manage the cooperation in organizing foreign language proficiency exams in Vietnam.
In fact, there are some units that still carry out joint exam organization and certification without permission from the Ministry of Education and Training and have just been inspected and concluded by the Ministry Inspectorate in 2024.
In particular, IDP Education Company Limited and British Council Vietnam Company Limited organized exams from January 1, 2022 to September 9, 2022 and issued 122,859 foreign language proficiency certificates without permission from the Ministry of Education and Training.
Additional requirements beyond the prescribed profile components
During the inspection process, the competent authority also identified 3 records of handling administrative procedures "Approval of joint organization of foreign language proficiency certificate examinations" at the Department of Quality Management requiring additional information and documents in addition to the prescribed records.
In which, file code No. 17 requires additional evidence of the enterprise's most recent audited financial statements; requires determination of the collection level in accordance with the cost level in Vietnam; File code No. 18 requires additional training results or training certificates from foreign language proficiency assessment facilities for managers, examiners, test support staff, technicians and additional clarification of the basis and basis for determining the content of the expenditure norms for joint activities of organizing exams to issue certificates; File code No. 19 requires the enterprise to supplement the decision to recognize the Director, Deputy Director of the English Center under the Company; supplement the detailed cost estimate for implementing joint activities of organizing exams...
Previously, as Lao Dong reported in the article "Ministry of Education loosens management, allowing violations to persist", the Government Inspectorate pointed out that the Ministry of Education and Training loosened management, allowing violations in the organization of foreign language proficiency certification exams to persist, but did not take timely measures to prevent, rectify, and handle them, causing public outrage.
Regarding this content, the Government Inspectorate recommends measures to rectify, handle violations, and remedy consequences (if any) for relevant organizations, units, and individuals to ensure compliance with legal provisions, ensure the rights and legitimate interests of participants in certificate exams; rectify the approval of joint activities to organize certificate exams, ensure strict compliance with relevant legal provisions, be open and transparent, and prevent negativity and frustration in society.
