The draft decree is intended to replace Decree No. 57/2017/ND-CP while amending and supplementing several provisions of Decree No. 66/2025/ND-CP to ensure consistency across the current policy framework.

Expanding equal access to education at all levels

The draft decree is designed to ensure that learners from Vietnam's smallest ethnic minority groups have full, continuous and equitable access to education across all levels.

The proposed policy would broaden the range of beneficiaries to include preschool children, school students, vocational education learners, continuing education learners, university students, master's students and doctoral candidates.

One of the key additions is that eligible learners enrolled at non-public educational institutions would also be entitled to learning support if they meet the prescribed conditions.

The ministry said this would ensure access to support is not determined by the type of educational institution attended, in line with Vietnam's policy of encouraging the participation of non-state providers in education. It is also viewed as a long-term measure to develop human resources and support the sustainable development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

Admissions preferences throughout the education journey

Under the draft decree, children from the smallest ethnic minority groups would receive priority admission to public preschools.

School students would receive priority admission to ethnic minority semi-boarding schools, ethnic minority boarding schools, boarding schools in land border communes, and suitable public schools.

Students graduating from lower secondary school would be eligible for direct admission to various upper secondary schools, vocational education institutions and continuing education institutions.

Those graduating from upper secondary school would be eligible for direct admission to university preparatory schools and vocational education institutions, while also qualifying for admission under the Government's cử tuyển programme.

For higher education, eligible applicants would receive the highest level of priority points permitted under university admissions regulations.

The draft also proposes preferential policies for master's and doctoral admissions, including additional priority points, priority consideration or direct admission in accordance with individual institutions' regulations.

In addition, ethnic minority language certificates could be accepted in certain cases during postgraduate admissions, a provision that is not included in the current policy.

Learning support tailored to each education level

Rather than applying a single support level to all beneficiaries, the draft decree proposes different levels of financial assistance for different groups of learners.

Support is expected to range from 30% to 150% of the statutory base salary per person per month, depending on the level of education and type of training.

University students and postgraduate learners from the smallest ethnic minority groups would receive the highest proposed level of support - 150% of the statutory base salary each month - and would be given priority for accommodation in student dormitories.

The draft also stipulates that support would be provided according to the actual months of study, for a maximum of nine months per academic year or for the duration specified by the training programme.

To avoid overlapping benefits, beneficiaries would receive only one policy of the same nature, with the highest applicable level of support.

The draft further introduces provisions to promote the use of data from the National Population Database and other specialized databases.

Where relevant information is already available through government databases, learners or their families would not be required to submit documents proving their eligibility.

Supporting documents would need to be submitted only once during a learner's studies at the same educational institution. Applications could be filed in person, by post or online through the National Public Service Portal.

Vu Manh Cuong