DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- This Decree defines the criteria and procedures for conferment and deprivation of the professor and associate professor titles.

Article 2.- The procedures for conferment of the titles of professor and associate professor shall cover the consideration and recognition of these titles and the promotion to the ranks of professor and associate professor. The procedures for deprivation of the titles of professor and associate professor shall cover the consideration of the stripping of these titles and the removal from the corresponding ranks of professor and associate professor.

Article 3.- Subjects entitled to be considered for recognition of the titles of professors and associate professors shall include:

1. Teachers who are included in the lecturing staff of universities of various kinds (hereinafter called universities for short);

2. Teachers who are not included in the lecturing staff of the universities but participating in the tertiary and post-graduate training under decisions to perform the task of lecturing or under guest-lecturing contracts, which are signed by the heads of competent bodies or organizations;

3. Foreign teachers who are lecturing at tertiary and post-graduate education establishments in Vietnam.

Article 4.- Subjects to be stripped of the title of professor or associate professor:

1. Persons who have been conferred the title of professor or associate professor but detected and determined as failing to satisfy the conditions, criteria prescribed at the time of conferment;

2. Persons who have been conferred the title of professor or associate professor but have committed crimes and sentenced to imprisonment by court and have not enjoyed the suspended sentence as from the date the judgments take legal effect.

Article 5.- Subjects entitled to be promoted to the rank of professor or associate professor shall include teachers who have been conferred the title of professor or associate professor or have obtained the academic title of professor or associate professor in the lecturing staff of the tertiary and post-graduate education establishments.

Article 6.- Subjects to be removed from the rank of professor or associate professor:

1. Persons who have been promoted to the rank of professor or associate professor but failed to fulfill their tasks;

2. Persons who have been stripped of the title of professor or associate professor.

Article 7.- Persons who have been promoted to the rank of professor or associate professor but transferred to other working posts where exist no rank of professor or associate professor shall be transferred to the corresponding rank.

Article 8.- Recognition of title and promotion to the rank of professor or associate professor:

1. The consideration and recognition of the professor and associate professor titles is made annually on the basis of the set criteria;

2. The promotion to the ranks of professor and associate professor shall be based on the work demands, working positions, structure of civil servant titles and payroll norms.

Chapter II

CRITERIA OF PROFESSOR AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR TITLES

Article 9.- Persons who are conferred the title of professor or associate professor must meet the following general criteria and conditions:

1. Fully satisfying the teacher�s criteria defined in Clause 2, Article 61 of the Education Law, fulfilling all teacher�s tasks prescribed in Article 63 of the Education Law, being honest, having the spirit of cooperation with colleagues and being objective in educational and training work as well as in scientific and technological research;

2. Having obtained the doctorate degree for three years or more as from the date of issuance;

3. Having acquired enough projects as prescribed by the State Council for Professor Title, of which at least 25% have been carried out in the last three years before the time of submission of dossiers of registration for consideration of the conferment of the titles of professor or associate professor;

4. Having scientific reports, summing up the results of personal work of training as well as scientific and technological research compatible with the specialties registered for consideration of the professor or associate professor title;

5. Having enough votes of credit of the Councils for Professor Title of different levels as provided for in Clause 8, Article 17 of this Decree.

Article 10.- In addition to the general criteria and conditions defined in Article 9, the associate professor title requires the following exclusive criteria:

1. Having been engaged in tertiary or post-graduate training for at least 6 years, and having been engaged in tertiary or post-graduate training for the last three years before the time of submitting dossiers of registration for consideration of the associate professor title;

2. Having been the main supervisor for at least one successful master-degree dissertation;

3. Having published enough scientific articles according to the regulations of the State Council for Professor Title;

4. Having been in charge of scientific research subjects of the university level or participated in scientific researches of the ministerial level or higher. The pre-acceptance test results must be at least satisfactory;

5. Being fluent in one foreign language in service of specialty field.

Article 11.- In addition to the general criteria and conditions defined in Article 9, the professor title requires the following exclusive criteria:

1. Having obtained the title of associate professor for full 3 years or more and having been engaged in tertiary or post-graduate training; for the last 3 years before the time of submitting the dossiers for consideration of the professor title;

2. Having supervised at least 2 research students, one of whom has successfully defended his/her doctorate thesis;

3. Having compiled teaching materials, books in service of tertiary or post-graduate training compatible with the specialties registered for consideration of the title of professor or associate professor, which have been published and for which the copyright deposit has been paid;

4. Having published enough scientific writings according to the regulations of the State Council for Professor Title;

5. Having been in charge of scientific research subjects of the ministerial level or higher. The pre-acceptance test results must be at least satisfactory;

6. Being fluent in one of the five foreign languages: English, Russian, French, Chinese, German.

Article 12.- Exceptional consideration

1. Persons who lack one of the criteria and conditions prescribed in Articles 9, 10 and 11 of this Decree for special objective reasons may be exceptionally considered;

2. The specific exceptional cases and the procedures for supplementing the dossiers shall be stipulated by the chairman of the State Council for Professor Title;

3. The consideration and recognition of exceptional cases shall be effected after the State Council for Professor Title agrees in writing on each case and shall comply with the procedures prescribed in Article 17 of this Decree.

Chapter III

THE STATE COUNCIL FOR PROFESSOR TITLE

Article 13.- The State Council for Professor Title is set up by the Prime Minister to assist him/her in directing and effecting the consideration, recognition and deprivation of the titles of professor and associate professor.

Article 14.- Organization of the State Council for Professor Title:

1. The members of the State Council for Professor Title shall be appointed by the Prime Minister, including the chairman, a vice-chairman, the general secretary and members of the Council;

2. The general secretary and members of the Council must hold the professor title. The general secretary of the State Council for Professor Title shall work as a full-time civil servant. Other members of the Council shall work on a part-time basis;

3. The standing members of the State Council for Professor Title shall be the chairman, the vice-chairman and the general secretary. They are responsible for settling the Council�s affairs in the interval between two plenary sessions of the Council;

4. The secretariat and Office of the Council shall be its assisting bodies. The total staff of the Council�s Office and secretariat shall include 10 persons at most and be placed under the direct management of the general secretary of the Council;

5. The branch, inter-branch and grassroots Councils for Professor Title shall assist the State Council for Professor Title in performing the tasks defined in Article 13 of this Decree. The State Council for Professor Title shall issue decisions on the establishment of these Councils and prescribe their organizational structure and operation.

Article 15.- The State Council for Professor Title shall work on the principle of collectivity, democracy, open voting or secret ballot to decide on important issues.

Article 16.- The State Council for Professor Title shall have a national emblem-engraved seal and accounts. The funding for the Council�s operation shall be provided by the State budget via the Ministry of Education and Training. The Council�s working office shall be located at the office of the Ministry of Education and Training.

Chapter IV

PROCEDURES FOR CONFERMENT AND DEPRIVATION OF THE PROFESSOR AND ASSOCIATE-PROFESSOR TITLES

Section 1. PROCESS OF CONSIDERING, RECOGNIZING AND DEPRIVING THE PROFESSOR AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR TITLES

Article 17.- The process of considering and recognizing the professor and associate professor titles:

1. Registration procedures

Persons who register for consideration and recognition of the title of professor or associate professor must compile dossiers according to form set by the State Council for Professor Title and send such dossiers to the grassroots-level Councils for Professor Title at the schools or institutes (called collectively the educational establishments) where they work.

Where the educational establishments have no conditions to set up the grassroots Councils for Professor Title, the persons registering for consideration and recognition of the title of professor or associate professor must file their application together with the dossiers to the heads of their direct managing units. After examining the dossiers, such unit heads shall make the lists of candidates and send them together with the dossiers to the heads of the competent superior bodies with assigned management responsibility (hereinafter referred collectively to as the ministerial-level agencies). The heads of the ministerial-level agencies shall consider and make the lists of candidates and send them together with the personal files to the State Council for Professor Title, which shall recommend and transfer the dossiers to appropriate grassroots Councils for Professor Title for considering the request for recognition as provided for in Clause 2 of this Article;

2. The grassroots Councils for Professor Title shall consider and evaluate the dossiers, cast secret ballots for registrants one by one;

3. The heads of educational establishments with grassroots Councils for Professor Title shall certify the results of considering the request for recognition of the professor and associate professor titles by the grassroots Councils for Professor Title; send the results of considering the persons of such educational establishments to the ministerial-level agencies; and send the results of considering persons recommended by the State Council for Professor Title to the State Council for Professor Title;

4. The heads of the ministerial-level agencies shall certify the lists, give their written opinions on the results of considering the recognition of the professor and associate professor titles of the universities and their attached institutes and transfer all the dossiers to the State Council for Professor Title;

5. The secretariat of the State Council for Professor Title shall have to classify the dossiers according to registered branches and hand them to the branch, inter-branch Councils for Professor Title.

6. The branch, inter-branch Councils for Professor Title shall make the evaluation based on the criteria, cast secret ballots for each case and report the results of the consideration to the State Council for Professor Title;

7. The chairman of the State Council for Professor Title shall verify the results of consideration of the titles of professors and associate professor by the branch or inter-branch Councils for Professor Title, issue decisions to recognize the titles of professor and associate professor after the State Council for Professor Title approves them through secret ballots as provided for in Clause 8 of this Article;

8. The decisions of the Professor Title Councils at all levels shall be effective only when they are voted for by at least 3/4 of the Council members participating in the open voting or secret ballots according to the following proportions:

a) For the grassroots Professor Title Councils, there must be more than 2/3 of the members present at the meetings voting for them;

b) For branch, inter-branch Professor Title Councils, there must be over 3/4 of the members present at the meeting voting for them;

c) For the State Council for Professor Title, there must be over 1/2 of the present members voting for them.

Article 18.- The process of considering the deprivation of the professor, associate professor titles:

1. The Secretariat of the State Council for Professor Title is tasked to verify cases which need to be considered for deprivation:

2. In case of necessity, the Standing Body of the State Council for Professor Title may request the branch, inter-branch Professor Title Councils to reconsider the cases of necessary consideration for deprivation before submitting them to the State Council for Professor Title;

3. The State Council for Professor Title shall evaluate such cases and cast secret ballots for each case of necessary consideration for deprivation;

4. The chairman of the State Council for Professor Title shall base him-/herself on the Council�s resolutions to issue decisions on deprivation of the professor or associate professor title.

Article 19.- The State Council for Professor Title shall have to guide the consideration to recognize or deprive the titles of professor and associate professor according to the provisions of this Decree.

Section 2. THE PROCESS OF PROMOTION TO AND REMOVAL FROM THE RANKS OF PROFESSOR AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Article 20.- Persons who have been conferred the title of professor or associate professor and persons who have the academic degree of professor or associate professor shall be regarded as having passed the rank promotion exams and be promoted to the rank of professor or associate professor according to the provisions in Article 8 and Article 21 of this Decree.

Article 21.- Promotion process:

1. For public tertiary or post-graduate education establishments:

a) The education establishments shall make the lists of candidates to be promoted to the rank of professor or associate professor and send them to the concerned ministerial-level agencies.

b) The ministerial-level agencies shall propose in writing persons to be promoted to the rank of professor or associate professor for sending to the Minister-Director of the Government�s Organization-Personnel Commission;

c) The Minister-Director of the Government�s Organization-Personnel Commission shall issue decisions to promote qualified persons to the rank of professor or associate professor after getting the consent of the Minister of Education and Training.

2. For semi-public, people-founded and private tertiary and post-graduate education establishments (called collectively the non-public tertiary and post-graduate education establishments):

The principals shall make the lists of persons who have been conferred the title of professor or associate professor and need to be promoted to the rank of professor or associate professor and send them to the Management Boards of the establishments. The Management Board chairmen shall base themselves on the Boards� resolutions to issue decisions to promote people of their respective schools to the rank of professor or associate professor after getting the consent of the Minister of Education and Training.

Article 22.- Process of removal

1. For public tertiary and post-graduate education establishments:

a) The education establishments shall propose in writing to the ministerial-level agencies the lists of persons subject to the removal as provided for in Articles 6 and 7 of this Decree;

b) The ministerial-level agencies shall send the lists of persons proposed for removal to the Minister-Director of the Government�s Organization- Personnel Commission;

c) The Minister-Director of the Government�s Organization-Personnel Commission shall issue the removal decisions after getting consent of the Minister of Education and Training.

2. For non-public tertiary and post-graduate education establishments: the principals shall make the lists of persons subject to removal as provided for in Articles 6 and 7 of this Decree and send them to the Management Boards of the establishments. The Management Board chairmen shall base themselves on the Boards� resolutions to issue decisions on removal from the rank of professor or associate professor after getting consent of the Minister of Education and Training.

Article 23.- The Minister-Director of the Government�s Organization-Personnel Commission shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Minister of Education and Training as well as the concerned ministries and branches in guiding the promotion to and removal from the rank of professor or associate professor as provided for in this Decree.

Chapter V

COMPLAINTS, DENUNCIATIONS

Article 24.- Citizens, agencies and organizations may complain about the recognition, deprivation of the titles, the promotion to or the removal from, the ranks of professor and associate professor.

Article 25.- Citizens may denounce the recognition and deprivation of the titles, the promotion to and removal from, the ranks of professor and associate professor.

Article 26.- The procedures for settling complaints and denunciations shall comply with the provisions of legislation on complaints and denunciations..

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 27.- The Minister-Director of the Government�s Organization-Personnel Commission shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministers of Finance; Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs; and Education and Training, and the chairman of the State Council for Professor Title in proposing regimes and policies for persons conferred the titles of professor and associate professor and persons promoted to the ranks of professor and associate professor, and submit them to the Prime Minister for decision.

Article 28.- This Decree takes effect 15 days after its signing. To annul the Government�s Decree No. 21/CP of March 4, 1995 on setting up the State Council for Academic Titles, Decision No. 200/TTg of April 4, 1995 of the Prime Minister promulgating the Regulation on consideration, approval and recognition of professor and associate professor titles and the previous regulations contrary to this Decree.

Article 29.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities and the chairman of the State Council for Professor Title shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI