Circular No. 13/2020/TT-BGDDT dated May 26, 2020 on standard facilities of preschools, primary schools, lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools and mixed-level compulsory educational institutions

CIRCULAR

STANDARD FACILITIES OF PRESCHOOLS, PRIMARY SCHOOLS, LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS, UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND MIXED-LEVEL COMPULSORY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Pursuant to Law on Education dated June 14, 2019;

Pursuant to Decree No. 123/2016/ND-CP dated September 01, 2016 of the Government on functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of ministries and ministerial agencies;

Pursuant to Decree 69/2017/ND-CP dated May 25, 2017 of the Government on functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

Pursuant to Decree No. 152/2017/ND-CP dated December 27, 2017 of the Government on standards and use of working offices and utilities;

At request of Director General of Educational Facilities Department;

Minister of Education and Training promulgates Circular on standard facilities of preschools, primary schools, lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools and mixed-level compulsory educational institutions.

Article 1.Attached to this Circular are standard facilities of preschools, primary schools, lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools and mixed-level compulsory educational institutions

Article 2.This Circular comes into force from July 11, 2020.

Article 3.Chief of Office, Director General of Educational Facilities Department, heads of relevant entities affiliated to Ministry of Education and Training, Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities and Directors of Education and Training Departments are responsible for implementation of this Circular./.

REGULATIONS

STANDARD FACILITIES OF PRESCHOOLS, PRIMARY SCHOOLS, LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS, UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND MIXED-LEVEL COMPULSORY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
(Attached to Circular No. 13/2020/TT-BGDDT dated May 26, 2020 of Ministry of Education and Training)

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope and regulated entities

1. This document prescribes standard facilities in preschools, primary schools, lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools and mixed compulsory educational institutions (hereinafter referred to as “educational institutions”).

2. This document applies to educational facilities, relevant organizations and individuals.

Article 2. Term interpretation

In this document, terms below are construed as follows:

1. “Reinforced structure” refers to a structure/building with service life of exceeding 20 years and 3 primary components are constructed from sturdy materials, including:

a) Primary load-bearing component must be made of: reinforced concrete, brick/stone, sturdy iron/steel/wood;

b) Roof must be made of: reinforced concrete, steel, cement, terracotta;

c) Outer wall must be made of: reinforced concrete, brick/stone, wood/metal.

2. “Semi-reinforced structure” refers to a structure/building with service life of less than 20 years and 2 of 3 primary components satisfying requirements specified in Clause 1 of this Article, primary load-bearing structure of which must comply with Point a Clause 1 of this Article.

3. “Structure ratio” refers to ratio between total floor area of a structure type (reinforced or semi-reinforced) and total floor area of all structure types.

4. “Structure category” refers to classification of structure depending on structural scale specified in applicable regulations and law.

5. “Floor area” refers to area calculated based on carpet area (excluding corridor, stair, lobby, balcony, baseboard, pillar and technical panel area).

6. “Communes in disadvantaged areas” refer to communes in ethnic minority regions, mountainous regions, graded coastlines, islands, border areas and particularly disadvantaged communes according to decisions of the Prime Minister.

7. “Urban area” refers to an area with high population density whose inhabitants participate in non-agricultural economic sectors, serves as political, administrative, economic, cultural or specialized center to promote socio-economic development of the nation, region or an administrative division, including the center and the outskirts; the center and the outskirts of towns and townlets.

8. “Multipurpose room” refers to a classroom in a formal educational institution equipped with computer, sound, projection equipment and other equipment, devices to be shared by many subjects and other educational activities.

Article 3. Purposes of applying standard facilities

Standard facilities of educational institutions under these Regulations shall serve as the basis for:

1. Determining minimum standards of facilities of educational institutions to guarantee conditions for implementing education programs.

2. Determining level of satisfaction of standard facilities to recognize education accreditation and national standards of educational institutions.

3. Planning network of educational institutions.

4. Determining standards and use of specialized area within utilities operating in education and training sector specified in Decree No. 152/2017/ND-CP dated December 27, 2017 of the Government on standards and use of working offices and utilities (applicable to public educational institutions).

Article 4. Specialized utility area within educational institutions

1. Utilities in educational institutions include: Children nursing, caring and education rooms; rooms for learning; rooms assisting learning; catering rooms; auxiliary blocks; playgrounds and sports quarter; activity rooms.

2. Specialized utility area of an educational institution shall be determined based on floor area, school area, number of students, teachers, managerial employees, staff and development orientation of the educational institution in order to achieve standard facilities in each stage.

Chapter II

STANDARD FACILITIES OF PRESCHOOLS

Article 5. Location, scale and area

1. Requirements for school location

a) Conform to local education development planning;

b) Surroundings must be safe for children, officials, teachers and employees;

c) Have convenient traffic for taking children to schools and picking up children; satisfy fire prevention requirements.

2. Scale

a) A preschool shall have at least 9 groups/classes and up to 20 groups/classes. Schools in communes in disadvantaged areas shall have at least 5 groups/classes;

b) Based on local conditions, may locate schools in different administrative divisions to enable children to go to schools. Situate no more than 5 school clusters; schools in communes in disadvantaged areas may situate no more than 8 school clusters depending on practical conditions.

3. Area of land on which schools or school clusters are constructed shall be determined on the basis of number of groups, classes and children with an average of 12 m2 per child; regarding urban areas in mountainous regions, permit an average of 10 m2 per child due to limited land space in the center of such urban areas. 

4. Floor areas for work items

a) Administration rooms shall comply with applicable regulations and law;

b) Children nursing, caring and education rooms; catering rooms and auxiliary rooms are specified under Annex I attached hereto. 

5. Work items directly caring, nursing and educating children must not be taller than 3 storeys and ensure accessibility and usability for children with disabilities.

Article 6. Basic facilities

1. Administration rooms

a) Principal room: has adequate working space, office equipment and devices according to applicable regulations and law;

b) Vice principal room: has office equipment and devices according to applicable regulations and law;

c) School office: at least 1; has adequate office equipment and devices according to applicable regulations and law;

d) Staff room: at least 1; has lockers for personal items;

dd) Security room: at least 1; situated near entrance of the school with good visibility;

e) Sanitary areas for teachers, officials and employees: situated together with rooms for other functions and separate by gender.  Stand-alone sanitary areas must be located where convenient for use without affecting the environment;

g) Parking lot for teachers, officials and employees: has roof and adequate parking spaces.

2. Children nursing, caring and education rooms

a) Children nursing, caring and education rooms

Ensure that each group/class has a room serving following functions:

General space for learning, playing and eating activities;

Sleeping area (for preschool groups and classes, may use the general spaces);

Sanitary areas shall be constructed within children nursing, caring and education rooms with 1.2 m tall partitions separating urinating spots from toilet bowls; situate 2 to 3 urinal bowls for boys (or urinal trenches at least 2 m in length) and 2 to 3 toilet bowls for girls, hand wash areas must be installed with 1 wash-basin for every 8 children, sanitation equipment must be age-appropriate; for children in preschools, separate restrooms separately for boys and girls; sanitary areas installed separately must be connected with children nursing, caring and education rooms by corridors, suitable for use and monitor;

Porches: convenient for taking children to schools, picking up children and activities of children when sunny, raining; surrounded by guardrails no shorter than 1 m;

b) Physical education and fine art rooms: connected with children nursing, caring and education rooms by corridors. Schools that have up to 14 groups/classes shall situate at least 1 room for physical education and fine art education (multipurpose room); schools that have more than 14 groups/classes must situate 1 room for physical education and 1 room for fine art education. School cluster with at least 5 groups/classes must situate at least 1 multipurpose room;

c) Separate playgrounds: install outdoor equipment and toys as per the law.

3. Catering rooms (applicable to schools that organize cooking)

a) Kitchen: situated independently of other functional rooms; consists of preparation areas, processing areas, cooking areas, food distribution areas; designed and organized in a one-piece flow manner;

b) Storage: separates storage of raw food and cooked food; installed with independent and convenient product input and output routes and separated for each type of food; equipped with food preservation equipment.

4. Auxiliary rooms

a) Conference room: at least 1; used as general space and professional working space for teachers when they are not teaching in classes, equipped with equipment according to applicable regulations and law;

b) Medical room: at least 1; located in a convenient location for initial medical treatment, emergency medical treatment; medicine cabinets with essential medicines, first aid equipment and hospital beds;

c) Storage: at least 1; to store general equipment and school supplies;

d) Garden: consists of playgrounds and trees, grass; used to organize outdoor activities and theater. Flat, non-slip and smooth surface with shade provided by trees;

dd) Gates and fences: school and school cluster premises must be separated from the outside by sturdy and safe fences (walls or trees); gates of schools and school clusters must be reinforced and firm to hold school name signs.

5. Technical infrastructure

a) Clean water supply: meets use demand, water quality regulation and standards according to applicable regulations and law; water drainage system, sewer combining with covered trenches and wastewater treatment system satisfy wastewater quality as per the law before discharging into the environment;

b) Power supply system: meets capacity and safety requirements to serve school’s operations;

c) Fire prevention system: complies with applicable regulations and law;

d) Information, technology and communication infrastructure: phone and internet connection serving school’s operations;

dd) Garbage collection areas: situated independently, away from functional rooms and at the end of the wind; installed with separate entrance convenient for collecting and transporting garbage; installed with separate water drainage system and no affecting the environment.

6. Work items specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article shall be reinforced structures or semi-reinforced structures. Reinforced structures must not account for less than 40%.

7. Teaching equipment must be guaranteed according to regulations of Ministry of Education and Training.

Article 7. Level 1 standard facility

In order to satisfy level 1 standard facility, a preschool must satisfy regulations under Article 6 of these Regulations and following regulations:

1. Administration rooms

a) Have separate working offices for Principals and Vice Principals;

b) Have at least 1 separate working office for administration affairs equipped with office machinery and equipment according to applicable regulations and law.

2. Children nursing, caring and education rooms

Schools that have up to 14 groups/classes shall situate at least 1 room for physical education and 1 room for fine art education; schools that have more than 14 groups/classes must situate 1 room for physical education, 1 room for fine art education and 1 multipurpose room;

b) Separate playgrounds: situated by each group/class.

3. Auxiliary rooms

Have separate gardens for children to explore and play.

4. Work items specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 Article 6 of these Regulations and Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be reinforced structures or semi-reinforced structures. Reinforced structures must not account for less than 70%.

5. Each school cluster (if any) has no less than 2 groups/classes.

6. Land use density

a) Construction area: no more than 40%;

b) Garden (tree and playground) area: no less than 40%;

c) Internal traffic area: no less than 20%.

Article 8. Level 2 standard facilities

In order to satisfy level 2 standard facility, a preschool must satisfy regulations under Article 7 of these Regulations and following regulations:

1. Children nursing, caring and education rooms

a) Children nursing, caring and education room is added with following functions:

Have front and back porches;

Storage of groups/classes to store tools and toys;

Teacher rooms must be situated adjacent to general space and sleeping quarters of children;

b) Schools that have up to 14 groups/classes shall situate at least 1 room for physical education, 1 room for fine art education and 1 multipurpose room; schools that have more than 14 groups/classes must situate 2 rooms for physical education, 2 rooms for fine art education and situate for each group age;

c) Have at least 1 computer room with appropriate information technology equipment serving playing, discovering and getting to know information technology and foreign languages of children.

2. All work items are reinforced and category IV structures or higher.

Chapter III

STANDARD FACILITIES OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Article 9. Location, scale and area

1. Requirements for school location

a) Conforming to local education development planning;

b) Surroundings must be safe for students, officials, teachers and employees;

c) Have convenient traffic for students to go to schools; satisfy fire prevention requirements.

2. Scale

a) A primary school shall have at least 10 classes and up to 30 classes. Schools in communes in disadvantaged areas shall have at least 5 classes;

b) Based on local conditions, may locate schools in different administrative divisions to enable students to go to schools. Situate no more than 5 school clusters; schools in communes in disadvantaged areas may situate no more than 8 school clusters depending on practical conditions.

3. Area of land on which schools or school clusters are constructed shall be determined on the basis of number of classes and students with an average of 10 m2 per student; regarding urban areas in mountainous regions, permit an average of 8 m2 per student due to limited land space in the center of such urban areas.   Regarding boarding schools, land area where work items serving boarding must be 6 m2 per boarding student.

4. Floor areas for work items

a) Administration rooms shall comply with applicable regulations and law;

b) Studying rooms; studying assisting rooms; auxiliary rooms, playgrounds, sports quarters and general activities are specified under Annex II attached hereto.

5. Work items directly serving teaching and organizing education activities must not be taller than 3 storeys and ensure accessibility and usability for students with disabilities.

Article 10. Basic facilities

1. Administration rooms

a) Principal room: has adequate working space, office equipment and devices according to applicable regulations and law;

b) Vice principal room: has office equipment and devices according to applicable regulations and law;

c) School office: at least 1; has adequate office equipment and devices according to applicable regulations and law;

d) Security room: at least 1; situated near entrance of the school with good visibility;

dd) Sanitary areas for teachers, officials and employees: situated along functional rooms and separated by gender; number of equipment: 15 males/urinal stand, 20 males/toilet bowls, 1 wash-basin/4 toilet bows but no less than 1; 15 females/toilet bowl, 1 wash-basin/2 toilet bowls but no less than 1. In case of independent sanitary areas, situate in places that are convenient for use and do not affect the environment;

e) Parking lot for teachers, officials and employees: has roof and adequate parking spaces.

2. Studying rooms

a) Classroom: each class must have a separate classroom; capable of being used as a place for midday break for students (if any); fully equipped with: Adequate student tables and chairs with enough seats for students; teacher tables and chairs; boards; light and fan systems; cabinets for teaching documents and equipment;

b) Music – Fine Arts classroom: at least 1;

c) Science and Technology classroom: at least 1;

d) Computer classroom: at least 1;

dd) Foreign language classroom: at least 1;

e) Multipurpose room: at least 1.

3. Study assisting rooms

a) Library: each school must have at least 1 library, each school cluster must have general bookshelf; a library must at least have following areas: book storage, management quarter (working space of librarians), reading quarter for teachers and students;

b) Education equipment room: at least 1; equipped with adequate shelves and cabinets to store and preserve teaching equipment of the school;

c) Room for academic consulting and rehabilitation of student with disabilities: at least 1; situated at the 1st storey;

d) Tradition room: at least 1; fully equipped with equipment;

dd) Youth Union room: at least 1; fully equipped with equipment; maybe integrated with tradition room.

4. Auxiliary rooms

a) Conference room: at least 1; used as general space and working space for teachers when they are not teaching in classes, equipped with equipment according to applicable regulations and law;

b) Medical room: at least 1; medicine cabinets with essential medicines, first aid equipment and hospital beds;

c) Storage: at least 1; to store general equipment and school supplies;

d) Student parking lot: installed with roof; parking space for students with disabilities are located near the entrance;

dd) Student sanitary areas: situated along functional rooms; separated by gender; guaranteed accessibility for students with disability; number of equipment: 1 urinal stand, 1 toilet bowl and 1 wash-basin for every 30 boys (in case of urinal trenches, 0.6 m in length for every 30 boys) with walls/partitions separating urinal stands from toilet bowls; 1 toilet bowl and 1 wash-basin for every 20 girls. In case of separate sanitary areas, situate in location that is convenient and not affecting the environment;

e) Gates and fences: school and school cluster premises must be separated from the outside by sturdy and safe fences (walls or trees); ensure sturdiness and safety. Gates of schools and school clusters must be reinforced and firm to attach school name signs.

5. Playgrounds and sports fields

a) At least 1 general space for school activities; flat surface with shade provided by trees;

b) Sports fields must be safe and equipped with tools and equipment for students.

6. General activity rooms

a) Kitchens (for schools organizing cooking): independent of studying rooms and study assisting rooms; one-piece flow manner; hygienic;

b) Kitchen storage (for schools organizing cooking): separates storage of raw food and cooked food; installed with independent and convenient product input and output routes and separated for each type of food; equipped with food preservation equipment;

c)  Dining halls (for boarding schools): fully equipped to serve students;

d) Dormitory (for boarding schools): installed with adequate bedrooms, sanitary and shower rooms for students; separated by gender; fully equipped;

dd) Student administration rooms (for boarding schools): situate dormitories for teachers managing boarding students.

7. Technical infrastructure

a) Clean water supply: meets use demand, water quality regulation and standards according to applicable regulations and law; water drainage system, sewer combining with covered trenches and wastewater treatment system satisfy wastewater quality as per the law before discharging into the environment;

b) Power supply system: meets capacity and safety requirements to serve school’s operations;

c) Fire prevention system: complies with applicable regulations and law;

d) Information, technology and communication infrastructure: phone and internet connection serving school’s operations;

dd) Garbage collection areas: situated independently, away from functional rooms and at the end of the wind; installed with separate entrance convenient for collecting and transporting garbage; installed with separate water drainage system and no affecting the environment.

8. Work items specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Article shall be reinforced structures or semi-reinforced structures. Reinforced structures must not account for less than 40%.

9. Teaching equipment

a) Teaching equipment must be guaranteed according to regulations of Ministry of Education and Training;

b) Classrooms for specific subjects must be equipped with tables, chairs, cabinets, shelves, stands, electrical and water systems, fan and ventilation systems, other auxiliary devices, teaching equipment and study materials depending on each subject.

Article 11. Level 1 standard facility

In order to satisfy level 1 standard facility, a primary school must satisfy regulations under Article 10 of these Regulations and following regulations:

1. Administration rooms

a) Have separate working offices for Principals and Vice Principals;

b) Rooms of organizations affiliated to the Communist Party and other associations: at least 1 room that is fully equipped as per the law.

2. Studying rooms

a) Music classroom: at least 1;

b) Fine Arts classroom: at least 1;

c) Computer classroom: at least 2 rooms for schools with more than 25 classes;

d) Foreign language classroom: at least 2 rooms for schools with more than 25 classes;

dd) Multipurpose room: at least 2 rooms for schools with more than 25 classes;

3. Study assisting rooms

Library: reading room for students must be at least 35 seats, reading room for teachers must be at least 20 seats.

4. Auxiliary rooms

a) Teacher lounge: situated adjacent to studying rooms, guaranteed 1 room for every 10 classes;

b) Student sanitary areas: situated separately for every storey and every hallway.

5. Playgrounds and sports fields

Sports fields must be separated from functional rooms by trees, partially or totally covered by roof.

6. General activity rooms

General room (for boarding schools): situated in boarding area, near student dormitories; fully equipped.

7. Work items specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 Article 10 of these Regulations and Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Article shall be reinforced structures or semi-reinforced structures. Reinforced structures must not account for less than 70%.

8. Each school cluster (if any) has no less than 2 groups/classes.

9. Land use density

a) Construction area: no more than 40%;

b) Garden (trees, playgrounds, sports fields) area: no less than 40%;

c) Internal traffic area: no less than 20%.

Article 12. Level 2 standard facilities

In order to satisfy level 2 standard facility, a primary school must satisfy regulations under Article 11 of these Regulations and following regulations:

1. Study assisting rooms

Tradition rooms and Youth Union room must be situated separately.

2. Auxiliary rooms

Teacher rooms: used as working space for teachers when they are not teaching in classes; fully equipped as per the law.

3. Playgrounds and sports fields

a) Situate sports field separately for each subject;

b) Multipurpose building: where sports activities and general activities of the school are carried out.

4. General activity rooms

Dining hall: situated to serve students, teachers and staff.

5. All work items are reinforced and category IV structures or higher.

Chapter IV

STANDARD FACILITIES OF LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Article 13. Location, scale and area

1. Requirements for school location

a) Conforming to local education development planning;

b) Surroundings must be safe for students, officials, teachers and employees;

c) Have convenient traffic for students to go to schools; satisfy fire prevention requirements.

2. Scale

a) A lower secondary school shall have at least 08 classes and up to 45 classes.

b) Based on local conditions, may locate schools in different administrative divisions to enable students to go to schools. Situate no more than 2 school clusters, each shall have no less than 3 classes.

3. Area of land on which schools or school clusters are constructed shall be determined on the basis of number of classes and students with an average of 10 m2 per student; regarding urban areas in mountainous regions, permit an average of 8 m2 per student due to limited land space in the center of such urban areas.   Regarding boarding schools, land area where work items serving boarding must be 6 m2 per boarding student.

4. Floor areas for work items

a) Administration rooms shall comply with applicable regulations and law;

b) Studying rooms; studying assisting rooms; auxiliary rooms, playgrounds, sports quarters and general activities are specified under Annex III attached hereto.

5. Work items directly serving teaching and organizing education activities must not be taller than 4 storeys and ensure accessibility and usability for students with disabilities.

Article 14. Basic facilities

1. Administration rooms

a) Principal room: has adequate working space, office equipment and devices according to applicable regulations and law;

b) Vice principal room: has office equipment and devices according to applicable regulations and law;

c) School office: at least 1; has adequate office equipment and devices according to applicable regulations and law;

d) Security room: at least 1; situated near entrance of the school with good visibility;

dd) Sanitary areas for teachers, officials and employees: situated along functional rooms and separated by gender; number of equipment: 15 males/urinal stand, 20 males/toilet bowl, 1 wash-basin/4 toilet bowls but no less than 1; 15 females/toilet bowl, 1 wash-basin/2 toilet bowls but no less than 1. In case of independent sanitary areas, situate in places that are convenient for use and do not affect the environment;

e) Parking lot for teachers, officials and employees: has roof and adequate parking spaces.

2. Studying rooms

a) Classroom: at least 0.6 rooms/class; fully equipped with proper student tables, chairs with adequate seats for students; teacher tables and chairs; boards; lighting and fan systems;

b) Music classroom: at least 1;

c) Fine Arts classroom: at least 1;

d) Home economics classroom: at least 1;

dd) Natural science classroom: at least 2;

e) Computer classroom: at least 1;

g) Foreign language classroom: at least 1;

h) Multipurpose room: at least 1.

3. Study assisting rooms

a) Library: each school must have at least 1 library, each school cluster must have general bookshelf; a library must at least have following areas: book storage, management quarter (working space of librarians), reading quarter for teachers and students;

b) Education equipment room: at least 1; equipped with adequate shelves and cabinets to store and preserve teaching equipment of the school;

c) Room for academic consulting and rehabilitation of student with disabilities: at least 1; situated at the 1st storey;

d) Tradition room: at least 1; fully equipped;

dd) Room for unions and associations: at least 1; fully equipped with equipment; maybe integrated with tradition room.

4. Auxiliary rooms

a) Meeting room for the entire officials, teachers and staff of the school: at least 1; fully equipped as per the law;

b) Room for specialized teams: at least 1 room shared by all specialized teams; in schools with more than 30 classes: at least 2 rooms; fully equipped as per the law;

c) Medical room: at least 1; medicine cabinets with essential medicines, first aid equipment and hospital beds;

d) Storage: at least 1; to store general equipment and school supplies;

dd) Student parking lot: installed with roof; parking space for students with disabilities are located near the entrance;

e) Student sanitary areas: situated along functional rooms; separated by gender; guaranteed accessibility for students with disability; number of equipment: 1 urinal stand, 1 toilet bowl and 1 wash-basin for every 30 boys (in case of urinal trenches, 0.6 m in length for every 30 boys) with walls/partitions separating urinal stands from toilet bowls; 1 toilet bowl and 1 wash-basin for every 20 girls. In case of separate sanitary areas, situate in location that is convenient and not affecting the environment;

g) Gates and fences: school and school cluster premises must be separated from the outside by sturdy and safe fences (walls or trees); gates of schools and school clusters must be reinforced and firm to hold school name signs.

5. Playgrounds and sports fields

a) At least 1 general space for school activities; flat surface with shade provided by trees;

b) Sports fields must be safe and equipped with tools and equipment for students.

6. General activity rooms

a) Kitchens (for schools organizing cooking): independent of studying rooms and study assisting rooms; one-piece flow manner; hygienic;

b) Kitchen storage (for schools organizing cooking): separates storage of raw food and cooked food; installed with independent and convenient product input and output routes and separated for each type of food; equipped with food preservation equipment;

c)  Dining halls (for boarding schools): fully equipped to serve students;

d) Dormitory (for boarding schools): installed with adequate bedrooms, sanitary and shower rooms for students; separated by gender; fully equipped;

dd) Student administration rooms (for boarding schools): situate dormitories for teachers managing boarding students;

e) General room (for boarding schools): situated in boarding area, near student dormitories; fully equipped.

7. Technical infrastructure

a) Clean water supply: meets use demand, water quality regulation and standards according to applicable regulations and law; water drainage system, sewer combining with covered trenches and wastewater treatment system satisfy wastewater quality as per the law before discharging into the environment;

b) Power supply system: meets capacity and safety requirements to serve school’s operations;

c) Fire prevention system: complies with applicable regulations and law;

d) Information, technology and communication infrastructure: phone and internet connection serving school’s operations;

dd) Garbage collection areas: situated independently, away from functional rooms and at the end of the wind; installed with separate entrance convenient for collecting and transporting garbage; installed with separate water drainage system and no affecting the environment. Separate collection of toxic chemicals and experiment waste.

8. Work items specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Article shall be reinforced structures or semi-reinforced structures. Reinforced structures must not account for less than 40%.

9. Teaching equipment

a) Teaching equipment must be guaranteed according to regulations of Ministry of Education and Training;

b) Classrooms for specific subjects must be equipped with tables, chairs, cabinets, shelves, stands, electrical and water systems, fan and ventilation systems, other auxiliary devices, teaching equipment and study materials depending on each subject.

Article 15. Level 1 standard facilities

In order to satisfy level 1 standard facility, a lower secondary school must satisfy regulations under Article 14 of these Regulations and following regulations:

1. Administration rooms

a) Have separate working offices for Principals and Vice Principals;

b) Rooms of organizations affiliated to the Communist Party and other associations: at least 1 room that is fully equipped as per the law.

2. Studying rooms

a) Natural science classroom: at least 3 rooms for schools with more than 20 classes;

b) Foreign language classroom: at least 2 rooms for schools with more than 20 classes;

c) Multipurpose room: at least 2 rooms for schools with more than 20 classes;

d) Social science classroom: at least 1.

3. Study assisting rooms

Library: reading room for students must be at least 45 seats, reading room for teachers must be at least 20 seats.

4. Auxiliary rooms

a) Rooms for specialized teams: have enough rooms for all specialized teams;

b) Teacher lounge: situated adjacent to studying rooms, guaranteed 1 room for every 10 classes;

c) Student sanitary areas: situated separately for every storey and every hallway.

5. Playgrounds and sports fields

Sports fields must be separated from functional rooms by trees, partially or totally covered by roof.

6. General activity rooms

Cultural houses (for boarding schools): serving cultural, artistic activities; fully equipped.

7. Work items specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 Article 14 of these Regulations and Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Article shall be reinforced structures or semi-reinforced structures. Reinforced structures must not account for less than 70%.

8. Land use density

a) Construction area: no more than 45%;

b) Garden (trees, playgrounds, sports fields) area: no less than 30%;

c) Internal traffic area: no less than 25%.

Article 16. Level 2 standard facilities

In order to satisfy level 2 standard facility, a lower secondary school must satisfy regulations under Article 15 of these Regulations and following regulations:

1. Studying rooms

Social science classroom: at least 2.

2. Study assisting rooms

Tradition room, union and association room must be situated separately.

3. Auxiliary rooms

Teacher rooms: used as working space for teachers when they are not teaching in classes; fully equipped as per the law.

4. Playgrounds and sports fields

a) Situate sports field separately for each subject;

b) Multipurpose building: where sports activities and general activities of the school are carried out.

5. All work items are reinforced and category IV structures or higher.

Chapter V

STANDARD FACILITIES OF UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Article 17. Location, scale and area

1. Requirements for school location

a) Conforming to local education development planning;

b) Surroundings must be safe for students, officials, teachers and employees;

c) Have convenient traffic for students to go to schools; satisfy fire prevention requirements.

2. An upper secondary school shall have at least 15 classes and up to 45 classes.

3. Area of land for school construction shall be determined on the basis of number of classes and students with a minimum average of 10 m2 per student.  Regarding boarding schools, land area where work items serving boarding must be 6 m2 per boarding student.

4. Floor areas for work items

a) Administration rooms shall comply with applicable regulations and law;

b) Studying rooms; studying assisting rooms; auxiliary rooms, playgrounds, sports quarters and general activities are specified under Annex IV attached hereto.

5. Work items directly serving teaching and organizing education activities must not be taller than 4 storeys and ensure accessibility and usability for students with disabilities.

Article 18. Basic facility

1. Administration rooms

a) Principal room: has adequate working space, office equipment and devices according to applicable regulations and law;

b) Vice principal room: has office equipment and devices according to applicable regulations and law;

c) School office: at least 1; has adequate office equipment and devices according to applicable regulations and law;

d) Security room: at least 1; situated near entrance of the school with good visibility;

dd) Sanitary areas for teachers, officials and employees: situated along functional rooms and separated by gender; number of equipment: 15 males/urinal stand, 20 males/toilet bowl, 1 wash-basin/4 toilet bowls but no less than 1; 15 females/toilet bowl, 1 wash-basin/2 toilet bowls but no less than 1. In case of independent sanitary areas, situate in places that are convenient for use and do not affect the environment;

e) Parking lot for teachers, officials and employees: has roof and adequate parking spaces.

2. Studying rooms

a) Classroom: at least 0.6 rooms/class; fully equipped with proper student tables, chairs with adequate seats for students; teacher tables and chairs; boards; lighting and fan systems;

b) Music classroom: at least 1;

c) Fine Arts classroom: at least 1;

d) Home economics classroom: at least 1;

dd) Computer classroom: at least 1;

e) Foreign language classroom: at least 1;

g) Multipurpose room: at least 1;

h) Physics classroom: at least 1;

i) Chemistry classroom: at least 1;

k) Biology classroom: at least 1.

3. Study assisting rooms

a) Library: each school must have at least 1 library; a library must at least have following areas: book storage, management quarter (working space of librarians), reading quarter for teachers and students;

b) Education equipment room: at least 1; equipped with adequate shelves and cabinets to store and preserve teaching equipment of the school;

c) Academic consulting room: at least 1;

d) Tradition room: at least 1; fully equipped;

dd) Room for Youth Union: at least 1; fully equipped; maybe integrated with tradition room.

4. Auxiliary rooms

a) Meeting room for the entire officials, teachers and staff of the school: at least 1; fully equipped as per the law;

b) Room for specialized teams: at least 1 room shared by all specialized teams; in schools with more than 30 classes: at least 2 rooms; fully equipped as per the law;

c) Medical room: at least 1; medicine cabinets with essential medicines, first aid equipment and hospital beds;

d) Storage: at least 1; to store general equipment and school supplies;

dd) Student parking lot: installed with roof; parking space for students with disabilities are located near the entrance;

e) Student sanitary areas: situated along functional rooms; separated by gender; guaranteed accessibility for students with disability; number of equipment: 1 urinal stand, 1 toilet bowl and 1 wash-basin for every 30 boys (in case of urinal trenches, 0.6 m in length for every 30 boys) with walls/partitions separating urinal stands from toilet bowls; 1 toilet bowl and 1 wash-basin for every 20 girls. In case of separate sanitary areas, situate in location that is convenient and not affecting the environment;

g) Gates and fences: school and school cluster premises must be separated from the outside by sturdy and safe fences (walls or trees); ensure sturdiness and safety. Gates of schools and school clusters must be reinforced and firm to attach school name signs.

5. Playgrounds and sports fields.

a) At least 1 general space for school activities; flat surface with shade provided by trees;

b) Sports fields must be safe and equipped with tools and equipment for students.

6. General activity rooms

a) Kitchens (for schools organizing cooking): independent of studying rooms and study assisting rooms; one-piece flow manner; hygienic;

b) Kitchen storage (for schools organizing cooking): separates storage of raw food and cooked food; installed with independent and convenient product input and output routes and separated for each type of food; equipped with food preservation equipment;

c)  Dining halls (for boarding and semi-boarding schools): fully equipped to serve students;

d) Dormitory (for boarding schools): installed with adequate bedrooms, sanitary and shower rooms for students; separated by gender; fully equipped;

dd) Student administration rooms (for boarding schools): situate dormitories for teachers managing boarding students;

e) General room (for boarding schools): situated in boarding area, near student dormitories; fully equipped.

7. Technical infrastructure

a) Clean water supply: meets use demand, water quality regulation and standards according to applicable regulations and law; water drainage system, sewer combining with covered trenches and wastewater treatment system satisfy wastewater quality as per the law before discharging into the environment;

b) Power supply system: meets capacity and safety requirements to serve school’s operations;

c) Fire prevention system: complies with applicable regulations and law;

d) Information, technology and communication infrastructure: phone and internet connection serving school’s operations;

dd) Garbage collection areas: situated independently, away from functional rooms and at the end of the wind; installed with separate entrance convenient for collecting and transporting garbage; installed with separate water drainage system and no affecting the environment. Separate collection of toxic chemicals and experiment waste.

8. Work items specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Article shall be reinforced structures or semi-reinforced structures. Reinforced structures must not account for less than 60%.

9. Teaching equipment

a) Teaching equipment must be guaranteed according to regulations of Ministry of Education and Training;

b) Classrooms for specific subjects must be equipped with tables, chairs, cabinets, shelves, stands, electrical and water systems, fan and ventilation systems, other auxiliary devices, teaching equipment and study materials depending on each subject.

Article 19. Level 1 standard facilities

In order to satisfy level 1 standard facility, an upper secondary school must satisfy regulations under Article 18 of these Regulations and following regulations:

1. Administration rooms

a) Have separate working offices for Principals and Vice Principals;

b) Rooms of organizations affiliated to the Communist Party and other associations: at least 1 room that is fully equipped as per the law;

c) Teacher sanitary areas: situated separately for every storey and every hallway.

2. Studying rooms

a) Classrooms for subjects specified in Points d, dd, e, g, h, i and k Clause 2 Article 18 of these Regulations: at least 2 rooms per subject in schools with 30 classes or more;

b) Social science classroom: at least 1.

3. Study assisting rooms

Library: reading room for students must be at least 45 seats, reading room for teachers must be at least 20 seats.

4. Auxiliary rooms

a) Rooms for specialized teams: have enough rooms for all specialized teams;

b) Teacher lounge: situated adjacent to studying rooms, guaranteed 1 room for every 10 classes;

c) Student sanitary areas: situated separately for every storey and every hallway.

5. Playgrounds and sports fields

Sports fields must be separated from functional rooms by trees, partially or totally covered by roof.

6. General activity rooms

Cultural houses (for boarding schools): serving cultural, artistic activities; fully equipped.

7. Work items specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 Article 18 of these Regulations and Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Article shall be reinforced structures or semi-reinforced structures. Reinforced structures must not account for less than 80%.

8. Land use density:

a) Construction area: no more than 45%;

b) Garden (trees, playgrounds, sports fields) area: no less than 30%;

c) Internal traffic area: no less than 25%.

Article 20. Level 2 standard facilities

In order to satisfy level 2 standard facility, an upper secondary school must satisfy regulations under Article 19 of these Regulations and following regulations:

1. Studying rooms

Social science classroom: at least 2.

2. Study assisting rooms

Tradition room and Youth Union room must be situated separately.

3. Auxiliary rooms

Teacher rooms: used as working space for teachers when they are not teaching in classes; fully equipped as per the law.

4. Playgrounds and sports fields

a) Situate sports field separately for each subject;

b) Multipurpose building: where sports activities and general activities of the school are carried out.

5. All work items are reinforced and category IV structures or higher.

Chapter VI

STANDARD FACILITIES OF MIXED-LEVEL COMPULSORY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Article 21. Location, scale and land area

Apply regulations for the highest education level in an educational institution under these Regulations and following regulations:

1. Scale

a) A mixed-level compulsory educational institution shall have at least 9 classes and up to 45 classes;

b) Based on local conditions, may locate schools in different administrative divisions to enable students to go to schools. Situate no more than 5 school clusters; schools with primary education level situated in communes in disadvantaged areas may situate no more than 8 school clusters depending on practical conditions.

2. Floor areas for work items

b) Studying rooms; studying assisting rooms; auxiliary rooms, playgrounds, sports quarters and general activities must satisfy regulations thereon applicable to each education level specified under these Regulations.

3. Height of work items directly serving teaching and education activities shall conform with regulations thereon applicable to each education level under these Regulations.

Article 22. Basic facilities

Apply regulations on basic standard facilities for the highest education level in an educational institution under these Regulations and following regulations:

1. Studying rooms

Apply regulations on basic standard facilities of each education level under these Regulations and be situated separately for each education level.

2. Auxiliary rooms

Student sanitary area: Apply regulations on basic standard facilities of each education level under these Regulations and be situated separately for each education level.

3. Playgrounds and sports fields

Situate tools and equipment appropriate for each education level.

4. Reinforced structures must not account for less than 40%.

5. Teaching equipment must be guaranteed for each education level according to regulations of Ministry of Education and Training;

Article 23. Level 1 standard facilities

In order to achieve level 1 standard facilities, a mixed-level compulsory educational institution must simultaneously satisfy level 1 standard facilities applicable to the highest education level under these Regulations, Article 22 of these Regulations and following regulations:

1. Studying rooms

Apply regulations on level 1 standard facilities of each education level under these Regulations and be situated separately for each education level.

2. Reinforced structures must not account for less than 70%.

Article 24. Level 2 standard facilities

In order to achieve level 2 standard facilities, a mixed-level compulsory educational institution must simultaneously satisfy level 2 standard facilities applicable to the highest education level under these Regulations, Article 23 of these Regulations and following regulations:

1. Studying rooms

Apply regulations on level 2 standard facilities of each education level under these Regulations and be situated separately for each education level.

2. All work items are reinforced and category IV structures or higher.

Chapter VII

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 25. Transition

1. In case of educational institutions receiving facility quality assessment during education accreditation and national standard accreditation before the effective date hereof shall continue to conform to accredited standards and level. Until the effective date hereof, assess facility standard during education accreditation and national standard accreditation according to these Regulations and other relevant documents.

2. Standards and use of utility area in education and training sector prescribed by competent agencies or entities before the effective date hereof and conforming to these Regulations shall continue to be adopted. In case of inconsistency with these Regulations, review and propose revisions accordingly.

3. For new construction, renovation and upgrade projects of utilities in educational institutions approved by competent authorities before the effective date of this Circular, do not determine standards and value again according to these Regulations.

Article 26. Responsibilities of Departments of Education and Training

1. Consulting People’s Committees of provinces in planning and arranging school network; preparing plans and planning to construct adequate schools; preparing plans to invest in facilities of schools under their management.

2. On an annual basis, producing preliminary and final reports on new construction, renovation and upgrade of facilities and construction of schools satisfying national standards; submitting reports on results to People’s Committees of provinces and Ministry of Education and Training. 

3. Developing standards and use of specialized area for utilities in education and training sector for educational institutions and proposing competent authorities.

4. Standards and use of utility areas shall be publicized on websites of Departments of Education and Training, People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities.