Vietnam's Law on Teachers No. 73/2025/QH15 (Consolidated to 2026): Comprehensive Rules for Teaching Staff, Effective January 1, 2026
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Based on:73/2025/QH15 (hop nhat tai VBHN 87/VBHN-VPQH) - Government Official Gazette
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Vietnam's Law on Teachers No. 73/2025/QH15, passed by the National Assembly on June 16, 2025 and effective from January 1, 2026, was recently consolidated in Document No. 87/VBHN-VPQH (dated March 27, 2026) to incorporate amendments from the Vocational Education Law No. 124/2025/QH15. It is the first comprehensive legal framework governing the professional activities, rights, and obligations of teaching staff across all education levels, from preschool through university, and it applies to both public and non-public education institutions. The law sets out professional titles and standards, recruitment and reassignment procedures, salary policy (teachers' pay is set at the highest tier of the public administrative salary scale, plus a preferential occupational allowance), and retirement rules (preschool teachers may retire up to 5 years early without any reduction in pension percentage; teachers holding professor, associate-professor, or doctoral titles may continue working 5 to 10 years past the standard retirement age). It also covers training and continuing development, international cooperation, professional honors, and disciplinary procedures. For owners of non-public education institutions (private schools, foreign-language centers, private vocational training providers), this law is an important legal reference for recruiting staff, drafting and terminating employment contracts, handling discipline and teaching suspensions, and paying benefits to teaching staff, since it directly references Vietnam's labor law for non-public sector teachers. For SME owners and accountants outside the education sector, the law has no direct bearing on tax, e-invoicing, or financial reporting obligations.
Overview
Vietnam's Law on Teachers No. 73/2025/QH15 was enacted by the National Assembly on June 16, 2025 and took effect on January 1, 2026. Consolidated Document No. 87/VBHN-VPQH, certified by the National Assembly Office on March 27, 2026, incorporates amendments introduced by the Vocational Education Law No. 124/2025/QH15. The law contains 9 chapters and 42 articles governing teachers' professional activities, rights and obligations; professional titles and standards; recruitment and staffing; salary and benefits policy; training and international cooperation; honors, rewards, and disciplinary handling; and state management of teaching staff across the entire national education system, covering both public and non-public institutions.
Scope and applicability
The law applies to teaching staff recruited to teach or educate within institutions of the national education system (preschool, general education, continuing education, vocational education, and higher education), to state education management agencies, and to related organizations and individuals. It distinguishes between 'giáo viên' (teachers, covering preschool through secondary vocational programs) and 'giảng viên' (lecturers, covering college-level and above).
Rights, obligations, and professional ethics
Teachers in public institutions exercise rights and obligations under public-employee (viên chức) law; teachers in non-public institutions follow labor law. The law adds sector-specific rights (professional autonomy, scientific research, summer leave) and obligations (upholding teaching ethics, academic integrity). It also lists prohibited conduct for teachers (discrimination, exam fraud, forced tutoring, unauthorized fee collection) and prohibited conduct by organizations or individuals toward teachers (publishing accusatory information about a teacher's professional responsibility before a competent authority has issued a conclusion).
Titles, professional standards, and recruitment
Teaching titles are determined by education level and training tier. Recruitment proceeds through examination or review and must include a teaching-practice component; recruitment authority rests with the head of the education institution (public or non-public) or follows separate rules for armed-forces schools. The law defines priority recruitment groups and groups barred from applying (those with restricted civil capacity, under criminal investigation, or with prior convictions for national-security or life/health/dignity offenses).
Reassignment, secondment, and transfer
The law details the grounds and principles for reassigning teachers (institutional restructuring, addressing staff surplus or shortage, support for disadvantaged areas), circumstances where reassignment does not apply (female teachers who are pregnant or raising a child under 36 months), and conditions for voluntary transfer (requires consent from both the sending and receiving institutions; teachers generally need 3 years of service, except when transferring to disadvantaged areas).
Salary, benefits, and retirement policy
Salaries for teachers in public institutions are set at the highest tier of the public administrative pay scale, plus an occupational preference allowance and regional allowances. Teachers in non-public institutions are paid under labor law. The law provides support policies (official housing, travel subsidies for disadvantaged areas) and attraction policies for highly qualified individuals. On retirement: preschool teachers may retire up to 5 years early without any pension-percentage reduction if they have at least 15 years of social insurance contributions; teachers holding the title of professor (up to 10 years), associate professor (up to 7 years), or a doctoral degree (up to 5 years) may work past standard retirement age voluntarily if the institution has a need, but may not hold a management position during that period.
Training, development, and international cooperation
The law sets minimum qualification standards by education level (a teacher-training college diploma for preschool; a bachelor's degree for primary/lower-secondary/upper-secondary; a master's or doctoral degree for university and postgraduate teaching) and a transition roadmap for teachers who have not yet met the standard. The state subsidizes ongoing training. The international-cooperation chapter allows Vietnamese and foreign teachers to exchange teaching and research activities under international treaties and agreements.
Honors, discipline, and state management
November 20 each year is Vietnamese Teachers' Day. The law covers conferral of the People's Teacher and Meritorious Teacher titles; disciplinary handling of teachers (under public-employee or labor law depending on institution type); temporary teaching suspension during disciplinary review; and sanctions for conduct that harms a teacher's reputation, honor, or dignity. The Ministry of Education and Training is the lead state management agency for teaching staff.
Implementation provisions
The law amends Article 66(3a) of the Social Insurance Law No. 41/2024/QH15 regarding pension calculation for preschool teachers who retire early. It took effect January 1, 2026; recruitment or promotion plans already approved before that date may continue for 12 months; and teachers continue receiving seniority allowances until a broader salary-policy reform is implemented.