Vietnam Overhauls Rules for Retired Teachers and Visiting Lecturers in Education Reform
Published on 07/20/2026 at 04:42 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Starting 1 September 2026, Vietnam will implement a new regulatory framework that significantly changes how retired educators and visiting lecturers can contribute to the country's schools and universities. Circular 59/2026/TT-BGD?T, which replaces earlier decrees from 2011 and 2013, aims to raise education standards while tightening oversight of temporary teaching arrangements.
Retired teachers gain full-time rights
For the first time, pensioned teachers can sign full-time employment contracts. Previous age caps are scrapped entirely. Candidates must hold the appropriate qualifications, pass a health check, and have a clean disciplinary record. Their hiring, however, may not slow the development of younger staff — retired teachers are explicitly not intended as permanent replacements for tenured faculty.
As of 2026, the standard retirement ages in Vietnam are 61 years and 6 months for men and 57 years for women. Pay for retired teachers working under this scheme will be negotiated on an individual basis. A critical restriction: each person may hold only one full-time contract at a time.
Visiting lecturers get broader roles and stronger protections
The circular greatly expands what visiting lecturers can do. Beyond classroom teaching, they may now engage in research, contribute to textbook development, and assist with student counseling. The regulation draws a clear line between employment contracts and service agreements, which should reduce legal ambiguity.
New entitlements include access to teaching materials and institutional resources, as well as eligibility to participate in professional development activities. Under certain conditions, a visiting lecturer may even be nominated for a professorship or receive a state honor. The right to terminate the contract unilaterally is also enshrined.
Institutions face new responsibilities
Schools and universities must draw up detailed plans for deploying contract and visiting lecturers, then make those plans public. Performance quality will be evaluated on a regular basis.
Existing agreements signed before 1 September 2026 are allowed to run for a maximum of 12 more months. After that grace period, every teaching arrangement must comply with the new standards. The overall goal, according to the circular, is greater transparency and consistent quality across Vietnam’s education system.
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