Vietnam is embarking on an ambitious overhaul of its public service units, with sweeping changes planned for educational and healthcare institutions across the country. The Ministry of Education and Training (Bộ GD&ĐT) and local authorities are at the heart of this transformation, aiming to streamline operations, boost efficiency, and improve the quality of services provided to citizens. The process, however, is marked by both high-level directives and on-the-ground challenges that reflect the complexity of Vietnam's public sector landscape.
On October 19, 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training sent a formal document to the Ministry of Home Affairs, outlining a comprehensive plan to reorganize public service units—including universities directly under the Ministry’s jurisdiction. According to reporting from the Vietnamese government news portal, this move is part of a broader effort to restructure the university education system and transfer some universities to local management. The final decision on these changes is expected to come from the Prime Minister in 2026.
The Ministry has been tasked with developing two key projects: one to reorganize and restructure the higher education system, and another to facilitate the transfer of certain universities to provincial oversight. In a bid to ensure a unified and streamlined approach, the Ministry is working to merge these projects—particularly the transfer of multi-disciplinary universities—into a single, cohesive plan. As the Ministry finalizes its implementation strategy, officials are preparing to report their progress and proposals to the Government and the Prime Minister.
Yet, despite the momentum, the actual reorganization of universities and vocational education institutions directly under the Ministry has not commenced. The reason, as detailed by the Ministry, lies in the practical difficulties and the absence of a clear legal framework. One significant hurdle is the proposed creation of vocational secondary schools, a new organizational model currently under consideration in the draft amended Vocational Education Law. This law is slated for submission to the National Assembly during its 10th session. Without this legal foundation, there is no basis to proceed with merging vocational education and continuing education centers into vocational secondary schools equivalent to general secondary schools.
Given these constraints, the Ministry has proposed a phased approach: first, to review and streamline vocational education and continuing education centers by geographic area, and, where appropriate, to merge or convert them into vocational secondary schools or integrate them into existing intermediate or college-level institutions. However, such transformations will only proceed after the amended law is passed. In the meantime, the Ministry is focusing on ensuring that each province or city has no more than three vocational schools, excluding those that are self-financing. This measure is designed to concentrate resources, increase the scale of operations, and enhance training quality.
There’s an added layer of complexity in the terminology itself. The current Education Law and Vocational Education Law do not define the term "vocational school"—they only recognize colleges and intermediate schools. As a result, the Ministry emphasizes that the reorganization and streamlining of public colleges and intermediate schools is essential for restructuring, pooling resources, and ultimately delivering better training outcomes. Special consideration is being given to provinces and cities with large labor forces and a high concentration of public colleges and intermediate schools. The plan is to involve both autonomous and non-autonomous institutions, ensuring that the focus remains squarely on quality and operational effectiveness.
Previously, the Ministry of Education and Training issued guidance for reorganizing preschool, general education, and continuing education institutions to align with the two-level local government structure. This effort dovetails with similar initiatives in the healthcare sector, as provincial authorities seek to modernize and optimize public services across the board.
In Gia Lai province, for instance, local leaders have been quick to respond to central directives. On September 27, 2025, the Provincial People's Committee issued Plan No. 02/PA-UBND, which sets out a roadmap for reorganizing public service units under a two-level local government model. The Department of Health has taken the lead in this area, coordinating with relevant agencies to propose the transfer of existing health stations to become commune-level health stations managed by commune-level People's Committees. The aim is to ensure that, upon approval by the Provincial People's Committee, these new health stations are established quickly and equipped with adequate facilities.
The Department of Health is expected to submit its transfer proposal, along with necessary adjustments to the functions, duties, powers, and organizational structures of health centers, to the Provincial People's Committee before October 22, 2025. Once approved, commune-level People's Committees will have the authority to establish and operate these health stations immediately, minimizing disruption to public health services.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education and Training in Gia Lai is conducting a thorough review of the entire educational network, as mandated by Official Letter No. 6165/BGDĐT-GDPT dated October 2, 2025. This review covers the number of schools, substandard preschools and primary schools, ethnic boarding schools, and multi-level schools that may emerge after reorganization. It also includes a plan for reorganizing vocational education and continuing education institutions. The process is designed with clear objectives, tasks, timelines, resource allocations, and, crucially, a roadmap to prevent confusion or disruption in teaching and learning schedules. The resulting proposals must be submitted to the Provincial People's Committee, via the Department of Home Affairs, before October 22, 2025.
Other public service units are also being reorganized in line with central and provincial directives. The Department of Agriculture and Environment, for example, is preparing plans to merge branches of land registration offices, animal husbandry and veterinary stations, and crop protection stations, with a deadline of October 25, 2025. Each relevant department is required to submit its reorganization plan to the Provincial People's Committee, ensuring that the changes are tailored to local conditions and avoid overburdening existing facilities during the transition period.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, "The reorganization and streamlining of public colleges and intermediate schools is necessary to restructure, concentrate resources, increase scale, and improve training quality." This sentiment is echoed at the local level, where officials stress the importance of aligning changes with the realities on the ground. The Department of Home Affairs is playing a key role in coordinating these efforts, ensuring that proposals are consistent with central directives and adapted to the specific needs of each province.
As Vietnam moves forward with this ambitious reorganization, the stakes are high. The reforms promise to make public service delivery more efficient and responsive to local needs. Yet, the process is fraught with legal, logistical, and operational challenges that require careful navigation. The coming months—and indeed, the decisions expected in 2026—will determine how successfully Vietnam can reshape its educational and healthcare systems for a new era.
The path to a more streamlined, effective public sector in Vietnam is clearly mapped out, but the journey is just beginning. How these changes play out in classrooms, clinics, and communities across the country will be watched closely by policymakers and the public alike.
