Approval of the draft Law on Vocational Education (amended)

On the afternoon of November 27, continuing the working program, National Assembly deputies worked in the Hall to vote on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Vocational Education and discussed the draft Law on marine and island resources and environment.

* Strengthening the role of the sector management ministry and competent authorities in vocational training institutions

The Draft Law on Vocational Education, consisting of 8 chapters and 79 articles, effective from July 1, 2015, was voted and approved by the National Assembly at the meeting.

The National Assembly voted to pass the Law on Vocational Education. Photo: VNA

The report on explanation, acceptance and revision of the draft Law by the National Assembly Standing Committee has clarified some contents that still have different opinions after discussion. Regarding the expansion of the scope and subjects of regulation of the Law and the consolidation of training levels of vocational education, besides the majority of opinions in favor, some opinions said that bringing the college level to the vocational education level is not consistent with the provisions of the current Law on Education and Law on Higher Education.

The National Assembly Standing Committee said that the consolidation of vocational education levels into three levels: primary, intermediate and college is to institutionalize the content of Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW of the 8th Conference of the 11th Party Central Committee on fundamental and comprehensive innovation of education and training on "unifying the names of training levels" and "re-planning the network of vocational education and higher education institutions" as well as facilitating the planning of a system of training facilities for highly skilled human resources in the spirit of Directive No. 37-CT/TW of the Party Central Committee Secretariat dated June 6, 2014.

The rearrangement of vocational education training levels is based on the theory and practice of vocational training; stemming from the practical situation, the unification of levels aims to overcome the shortcomings arising from practice, creating unity in the national education system; on the other hand, creating favorable conditions for the recognition of equivalence between Vietnam and countries in the ASEAN region in particular and the world in general, meeting the requirements of international integration in vocational training.

Furthermore, the expansion of the scope, subjects of regulation and consolidation of training levels as stipulated in the draft Law does not create legal conflicts but still ensures consistency in the legal system because Clause 2, Article 9 of the Law on promulgation of legal documents allows the Law promulgated later to amend and supplement a number of provisions of a number of previously promulgated Laws. Specifically, Articles 77 and 78 of the draft Law have amended, supplemented and abolished provisions in other laws related to vocational secondary schools, colleges and general technical-vocational centers.

Regarding the state management agency for vocational education, the majority of delegates agreed on the need to unify a focal agency to represent the Government in performing the state management responsibility for vocational education. However, the delegates' opinions on assigning this responsibility to a specific government agency were different and suggested that there should be careful and thorough research and consideration before deciding.

In response to the delegates' opinions, the National Assembly Standing Committee directed relevant agencies to continue to carefully and comprehensively consider the state management agency on vocational education, and at the same time directed the Secretariat of the session to send a request for National Assembly delegates' opinions on this issue. The results showed that the delegates' opinions on this issue were not yet focused, and no plan was agreed upon by more than 50% of the National Assembly delegates.

The National Assembly Standing Committee proposed that the National Assembly maintain the provisions on this issue as in the current Law on Vocational Training: assigning the Government to unify state management of vocational education and assigning specific agencies to represent the Government to be responsible for implementing state management of this field in accordance with the Government's operational requirements in each period. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the role of the sector management ministry and the governing agency for vocational education institutions.

* Building and perfecting the legal system on the sea

Discussing the draft Law on marine and island resources and environment, many National Assembly deputies agreed with the necessity of promulgating the Law on marine and island resources and environment, which is an objective practical requirement to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the work of comprehensive management of marine and island resources and environment.

The law-making aims to continue to build and complete the legal system on the sea in a complete manner according to the requirements of the Resolution of the 4th Conference of the 10th Party Central Committee on Vietnam's Marine Strategy to 2020; to strengthen the comprehensive management of marine and island resources and environment based on the viewpoint emphasized in Resolution No. 24-NQ/TW dated June 3, 2013 of the 7th Conference of the 11th Party Central Committee on proactively responding to climate change, strengthening resource management and environmental protection...

Some opinions say that the promulgation of the Law on marine and island resources and environment aims to overcome some overlaps in documents on exploitation and use of resources, causing marine resources to gradually degrade and marine environmental pollution to become more complicated; improve the effectiveness of comprehensive management of marine and island resources and environment; contribute to perfecting the important legal basis for exercising national sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction at sea...

Some opinions assess that this is a new Law with a wide scope of regulation, related to many other laws. Therefore, the Drafting Committee must review and clarify the scope of regulation, management objects, and division of responsibilities between ministries and branches in the comprehensive management of marine and island environmental resources to avoid overlapping with the provisions of other laws, ensuring the consistency of the legal system and compliance with international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.

Delegate Hoang Thanh Tung (Soc Trang) assessed that the content of the draft Law is related to the provisions of many specialized laws. Specifically: Vietnam Sea Law, Mineral Law, Land Law, Fisheries Law, Water Resources Law, Petroleum Law, Biodiversity Law, Tourism Law, Construction Law, Maritime Law, Environmental Protection Law, National Border Law, Science and Technology Law... as well as international treaties on the sea to which Vietnam is a member such as the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, so he requested the Government to direct a careful review of the draft Law's contents to ensure they are consistent with the above laws and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Delegates suggested that in case it is necessary to amend relevant laws, research and propose to amend those laws at the same time to ensure the consistency of the legal system.

Delegate Tran Van Minh (Quang Ninh) suggested that it is necessary to continue reviewing and comparing with specialized laws to ensure the strictness and consistency of the legal system. The delegate assessed that this draft has up to 14/76 articles, accounting for about 20%, assigned to the Government and ministries and branches for detailed regulations, not to mention there are very general provisions, not assigned to any specific agency. According to the delegate, if there are no clear regulations, it will be very difficult for the law to be effectively implemented.

* Clarify the scope of the law

The content and scope of the draft Law on marine and island resources and environment have basically determined the boundary between the Law on marine and island resources and environment and other related laws that also regulate the field of resources and environment such as: Law on Fisheries, Law on Minerals, Law on Petroleum, Law on Water Resources, Law on Biodiversity, Law on Land, Law on Vietnam Sea, Law on Environmental Protection... The draft Law on marine and island resources and environment has focused on regulating the tools and mechanisms for coordination and collaboration in the comprehensive management of marine and island resources and environment.

However, many opinions suggested that the Drafting Committee review and revise Clause 1 of this Article to make the provisions clearer, avoid overlaps and facilitate application in the actual situation of Vietnam. At the same time, research and supplement the draft Law with regulations to ensure comprehensive management of resources and environment in the scope of Vietnam's sea areas.

Delegate Hoang Thanh Tung assessed that the scope of regulation using the concept of integrated management in this regulation is not appropriate; it does not clearly indicate the main content that the draft Law regulates, which is the mechanisms that are not part of inter-sectoral coordination in the management of exploitation and use of marine and island resources and environment for the purpose of sustainable development. Furthermore, this concept will lead to the understanding that a regulation on management covers all types of marine and island resources, overlapping with the scope of regulation of other specialized laws.

On the other hand, coastal zone management is defined as a consistent principle in the management, exploitation, use of resources and environmental protection, which has been recognized in this draft Law and many other specialized laws. Delegates suggested that the drafting agency consider the provisions on the scope of regulation to clarify the above issue.

Delegate Do Van Ve (Thai Binh) said that the scope of regulation of the draft law has not clearly defined the boundary of the scope of regulation with other laws, especially the Law on Environmental Protection and laws on resources such as the Land Law, Law on Forest Protection and Development, Law on Water Resources, etc., so it is not completely convincing about the necessity of promulgating this law.

Delegates pointed out specific provisions that sometimes overlap, duplicate or contradict provisions in other laws. Specifically, the provisions on the scope of regulation partially overlap with the provisions on the scope of regulation of the 2012 Law on Water Resources. In addition, some contents have not been regulated in the scope of regulation of this draft law such as reefs, surface water, submerged water and artificial islands.

Delegates recommended reviewing regulations to avoid duplication with other legal regulations; at the same time, it is necessary to include reefs, surface water, and submerged water in the scope of regulation...

* Clearly explain the scientific and practical basis of coastal zone regulations

Discussing the regulation on the scope of coastal areas (Article 22), Clause 2, Article 22 of the draft Law on marine and island resources and environment stipulates that "Coastal waters are waters with a width of 06 nautical miles from the average low tide level of many years out to sea", some opinions suggested that the Drafting Committee should clearly explain the scientific and practical basis of this regulation, clarify the difference between "coastal areas" and sea areas according to the provisions of the Law of the Sea of ​​Vietnam; consider the regulation on the scope of coastal areas to ensure the feasibility of organizing the implementation of integrated management of coastal resources and environment and in accordance with the provisions of the law on national borders.

Delegate Hoang Thi To Nga (Nam Dinh) said that the provisions in the draft law do not have a solid scientific and practical basis. The calculated data is the average low tide level of many years ago, but in the current conditions of climate change and rising sea levels, the low tide level can change and affect the determination of coastal areas.

Inaccurate regulations on defining coastal zones can affect the country's maritime rights and cause many difficulties in State management in the field of marine environmental resources. The delegate asked the drafting committee to clearly explain the basis for introducing the concept of coastal zones. According to the delegate, sea zones should be regulated for comprehensive management of environmental resources according to the provisions of sea zones in the Law of the Sea of ​​Vietnam.

Sharing the same view with delegate Hoang Thi To Nga, regarding the coastal area, delegate Nguyen Thi Quoc Khanh (Hanoi) requested the drafting committee to explain more clearly the basis for the concept of coastal waters to ensure national sovereignty issues, while at the same time being consistent with the Law of the Sea and international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.

In principle, the basis for establishing a master plan for exploiting and sustainably using coastal resources, delegate Nguyen Hoai Phuong (Tay Ninh) assessed that there were no principles regulating the binding of the exploitation and use of coastal resources with the protection of the sea and islands (a principle of national defense) or ensuring national security and social order and safety (a principle of security); there were no bases to ensure national security and defense content for establishing a master plan for exploiting and sustainably using coastal resources.

From this analysis, the delegate suggested that the drafting agency supplement the principles and bases to ensure national defense and security in the master plan for exploitation and sustainable use of coastal resources. The delegate stated that the principles of ensuring national defense and security must be researched and included by the drafting committee in Article 5: Principles for integrated management of marine and island resources and environment and Article 9: Principles and bases for establishing strategies for exploitation and sustainable use of resources and protection of marine and island environment to overcome loopholes in the state management process, especially in calling for investment, especially investors with foreign elements...

At the discussion session, delegates gave their opinions on the content of protecting the marine and island environment; responsibility for comprehensive management of marine and island resources and environment; strategy for exploiting and sustainably using marine and island resources and environment...

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