Life skills education centers: Establishment requirements, licensing procedures, and related legal risks

Life skills education is becoming an area of growing interest to businesses, particularly as the demand for skills training for children, students, and employees continues to increase. From a legal perspective, however, this is not merely an ordinary training service. When a business operates under the model of a “life skills education center,” its activities fall within the regulatory framework governing education and are subject to specialized oversight by the competent education authorities.

Businesses should focus not only on registering the appropriate business lines but, more importantly, on correctly identifying the type of educational institution, understanding the establishment requirements and conditions for maintaining operations, and completing the required licensing procedures before commencing training activities.

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1. A life skills education center is a type of continuing education institution

Under the 2019 Law on Education, continuing education institutions include continuing education centers, vocational education and continuing education centers, community learning centers, and other centers performing continuing education functions.

Further elaborating on this provision, Clause 3, Article 39 of Decree No. 360/2026/ND-CP provides that other centers performing continuing education functions include foreign language centers; information technology centers; foreign language and information technology centers; language and culture centers; life skills education centers; knowledge enhancement centers; arts centers; and centers providing training and professional development programs to enhance professional competencies.

Accordingly, under the laws on education, a life skills education center falls within the category of continuing education institutions, specifically the group of other centers performing continuing education functions, and is subject to specialized education regulations.

Therefore, a business intending to establish and operate a life skills education center must satisfy all applicable requirements and obtain a decision on establishment or permission for establishment from the competent authority in accordance with the specialized laws on education.

2. What requirements must a business satisfy to establish a center?

Under Decree No. 360/2026/ND-CP, the establishment of, or permission to establish, other centers performing continuing education functions must satisfy the principal requirements concerning premises, facilities, educational programs and materials, and personnel.

First, premises and facilities.

The center must have premises, facilities, classrooms, functional rooms, and teaching equipment that meet the requirements of the educational programs delivered at the center, in accordance with regulations issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Second, educational programs and materials.

The center must have teaching and learning materials that meet the requirements of the educational programs delivered at the center, in accordance with regulations issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Although the law does not prescribe detailed mandatory content for the curricula and teaching materials of life skills education centers, this is nevertheless an area that businesses should carefully prepare when compiling their application dossiers. Clearly identifying the target learners, age groups, training objectives, content, and teaching methods will provide a basis for determining the corresponding requirements for facilities, equipment, teachers, and teaching materials.

Third, personnel.

The center must have a sufficient number of management personnel, teachers, staff, and employees who meet the requirements of their respective positions to deliver the educational programs at the center, in accordance with regulations issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

In addition, the Ministry of Education and Training has issued Circular No. 04/2014/TT-BGDDT, which governs life skills education activities and extracurricular educational activities. The Circular remains in effect and prescribes requirements concerning facilities, teachers, presenters, trainers, curricula, and materials used in these educational activities, including the following:

• Classrooms and functional rooms must have adequate lighting and satisfy school hygiene requirements. Teaching equipment must be safe and appropriate to the teaching content, educational activities, and the psychological characteristics of learners at different ages.
• Teachers, presenters, and trainers conducting life skills education activities must satisfy requirements concerning health, moral character, disciplinary status, criminal liability, pedagogical qualifications, and knowledge of life skills or relevant educational fields.
• Curricula and materials used in educational activities must be consistent with Vietnamese customs and traditions and must not violate the law. Where self-selected or self-developed materials are used, approval from the competent authority must be obtained in accordance with applicable regulations.

3. Procedures for establishing a center: What must a business prepare?

Licensing authority

Under Point a, Clause 5, Article 4 of Decree No. 360/2026/ND-CP, the Director of the Department of Education and Training has the authority to decide on the establishment of, or grant permission to establish, other centers performing continuing education functions, including life skills education centers.

Application dossier and procedures

The business must prepare one set of application documents, generally comprising the following:

1. A written application for the establishment of, or permission to establish, the center;

2. Legal documents evidencing land use rights or homeownership, or a lease agreement for the premises and facilities with a minimum term of three years;

3. Documents explaining the funds and assets already invested or committed to be invested in an amount appropriate to the center’s proposed scale of operations. Depending on the form of capital contribution, source of funds, type of contributed assets, and status of capital contribution at the time of submission, the dossier may include one or more of the following documents:

• A credit agreement or a credit commitment issued by a credit institution or a foreign bank branch for investment in the center;
• A confirmation that funds in the investor’s payment account have been frozen;
• Money transfer documents or other documents evidencing financial resources already allocated or investment already made;
• Invoices, contracts, acceptance records, payment records, or other lawful documents evidencing the value of capital invested in construction, procurement of facilities, technical infrastructure, and equipment;
• Documents evidencing lawful ownership or use rights over contributed assets, together with documents determining the value of such assets in accordance with the laws on enterprises and other relevant laws, where capital contributions are made in the form of assets.

The business may submit its application through the National Public Service Portal, VNeID, postal services, or directly at the receiving authority’s One-Stop Service Unit.

Under Article 40 of Decree No. 360/2026/ND-CP, the processing period is 10 working days from the date on which a complete and valid application dossier is received.

4. Legal risks associated with establishing and operating a center without the required authorization

Establishing a center without permission from the competent authority

Under Article 5 of Decree No. 04/2021/ND-CP, the act of establishing or permitting the establishment of a continuing education institution without authorization from the competent authority may be subject to an administrative fine ranging from VND 20 million to VND 40 million for a continuing education institution.

In addition, the violating business may be subject to remedial measures intended to protect learners’ rights. Specifically, it may be required to transfer learners to an eligible institution or, where such transfer is not possible, cancel admission decisions and refund the amounts collected.

Conducting educational activities without authorization

Under Clause 5, Article 6 of Decree No. 04/2021/ND-CP, conducting educational activities or providing educational services without authorization to operate, in the case of a continuing education institution, may be subject to an administrative fine ranging from VND 20 million to VND 40 million.

Similar to the case of establishing a center without permission from the competent authority, the business may also be required to transfer learners to an eligible institution or, if such transfer is not possible, cancel admission decisions and refund the fees collected.

Accordingly, from a risk management perspective, businesses should not equate registration of business lines or incorporation of a legal entity with authorization to conduct educational activities. A life skills education center must complete the establishment procedures or obtain permission for establishment under the specialized laws on education before commencing operations. Conducting activities without satisfying the applicable legal requirements may result in administrative penalties and other sanctions prescribed by law.

5. Conclusion and recommendations

To establish and operate a life skills education center, a business must satisfy the requirements under the specialized laws on education, particularly those relating to facilities, personnel, educational programs, and teaching materials. It must also complete the establishment procedures or obtain permission for establishment from the competent authority.

Failure to comply with the relevant legal requirements and procedures may result in administrative penalties, remedial measures, and associated financial obligations, and may also affect the center’s ability to continue operating.

This article was prepared by Vy Le, with consultation from Lawyer Y Huynh.

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice for any specific case. The legal provisions cited herein are effective as of the date of publication but may subsequently be amended, supplemented, replaced, or repealed. Readers are therefore advised to consult a lawyer before applying the information in this article to their specific circumstances.