Vietnam National Assembly debates education, investment and publishing law reforms

On 5‑6 August, the 16th term of Vietnam’s National Assembly held an extraordinary session to consider a series of legislative amendments. Lawmakers debated a proposal to retake the high‑school graduation exam for 328 candidates in Tuyên Quang after a collective breach of exam integrity, and to separate the graduation exam from university admissions.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra highlighted the need to refine decentralisation and to ensure adequate resources for grassroots mediation, urging the state to guarantee stable funding for local dispute‑resolution bodies.

Parliamentarians also examined a draft amendment to the Investment Law that would cut the list of sectors subject to conditional licensing from 141 to a smaller, risk‑based set, and shift oversight from pre‑approval to post‑approval checks. Another draft amendment to the Publishing Law sought to clarify the responsibilities of publishers and online platforms, aiming to curb “white‑label” practices and illegal digital distribution.

Together, these reforms target the integrity of education assessments, streamline business licensing, strengthen community mediation, and modernise publishing regulation.