Hanoi (VNA)💙 - Six hundred youths who were recruited as commune officials four years ago will be offered appropriate positions when the project ends in July 2017, the Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed.

Vu Dang Minh, director of the Department of Youth Affairs under the ministry, said that according to the personal wishes of these youths and the need of different regions, they would be offered the positions from the commune level that suit their qualifications and qualities. He added that a recent report showed that almost all these youths accomplished their mission at the communes during those four years and only 0.35 percent of those people did not complete it. Previously, some government officials had citizens worried when they announced that they may not have enough jobs for those 600 youths, due to the plan of the government to reduce long-term staff. The project to recruit 600 commune officials was first implemented in 2011. University graduates who were below 30 years of age had an opportunity to become vice chairs of 600 communes in Vietnam, under a 10.25 million USD project which has been approved by the Prime Minister. To be recruited as vice chairs of commune-level People's Committees, candidates must meet the following criteria: be below 30 years of age, hold a university diploma, be a member of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union or the Communist Party of Vietnam, and have good health and good morals. They must commit themselves for at least five years of working in poor communes. Priority is given to candidates from provinces with poor districts, ethnic minority people, or those who can speak the languages of the ethnic minority groups, in addition to those who have completed military services, and have experience in administration. The ministry set up project management units from central to local levels, with the central unit to be in charge of recruitment. They enjoyed the same benefits accorded to deputy chairpersons at the commune level. In addition, the young intellectuals were given free accommodation and were entitled to a permanent residence status in the commune where they work. Through this project, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung allowed poor communes to increase the number of the People's Committee's members from three to five, including one chairperson, two deputy chairpersons and two other officials. The project was implemented in 600 out of 894 poor communes in Vietnam. Each commune will have a vice chair who is recruited under this project. A survey at 680 communes of 62 poor districts in Vietnam shows that only 31.18 percent of commune officials are college or university graduates. Communes need well-trained officials to implement the policies for hunger eradication and poverty reduction, and economic-social development. When this project is completed in July 2017, the home affairs ministry will carry out a new project aimed at recruiting 500 young intellectuals who are willing to contribute to develop the rural and mountainous regions.-VNA