Up to 600 young Vietnamese with bachelor degrees or higher qualifications could be recruited as deputy chairpersons of communes in 61 poor districts nationwide, according to a planned government project.

To be selected, the graduates would also need to have leadership and pioneering qualities, deputy head of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ General Planning Department Vu Dang Minh said.

The Prime Minister has ordered the ministry to draw up a draft and carry out the project that would run for five years.

Minh said that youngVietnamese people, aged between 23 and 30 either living at home or abroad, would be eligible for the appointments, instead of the current proposal of under 26 years old,

The project, which is scheduled to start next year, also encourages leaders of district-level agencies to be ready to accept positions in commune People’s Committees in poor districts.

The first group of about 100 people would be selected for a three-month training programme next year to prepare them for positions in five districts, which will be selected as pilot projects, Minh said.

He said the ministry would use experience gained from the five pilot districts to recruit and train graduates for the remaining localities.

The project aims to assist poor districts to reduce poverty./.