What does the British Council say?

IELTS test takers at the British Council

Speaking to Thanh Nien at noon on May 11, the British Council officially spoke out about the illegal issuance of 37,917 Aptis certificates and 52,564 IELTS certificates in 2022. "The British Council would like to confirm that the two exams and certificates we issue: IELTS and Aptis, are international language proficiency assessments with high standards and are recognized globally," the unit stated.

According to the British Council, all IELTS and Aptis exams held in Vietnam always fully comply with international regulations and standards that are applied uniformly worldwide. This unit also cited the announcement of the Ministry of Education and Training issued on May 9 about the validity of foreign language certificates issued by foreign organizations in Vietnam, which clearly stated that certificates issued in violation of regulations "are used normally".

"Therefore, all IELTS and Aptis certificates issued by the British Council in Vietnam are valid for domestic and international study and work purposes, as well as immigration abroad. We are committed to always maintaining the quality of testing activities in accordance with the regulations and standards of international testing councils and the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training," the unit informed.

Previously, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education and Training concluded that British Council Vietnam Company Limited, i.e. the British Council, had illegally issued more than 90,000 English certificates in 2022, including IELTS and Aptis. Specifically, since the beginning of 2022, the British Council and other parties have organized hundreds of exams nationwide, even though at that time the Ministry of Education and Training had not yet permitted them to jointly organize exams and issue certificates.

Specifically, from January 1 to September 9, 2022, the British Council issued 31,871 Aptis certificates and 44,345 IELTS certificates. And from September 10, 2022 until being licensed, this unit continued to issue 6,046 Aptis certificates and 8,219 IELTS certificates. In total, the British Council issued 90,481 English certificates in violation of regulations in 2022, including 37,917 Aptis certificates and 52,564 IELTS certificates.

According to the inspection conclusion, this move violates the provisions of Circular 11/2022 of the Ministry of Education and Training and Decree 86/2018 of the Government. The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education and Training also recommended that the British Council review all activities and report to the Department of Quality Management (Ministry of Education and Training) on ​​how to handle the number of English certificates that were issued in violation of regulations.

Previously, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education and Training also came to a similar conclusion with IDP Vietnam Education Company Limited (IDP) on May 8. Thus, a total of more than 108,000 IELTS certificates were issued in violation of regulations in 2022.

However, candidates should not worry about this move. Because, on May 9, the Ministry of Education and Training said that the English certificates that were issued in violation of regulations were "used normally" in examination, enrollment and training activities, "not affecting the rights of the certificate holders". Also according to the Ministry of Education and Training at that time, IDP was not the only unit being inspected related to the activities of organizing examinations and issuing foreign language certificates.

IELTS is an international English assessment system, accepted by more than 100 higher education institutions in Vietnam to convert test results into English scores for admission. The Ministry of Education and Training also allows candidates with IELTS scores of 4.0 or higher to be exempted from the high school graduation exam in foreign languages. And according to IELTS statistics, the average test score of Vietnamese people in 2022 is 6.2, ranking 23rd in the world.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hon-90000-chung-chi-tieng-anh-bi-cap-sai-quy-dinh-hoi-dong-anh-khang-dinh-gi-185240511125249247.htm