According to Apax Leaders, as stated by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the total tuition fee that the institution must refund to parents is 108.1 billion VND, of which 14.3 billion VND has already been repaid, leaving approximately 93.8 billion VND still owed. - Photo: TRONG NHAN
He said his family spared no expense in investing in English education for their two children, having chosen two full-service tuition packages: 112 million VND (250 sessions) and 25.6 million VND (96 sessions).
Less than three months later, the center started closing down, and Mr. P., who used to drive his child to Apax for lessons, now has to... demand his money back. What's worrying is that this trend of parents demanding their money back is becoming increasingly common.
There are all sorts of ways to collect debts. For example, a woman in Binh Thanh paid over 80 million VND for a full IELTS course, with a guarantee her child would achieve an IELTS 7.0, but later wanted a refund because she found the center's teaching to be disorganized.
Approximately five groups of parents facing financial difficulties want to withdraw their payments and request a refund of their upfront tuition fees from the international school. Most recently, these groups are involved in the bankruptcy cases of Apax Leaders and the American International School Vietnam (AISVN)...
It is clear that in any transaction involving tuition fees at private schools, parents and students are still at a disadvantage due to legal loopholes.
Government Decree 81 currently stipulates that tuition fees must be collected monthly, but many private educational institutions are turning tuition fees into "educational investment packages," "partnership contracts," "capital contribution contracts," etc.
Under this model, parents pay the school hundreds of millions to billions of dong as an "investment" or "capital contribution," in exchange for their children receiving free or reduced-fee education, sometimes for all 12 years of schooling.
Many schools claim this is a civil transaction, a voluntary agreement between the parties. But is it acceptable when this is also a form of fundraising? Looking at real estate projects, fundraising requires compliance with regulatory frameworks. However, "educational investment" packages – essentially a way for schools to raise capital – are almost entirely unregulated.
While the scale of educational investment packages is also enormous: if an international school has 1,000 students, and only 1/5, or 200 students, participate in the educational investment package, each worth about 5 billion VND, the school would have raised 1,000 billion VND. At this rate, it's very easy for schools to end up "fighting without weapons" and suffer negative consequences.
The second shortcoming is managing the risks that arise if a private educational institution were to become insolvent. If a private secondary school is treated like a business, it could declare bankruptcy or cease operations.
However, general education differs significantly from other types of businesses because it requires stability and continuity. Yet, neither the current Education Law nor the regulations for general schools contain provisions regarding school bankruptcy or inability to operate.
Therefore, when AISVN International School temporarily ceased operations and students were "out of school," the authorities were somewhat perplexed and lacked a legal framework to intervene.
The most feasible thing the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training is doing is to encourage other schools to accept transfer students if there is a need.
Ultimately, the loophole lies in the inspection and accreditation process. In theory, a private English language center or secondary school is regularly inspected by regulatory agencies or independent organizations.
If an educational institution faces a major crisis, are the inspection agencies or accreditation bodies blameless?
In Singapore, independent accreditation bodies are highly effective, continuously assessing the performance of private educational institutions, allowing parents to be aware of potential risks early on.
Socializing education is a sound policy that reduces pressure on the public school system, diversifies choices for students, and creates additional resources for educational development.
However, recent cases of school bankruptcies show that the involvement of the State in management is still very much needed through the establishment of frameworks and institutions to hold investors accountable and protect the interests of parents.
Above all, the State's legal framework will ensure the right to education for students, regardless of whether they attend public or private schools, and regardless of the form of education.
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