(Dan Tri) - A series of scandals in 2024 at a number of international schools and expensive schools caused a stir in public opinion.
Teachers "on strike", school presidents have banners hung demanding debt, the case of American International School Vietnam (AISVN) owing parents more than 3,200 billion VND for more than a year continues to cause a stir.
The incident broke out in September last year, when many parents hung banners because they could not "collect their debts". This was the amount of money that parents lent the school without interest, without collateral, only through a loan contract. In return, their children could study for free, and the school would return the loan when the students graduated or transferred schools.
At the end of 2024, many parents of American International School Vietnam (AISVN) were surprised to receive a notice from the School Board that the school was expected to open in January 2025.
The school will also publish information about the teaching and learning program, survey information to ask parents for opinions on facilities and means of transportation; update and exchange information between the school and parents and in the community...
The school representative also informed that, at the same time as dealing with problems with state management agencies, debt obligations and large debts so that the school can continue to operate, the school has rebuilt the teaching staff and restructured the curriculum for this new school year, submitting it to the People's Committee and the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City for approval.
Thereby, the school year program can be completed within the expected time from January 2025 to August 2025, students can still study fully, without interruption or loss of knowledge during this school year.
Parents hang banners demanding debt from American International School in September 2023 (Photo: PHCC).
American International School is one of the most expensive non-public schools in Ho Chi Minh City. In the 2023-2024 school year, the school's highest tuition fee is 725 million VND/year, not including many other expenses.
At the end of the 2023-2024 school year, after falling into prolonged debt, the American International School lost its financial capacity, which affected the organization of educational activities.
At the end of May 2024, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City issued a decision to suspend enrollment for the American International School. In early July 2024, the department decided to suspend the educational activities of this school due to failure to ensure operating conditions.
Even during the suspension period, although the school had not yet submitted a proper restructuring plan to the department, it still informed parents that it would start the new school year in August 2024.
At that time, the Department of Education and Training confirmed and advised parents that the American International School was not qualified to resume operations for the 2024-2025 school year. The Department also organized guidance for parents of the American International School to transfer their children to another school.
The school's commitment to parents on the morning of December 2 (Photo: Ngoc Nguyen).
In Hanoi recently, many parents of "Rosemont American International Kindergarten" Long Bien campus received messages from teachers announcing temporary leave because the school owed them salaries.
The school confirmed the information about unpaid wages because the previous owner had "held" 5-7 billion VND in tuition fees that parents paid before March. The new owner is having difficulty with revenue as the number of new students enrolling is not high.
In the meeting minutes, school representatives pledged to pay teachers' full salaries to ensure children would return to school.
However, that same evening, the school sent a letter to parents announcing the temporary suspension of operations.
Ms. Dao Thi Hoa - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Long Bien district - said: "Rosemont American International Kindergarten" is not an international school but just an independent group of children, with a size of 35 students.
This independent preschool is officially called Rose Mountain Preschool.
After a few days, the "American International Kindergarten" welcomed children back to school. In the announcement, the school apologized to parents for interrupting children's learning for the past two days, and said that it had completed the entire October salary regime for teachers, staff and suppliers.
The highest tuition fee at Saigon Star International School is 529 million VND, excluding other fees (Photo: Screenshot).
In mid-December, students at Saigon Star International School - which has the highest tuition fee of over half a billion VND in Ho Chi Minh City - stopped going to school when the school temporarily closed.
The authorities will create conditions for the school to operate at the new facility located at National Highway 13, Hiep Binh Phuoc Ward, Thu Duc City when the school complies with the regulations.
The above move by the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City was made after the Star International School suddenly announced a temporary closure, students will be off from school from December 14 until February 12, 2025, when the school will reopen at a new facility.
This information made many parents at the school extremely worried, especially those families who had paid tuition fees under the billion-dong education investment package at the school.
It is known that Saigon Star School has temporarily suspended operations and moved to a new facility due to forced execution of a judgment on the land where it is operating.
The Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City requested the school to coordinate in making plans and creating conditions to transfer children and students studying at Saigon Star School to other schools in the city, ensuring the rights of children and students.
In the 2024-2025 school year, this school has tuition fees ranging from 163 million to a maximum of 530 million VND depending on the grade level. This tuition fee does not include other fees such as boarding fees, facilities fees, learning materials, shuttle buses, etc.
Calculated based on actual school days in a year, the highest cost of studying at school can be up to nearly 3.5 million VND/day.
Previously in Nha Trang City, VCN International Kindergarten required parents to sign a form stating "voluntarily accepting potential risks in swimming activities". Requiring parents to sign a form with such content caused controversy.
Many parents are upset, the above clause puts parents in a difficult situation when their children encounter risks while learning to swim at school. "Voluntarily accepting risks..." is understood as entrusting the lives of young children to the school. If there is an accident with the child, the parents will be responsible!
The provision also requires parents to "voluntarily" relieve the school and swim instructor of responsibility should any risks arise.
In response to the controversy from parents, a media representative of VCN Investment Joint Stock Company (investor of VCN International Kindergarten) said that the incident is still being handled.
This representative pledged that the school will work with parents to find the most satisfactory solution and will have information in the near future.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/lum-xum-o-truong-dat-tien-phu-huynh-nha-giau-cung-khoc-20241230164655973.htm
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