Ho Chi Minh City regulates the activities of private schools and international schools

Non-public schools must separate business and school activities in terms of capital mobilization and financial investment, according to the requirements of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training.

On September 25, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City issued a document to rectify the operations of non-public schools.

In particular, for private schools with domestic capital, the Department recommends separating the business activities and the school activities in terms of capital mobilization, bond issuance, and signing financial investment cooperation.

This move came after many parents gathered to demand debt from the American International School Vietnam (AISVN) on September 21. These parents said they lent the school tens of billions of dong without interest so that their children could study for free, but now that their children have graduated, they have not received any repayment.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said it will send a delegation to work with the American International School Vietnam on September 27 to learn about the financial situation, operations, and solutions for parents.

American International School Vietnam campus in Nha Be district. Photo: AISVN — American International School Vietnam campus in Nha Be district. Photo: *AISVN*

In addition, schools with domestic capital are only allowed to teach foreign programs if they have an approval decision for an integrated training program issued by the Ministry of Education and Training and an approval for educational cooperation with foreign countries issued by the Department. The ratio of permanent teachers must be at least 40% of the total number of teachers. These schools must also collect tuition fees and declare service prices according to Decree 81 of the Government.

For kindergartens and primary schools with foreign investment, the Department recommends that they teach according to the licensed curriculum and fully implement compulsory education content for Vietnamese students. The number of Vietnamese students that the school is allowed to accept is less than 50% of the total number of students in the school.

Ho Chi Minh City currently has 961 non-public schools, from kindergarten to high school, with 274,000 students. Of these, more than 20 schools teach general education programs from the UK, US, Canada, and Australia, often referred to as international schools. According to this program, students who finish grade 12 must take a graduation exam to receive one of the following certificates: the English A-level, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, Canada (OSSD). Tuition fees at these schools range from VND100 million to nearly VND1 billion per year.

Le Nguyen

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