The Ministry of Education and Training speaks out on the issue of 'foreign university degrees not being recognized'.

The Ministry of Education and Training has just provided some initial information regarding the case of several students requesting recognition of diplomas awarded by Liverpool John Moores University, along with feedback on the joint training program at the London College of Design and Fashion (Hanoi).

The student's diploma does not meet the requirements.

The Center for Diploma Recognition under the Department of Quality Management - Ministry of Education and Training announced that it has received the application of Ms. Ngo Thu Quynh, requesting recognition of her university degree awarded by Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom. To facilitate consideration, on October 6, 2025, the Department of Quality Management sent a letter to the training institution requesting information about the student's academic history.

A female student felt devastated and lost hope upon receiving news that her degree was not recognized by the Ministry of Education and Training. (Illustrative image: Vietnamnet)

On October 10, 2025, London Fashion College - Hanoi Co., Ltd. sent a document containing information regarding Ms. Quynh's study program. After reviewing current legal regulations and the provided documents, the Quality Management Department issued Document No. 1806 on October 28, 2025, stating that the university degree awarded by Liverpool John Moores University did not meet the requirements for recognition under Circular 13 of 2021 of the Ministry of Education and Training.

The school has not been licensed to conduct joint training programs with foreign countries.

The Ministry of Education and Training also clarified current regulations for vocational education institutions with foreign investment. According to the Vocational Education Law and related decrees, these institutions are entitled to use foreign training programs recognized for their quality by reputable foreign or international educational and training organizations to carry out training tasks as prescribed by law; they have the autonomy to develop programs under the direction of the head of the central state management agency for vocational education; and they organize the teaching of Vietnamese training programs and foreign training programs within the framework of licensed joint training programs.

"However, to date, the London College of Design and Fashion has not been granted a license to conduct joint training programs with foreign countries for any ngành (field of study) or nghề (profession)," the Ministry stated.

The Ministry of Education and Training further stated that the registration of joint training activities with foreign countries is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the 2014 Vocational Education and Training Law and related legal documents.

In accordance with the 2014 Vocational Education Law and Decree No. 143 of 2016 issued by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, there were previously guiding documents on the implementation of several aspects of vocational education, including requirements for vocational education institutions to convert training programs and vocational training operating licenses into certificates of registration for vocational education activities.

However, upon reviewing the period from 2015 to the present, the General Department of Vocational Education (now the Department of Vocational Education and Continuing Education, Ministry of Education and Training) has not received any application from the London College of Design and Fashion requesting the conversion of its vocational education registration certificate in accordance with the above regulations.

Previously, over 40 former students of the London College of Design and Fashion were shocked and filed complaints with authorities after paying hundreds of millions of dong in tuition fees but the Ministry of Education and Training refused to recognize their degrees awarded by Liverpool John Moores University. The students stated that when advertising and publishing program information on the school's website, the school promised students that their "internationally recognized degrees would be valid worldwide."

" Because they trusted the promised information, many people registered for the courses. The courses had a total of over 40 students. The amount each student had to pay for the final year of university-level studies alone was approximately 289 million VND ," the complaint stated.