Modern on the outside, debt-ridden on the inside

AISVN was established under Decision No. 432 dated January 30, 2019 of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee; licensed to operateeducation under Decision No. 1473 dated June 13, 2019 of the Department of Education and Training. The school is piloting the IB Primary Years program and the IB Middle Years and Diploma Programs. The modern school is located in Nha Be, with tuition fees for grades 1-12 corresponding to 450-725 million VND/year, chaired by Ms. Nguyen Thi Ut Em.

The incident happened at AISVN a few years ago, but it had been simmering since before the time when parents were loudly hanging banners demanding debt, many people had been collecting debt for several years. The reason was that many parents whose children studied at AISVN had lent Ms. Ut Em capital in the form of investment. The lenders lent 3 billion, 5 billion, 8 billion, even up to 15 billion; in return, the parents did not have to pay tuition fees while their children were studying at the school. The school committed to returning the loan from the parents when the students finished the program or completed the transfer procedures.

My youngest sister
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ut Em, President of AISVN. Photo: Le Huyen

Parents revealed that AISVN owed them VND3,000 billion, but in fact it had raised capital through three types of contracts with the amount of VND3,600 billion.

The first type is that parents pay 4 billion for their children to study from grade 1 to 12. After their children graduate or transfer schools, they will be refunded. The second type is that parents pay 2 billion for their children to study the entire course and it is not refundable. Finally, parents can choose to pay according to their children's learning progress.

Under pressure from her parents, Ms. Ut Em committed to gradually repaying the debt, and said that the difficulty was due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. At a time when businesses had to cut salaries and bonuses, AISVN still paid salaries and benefits such as housing costs, accommodation, and full airfare for domestic and foreign employees. Ms. Ut Em promised to restructure all financial activities to ensure teaching quality and long-term financial stability in 5 steps, but it was just an empty promise.

The AISVN parents’ plea for help reached its peak when the teachers quit their jobs, causing their children to have to miss school intermittently or just sit around when they did go to school. The parents sent a petition to the authorities, the Department of Education and Training, and the Ho Chi Minh City Police. Ms. Ut Em was accused by the parents of being uncooperative, uninformed, and insensitive to the difficulties and precarious situation of organizing teaching and learning that teachers, students, and parents have been and are facing.

The Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City requires AISVN to ensure maximum benefits for students. The issue of borrowing capital is an agreement between parents and schools. The Department then coordinates with relevant agencies to inspect and evaluate the entire financial situation of AISVN.

The involvement of many agencies to ensure students' rights

In the face of the scandals at AISVN, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City requested Ms. Ut Em to properly implement the regulations on professional activities, school management, and task regulations. The school needs to quickly find a solution to handle and end the situation of teachers resigning en masse to ensure the organization of educational activities, maintain and organize teaching and learning according to the program plan, ensure the learning rights of students, and at the same time resolve the transfer of students according to the needs of parents.

Knowing that the school could not survive, many parents fled AISVN by transferring their children to other schools. The Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City requested the Departments of Education and Training, principals of high schools and foreign-invested schools to create favorable conditions for receiving students who want to transfer from AISVN to study.

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American International School Vietnam - AISVN.

At this time, the Prime Minister also requested the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and the Ministry of Education and Training to direct agencies to immediately implement solutions to ensure students' learning rights and not let their learning be interrupted.

To keep the school going until the end of the 2023-2024 school year, the Department of Education and Training organized a three-party meeting at AISVN. Ms. Ut Em, as the investor and the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, mobilized parents to pay more money so that their children could go to school until the end of the year. For each different level of education, parents pay from 10 to 20 million VND/month. The total amount AISVN needs parents to pay to maintain the school year until the end of May 2024 is 125 billion VND. A bank account jointly owned by the Department of Education and Training, the school, and parents was set up to collect money and pay teachers' salaries. Despite continuous mobilization, parents were only able to contribute more than 30 billion VND - this amount is like a drop in the ocean for AISVN. This situation forced AISVN to end the school year 1 month early. More than 70 grade 12 students were able to study to take the IB exam as planned. The Department of Education and Training also requested AISVN students to move quickly.

School suspended but chairman causes trouble

At the end of the school year, AISVN was suspended from operation for 12 months (from July 1, 2024) by the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City because the school did not ensure the conditions for operation, including financial resources and the number of educational management staff as required. Ms. Ut Em was banned from leaving the country by the authorities.

Although the school was suspended, Ms. Ut Em still carried out some activities to prepare for the new school year such as announcing that she had found an investor, announcing a new principal, conducting a survey of student needs, and preparing for the opening ceremony. These actions of Ms. Ut Em were "whistled" by the Department of Education and Training and required the school to comply with current regulations.

On the other hand, due to tax debts, AISVN was requested by the tax department of District 7 - Nha Be district to revoke its establishment license. Before being prosecuted and temporarily detained, in March 2025, Ms. Ut Em led a group of employees and parents to the school gate, inciting and vandalizing the school. AISVN went from a modern school to a trillion-dollar debt, students scattered, teachers quit, the school was suspended, and the chairman was arrested.

The President of the American International School Board of Vietnam (AISVN) Ms. Nguyen Thi Ut Em (President of the American International School Board of Vietnam (AISVN) and two others have just been prosecuted and temporarily detained by the police.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/chu-tich-truong-quoc-te-my-aisvn-ut-em-tu-vo-no-nghin-ty-den-bi-bat-giam-2397014.html