Where to ensure learner rights?

The problems at AISVN International School began at the start of this school year, when in September 2023 many parents complained and demanded that the school "repay" tens of billions of VND through a 0% interest loan agreement with the condition that their children receive free education and training during their regular school years. The school would repay the loan when the students finished their studies at the school or transferred to another school. However, the school failed to fulfill these terms for many parents.

At the time, lawyers and education experts analyzed the situation and concluded that the dispute was a civil matter. From the parents' perspective, paying a large sum of money upfront to the school, while offering benefits, also carried the risk that the school could encounter problems, suffer losses, or even go bankrupt.

Towards the end of the school year, the AISVN International School incident was no longer an isolated issue for a few parents but became a threat to all students. From March 18th, over 1,200 students had to stay home from school because teachers were absent due to unpaid salaries for several months. The situation became so critical that it not only received attention and guidance from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training and the Ministry of Education and Training, but on March 29th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed a directive demanding that the school's operations be rectified and appropriate solutions be implemented immediately to ensure the students' right to education.

Once education is viewed as a business sector with inherent conditions, it must be understood that incidents like the one at AISVN International School will not be isolated cases. Therefore, a strict, legally mandated monitoring mechanism is necessary to mitigate risks, protect students' rights, and facilitate the smooth development of private and international schools.

First, it must be established that loan agreements between schools and parents are essentially fundraising activities, and to legally raise capital, schools must issue bonds. Furthermore, schools do not have the function of financial investment. Therefore, these activities should be prohibited. Following the incident where language centers like Apax Leaders refused to refund tuition fees to parents, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training stipulated that language and computer centers are not allowed to collect long-term tuition fees. This should also be applied to private schools.

The Education Law and the Regulations for General Schools should also include provisions regarding school bankruptcy. If this situation arises, the education management agency needs to provide guidance on how to handle the resulting circumstances and ensure the stability of students' learning.

The survey results show that over 84% of students at AISVN International School want to continue studying at the school until the end of this school year, indicating that parents desire stability, especially when they place all their expectations and financial investment in their children's education in an international environment.

It must be acknowledged that private schools, especially those with international elements, have contributed significantly to the development of Vietnamese education, helping to alleviate the burden on the public school system and enabling it to handle many tasks that are difficult for the public system to accomplish. However, for this system to develop sustainably, to prevent loopholes for exploitation, and to ensure the rights of students, clear legal frameworks are necessary.

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