Paying hundreds of millions of dong in tuition fees upfront leaves parents feeling like they're "sitting on a powder keg."

Ms. P., whose child is over 3 years old and attends Rosemont American International Preschool (Hapulico building, Thanh Xuan Trung Ward, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi ), shared her worries over the past few days as the school has not reopened since February 26th. A few days after the Lunar New Year, the school repeatedly announced closures.

According to Ms. P., each time the school announces a closure, they come up with various excuses. The first closure was for two days, February 16-17, with the reason given as "disinfection spraying to prevent influenza A and Rotavirus"; then on February 18-19, it was for "dealing with a power outage," with the children scheduled to return on February 20. Using the same reason, the school announced a school closure starting February 21 and scheduled the children to return on February 24.

On February 26-27, the school announced a school closure and scheduled the children to return on February 28. However, on February 28, the school postponed the reopening to March 3, but remained closed until March 5.

"From feeling worried and anxious, we now feel cheated," Ms. P. said.

Inside Rosemont American International Preschool Vietnam at Hapulico building (Thanh Xuan District)

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY PARENTS

Since September last year, Ms. P.'s family has paid the full amount for two years of schooling, approximately 185 million VND, including tuition and meals. Currently, Ms. P. has to temporarily send her child to another school, paying monthly fees. "The amount my family paid to the school was for two years, but my child has only been attending for nearly six months. We want the school to resolve this clearly, or return the money," Ms. P. said.

Another parent with a 5-year-old child also stated that they had paid 118 million VND for the school year from August 2024 to May 2025. This year, their child needs to attend school regularly to enter first grade, but the schooling has been interrupted, forcing the family to transfer their child to another school, even though they still have about 40 million VND left to pay.

Among the parents whose children attend the Hapulico campus, 54 have paid tuition fees totaling over 4 billion VND, for at least 6 months and up to 2 years. Many parents have requested a refund from the school if they are unable to continue enrolling their children.

Parents have repeatedly informed the authorities, the Thanh Xuan District Department of Education and Training has come to investigate, and the school has promised to reopen, but after a few days, it closed again.

According to Thanh Nien 's investigation, Rosemont Vietnam, an American International Preschool, was established in 2018 and has four branches in the districts of Thanh Xuan, Hoang Mai, Nam Tu Liem, and Long Bien. This is not an international school as its name suggests, but rather a private preschool.

Currently, the school's facility in the Hapulico building, Thanh Xuan Trung Ward, Thanh Xuan District, has 74 students in 5 classes; 1 principal, 10 teachers, and 5 staff members. The school announces tuition fees ranging from 6 to 8 million VND per child per month.

Unpaid rent, unpaid teachers' salaries.

The Thanh Xuan District Department of Education and Training has submitted an initial report on this matter to the Hanoi Department of Education and Training and is coordinating with the local police to inspect the Hapulico facility. According to the school owner's explanation, on February 14th, the building owner sent a letter demanding payment of the outstanding rent before February 15th, otherwise the premises would be reclaimed.

The school principal requested an upfront payment of 50 million VND, with the remaining amount deferred until the end of the month. However, the landlord refused to extend the payment and demanded a 15% monthly rent increase starting in January 2025, while also cutting off all services at the school's current location. The school was forced to notify parents that their children would be absent from school and would refund 150% of the tuition fees for the days the students were absent.

The Thanh Xuan District Department of Education and Training is also aware that this school owes two months' salary to its staff, teachers, and employees. The school principal has committed to resolving the issue as soon as possible.

Reporting to the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, the Thanh Xuan District Department of Education and Training stated that it has requested the school owner to work with the landlord. The Department of Education and Training will also introduce other kindergens in the area for parents to enroll their children if needed.

Speaking to Thanh Nien newspaper , a leader of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training said that they have requested the Thanh Xuan District Department of Education and Training to direct the handling of the incident and report the proposed solution to the department today, March 6th.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dong-truoc-tram-trieu-hoc-phi-phu-huynh-nhu-ngoi-tren-dong-lua-185250305162527552.htm