Director of English center in Ho Chi Minh City suddenly disappears, parents panic

Unable to contact director, family reported going abroad

Many parents whose children study at the Australian International Education Center (AIES) Kha Van Can campus (Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City) are confused because the center announced it was repairing and then closing. Meanwhile, parents have paid tens of millions of dong.

The incident came to light when staff at the Australian English Center sent letters to all parent groups, informing them that the director could not be reached.

In the letter, the staff of the Australian English Center said that all activities of the center were going on normally, but on the morning of May 8, they received a notice from the Board of Directors with the following content: Temporarily stop teaching and working for 1 week, starting from 12:00 on May 8.

By around 11am that same day, all the staff at all the branches in the central system could not contact the director and began to realize that something was wrong. When the staff called the director's wife, they received the answer that he had gone abroad for a few days and his family could not contact him either.

On May 9, the center staff contacted the director's wife again and found that the phone number had been locked. After that, the center's website and Facebook were all deleted. The company's work page was also inaccessible, and all employee login accounts were deleted. Realizing the abnormality, the staff of the Australian English Center reported it to the Tang Nhon Phu B Ward Police for advice.

At 12:00 noon on May 15, the center's staff still had not been able to contact or receive notification about resuming operations from the director.

“Given this situation, we are very sorry that we do not know exactly whether the center can continue to operate or not. We are very sorry and hope that parents will remain calm. The staff and teachers at the center are also in a passive situation, their labor contracts are interrupted, their salaries have not been paid, but they are willing to cooperate with the authorities to resolve the matter,” the staff letter to parents stated.

Parents are confused because they have " paid" the center tens of millions of dong.

In the announcement posted on May 8 at Kha Van Can facility and in the Zalo group for parents, the Australian English Center stated: Due to the impact of widespread heavy rain, major problems with the facilities have not been resolved in time, so to ensure the safety of students, the center will temporarily suspend teaching for one week, from May 8 to May 14 to repair the entire system.

It has been more than 2 days now but the center is still closed. Parents of the Australian English Center are sending a complaint to the police and the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City.

Sharing with VietNamNet , Mr. H - a parent said that 8 days ago, he registered for a 3-year Kid 1-Kid 6 English course for his child at the Australian English Center. He transferred 31 million VND in fees. After he registered and paid the tuition, the center committed to organizing the class on schedule. However, the center has now suddenly closed, the director and staff cannot be contacted, and the signboard has also been removed.

“I and many other parents have not received any notice or refunded tuition fees. This is a sign of absconding, I will file a complaint with the authorities,” said Mr. H.

Currently, more than 200 parents of the Australian English Center have counted the amount of money they have paid to this center. Some parents paid as little as tens of millions, while others paid up to nearly 100 million VND.

Australia English Center (AIES) is a subsidiary of Duy KhangEducation and Training Company Limited, with Mr. Ho Dang Duy as director, operating since 2007. The company's headquarters is located at 182-184-186 Le Van Viet, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City.

Currently, the official website of the AIES system is inaccessible. VietNamNet has contacted the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City. A leader of the Department said he was aware of this information.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/giam-doc-trung-tam-anh-ngu-o-tphcm-bat-ngo-bien-mat-phu-huynh-hoang-mang-2401724.html