Hundreds of students studying online have been suspended indefinitely, the principal and vice principal have resigned.

In recent days, hundreds of students studying distance learning at Hanoi College of Economics and Technology from all over the world are 'restless' because their studies have been suspended indefinitely.

Hanoi College of Economics and Technology - where the incident occurred - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

According to the students, during their studies, they were instructed to transfer all tuition fees to the personal account of Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Vuong - the school's vice principal at that time.

Detected many unusual signs but "trusted the vice principal"

Reflecting to Tuoi Tre Online , Ms. NTTD, (32 years old, Hanoi ) - said that she was admitted to the online training program of the Hanoi College of Economics and Technology from the end of 2022 (course 13).

The reason for studying here is because I believed the advertisement "this is a public school under the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs". When registering for admission, I only need to submit my high school graduation score, no entrance exam required.

However, Ms. D. said that right from the first semester of the first year, she saw many unusual signs when the learning process had no teachers supervising, no lecturers giving lectures, no one setting how many classes a week... Students self-study according to the curriculum provided by the school. When it comes time to take the exam, the exam will be online and there will be an online supervisor.

"When we questioned the unusual points, Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Vuong - the school's vice principal - accused us of being young and lacking knowledge. She made offensive statements and turned off the group messaging mode. Because we had already finished one semester, we had to finish it. If we had studied for four years, we would have dropped out," said Ms. D.

Ms. D. said she had studied 3 semesters, and a national defense education course. The total tuition fee was about 20 million VND, all transferred to Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Vuong's personal account. In November 2024, while studying the 3rd semester, Ms. D. received information that the online course had to stop operating.

"Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Vuong called me directly and asked me to inform the students in the class that the school was involved in legal trouble, they were put on the list of people who bought and sold degrees, and had to transfer schools. When we were introduced to another school, we had to start over from the beginning," said Ms. D.

Although BMK students were hesitant to transfer tuition fees to Ms. Vuong's personal account, they still followed the instructions when they received the invoice with the school's stamp - Photo: NVCC

Although living and working in Japan, Mr. BMK (31 years old, from Vinh Long) said that in June 2022, he applied online and was admitted to the Japanese language program in the online training form of Hanoi College of Economics and Technology.

He said that all this time he had been studying on the system with pre-recorded video lectures. Students who completed the video course were eligible for an online final exam. By November 2024, he had received a notice that he had to stop studying indefinitely.

Like many other students, Mr. K. transferred all tuition fees to Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Vuong's account as instructed.

"The school currently does not accept the tuition invoices that were previously collected by Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Vuong, with the school's stamp. The school blames the fact that Ms. Vuong is not an accountant but signed those tuition fees. Therefore, it does not recognize those tuition documents even though they have full stamps and seals.

Initially, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tan - the school's principal - promised the students that he would have an answer by early March, but currently the principal has not given any official answer to this incident, and whether there is any progress or not," said Mr. K.

Ms. BTKC (from Nghe An) indignantly said: "After the incident broke out, I realized that the school leaders did not know about our existence - the distance learning students - while I had submitted all the documents and had the school's student card."

The vice principal and principal in charge have resigned.

On May 27, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hung - Head of the General Administration Department of Hanoi College of Economics and Technology - said that the school currently has no vice principal or principal, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tan has decided to resign from the position of principal from May 26.

There has been a decision to appoint Mr. Dao Duc Nghiep, but Mr. Nghiep has not officially accepted the assignment and "has not yet approached the matter".

Mr. Hung added that the school is currently preparing to establish a working group to resolve existing problems and difficulties in distance learning. It is expected that the working group will have the participation of Mr. Dao Duc Nghiep and Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Vuong.

Currently, the Department of Vocational Education and Continuing Education (Ministry of Education and Training) said it has received feedback related to Hanoi College of Economics and Technology, is assigning the functional unit to review and inspect the incident, and at the same time request the school to report.

Responding to Tuoi Tre Online , Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Vuong said that she is currently not working at the school, has handed over all related matters and refused to answer any questions.

Is the advertisement for public school recruitment true?

According to the advertisement on the admissions page, Hanoi College of Economics and Technology said that this is a public school under the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, established under Decision No. 594/QD-LDTBXH in 2010, with the function of training at college, intermediate and elementary levels.

However, the Department of Vocational Education and Continuing Education (Ministry of Education and Training) affirmed that Hanoi College of Economics and Technology was a private school from the time of its establishment.

NGUYEN BAO

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hang-tram-sinh-vien-hoc-he-tu-xa-bi-dung-vo-thoi-han-hieu-truong-va-hieu-pho-xin-nghi-viec-20250527133416921.htm