Another international school in Ho Chi Minh City closes

According to the school's announcement, students will be off from December 14 to February 12, 2025, before returning to school at the new campus at 577 National Highway 13, Hiep Binh Phuoc Ward, Thu Duc City. This information has left many parents confused, not knowing how to handle the situation when their children have just finished the first semester of the 2024-2025 school year and the tuition fees for their children here are not small.

Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has issued document No. 8022/SGDĐT - GDTH on school transfer and receiving students transferred from Saigon Star International School.

Parents of students were in a state of shock when Saigon Star International School announced its temporary closure.

Accordingly, the Department of Education and Training requires the Principal of Saigon Star International Primary School to assign personnel and organize the implementation of school transfer procedures; create the most favorable conditions for parents when they come to contact and provide complete documents according to regulations when parents complete school transfer procedures. At the same time, the principals of general schools, based on the instructions in section 1.5 of Official Dispatch No. 5432/SGDĐT-GDTH dated August 30, 2024 (Instructions for implementing school transfers), shall receive students transferring to other schools at the request of parents. The Head of the Department of Education and Training of Thu Duc City and districts shall guide general schools to receive students transferring from Saigon Star International School in accordance with regulations and ensure smooth reception.

Saigon Star International School was forced to execute a judgment because the land where the headquarters is located (a plot of land in Thanh My Loi Ward, Thu Duc City) has been in dispute with a bank for many years. According to the 2020 verdict of the People's Court of District 2 (old), the school's investor must return the land to the bank. After a period of temporary suspension of execution, from May to July 2024, the Thu Duc City Civil Judgment Enforcement Office repeatedly announced the enforcement, requiring the investor to notify teachers, parents, and students about the termination of operations at this address.

A representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said that at the end of May, the Department requested that this school not enroll students for the 2024-2025 school year. However, the school still deliberately violated the regulations. Currently, the school has no goodwill to cooperate with relevant parties and cannot be contacted, so parents need to transfer schools soon and find a new place for their children to study. Transferring schools does not have a big impact on preschool children. As for primary school students, this period has just ended the first semester, so it is also convenient for other schools to accept them.

The Department of Education and Training has sent a document to the Department of Education and Training of Thu Duc City regarding the guidance on transferring and receiving students of Saigon Star International School. Regarding the dispute between parents and the school regarding the rights of parents in paying tuition fees, the Department recommends that parents file a lawsuit at a competent people's court to ensure their rights according to the law.

According to the Investment Certificate granted by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to Saigon Star International Company Limited, Saigon Star International School (Saigon Star International Kindergarten and Primary School) is operating on a land area of 7,654m2 in Thanh My Loi residential area, Thu Duc City. The total investment capital of the project is 300 thousand USD, the operating period is within 25 years from July 2005, with Mr. Arunachalam Nandaa Kumar, an Indian national, as authorized representative. Saigon Star International Company Limited was handed over to the couple Tran Van Thuc (born in 1980, residing in Hiep Binh Chanh ward, Thu Duc City) and Ms. Vo Thi Phuong Thao (born in 1981) to temporarily take over the management.

On this Investment Certificate, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee requires that during the course of its operations, the enterprise must periodically report to the Department of Education and Training and relevant authorities. However, the large and long-lasting dispute that occurred here has not been promptly advised by the Department of Education and Training and the local authorities to parents whose children study at the school.

Regarding this issue, a representative of a business filed a complaint against Mr. Tran Van Thuc and his wife, Ms. Vo Thi Phuong Thao, to the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department for “Forgery of signatures”. An individual in Binh Thanh District also filed a complaint with the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department against Mr. Thuc and his wife, Ms. Thao, for “Abuse of trust to appropriate property”. The Ho Chi Minh City Police Department of Criminal Police has announced that they are looking for Mr. Thuc and his wife for “Fraudulent appropriation of property”.

Saigon Star International School includes kindergarten and primary school, teaching the IPC (International Primary Curriculum) with tuition fees of about 163-530 million VND per year, depending on age. The school currently has about 300 students and preschoolers. Many parents of students at this school have paid tuition in 2-year, 3-year, 5-year packages... with the amount from 550 million to 1.6 billion VND, but the school closed after not long studying.

Previously, in March 2024, the American International School Vietnam (AISVN) in Nha Be district also closed due to financial problems.

Thus, in just a short period of time in Ho Chi Minh City, two international schools closed, greatly affecting theeducational environment and students' learning.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/giao-duc/lai-them-mot-truong-quoc-te-o-tp-ho-chi-minh-dong-cua-i753388/