How to comply with the law?

Things that need to be separated

Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Huan, Director of Law Firm 11, affirmed that there is not a legal loophole here, but the problem lies in law enforcement.

In order to encourage, mobilize and create conditions for organizations and individuals to participate in the socializationof education , in the Education Law, the State has clearly defined the role of protecting the rights and legitimate interests of organizations and individuals participating in investing in education. Therefore, the legal system in general and the Education Law in particular are quite strict to regulate this field.

However, the Director of Law Firm 11 said that it is necessary to clearly define that educational investment is the direct contribution of resources to establish an educational institution or investment in establishing an economic organization according to the provisions of the Investment Law and the Enterprise Law, so that an economic organization can establish a private educational institution, which is completely different from lending to an educational institution or an economic organization that owns an educational institution.

Former General Director of Apax Leaders Nguyen Ngoc Thuy in the first direct meeting with parents in Ho Chi Minh City in March 2023

In other words, parents at AISVN International School accepted the school's capital mobilization agreement but did not intend to own the school's capital contribution, did not participate as shareholders to supervise the investment, so it cannot be determined that this is an educational investment. On the other hand, it is necessary to clearly separate the amounts that AISVN parents transferred to the school, whether they were tuition advances or loans.

If it is an advance payment of tuition fees, the school must manage and use this money in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Education on tuition fees, as well as make it publicly available, with inspection and supervision by management agencies. At that time, if tuition fees are used for the wrong purpose leading to loss of payment ability, as well as being non-transparent and dishonest in reporting to bypass inspection and control, they will be subject to corresponding sanctions.

If it is a loan, then this is a civil agreement, then the school's responsibility is to use the money for the committed purpose. Using capital for the wrong purpose, leading to the inability to pay, will be handled according to the law.

The nature of giving money to others is accepting risk, but if investing to become a shareholder, the investor's supervisory rights will be more effective. At the very least, the shareholder is also the owner of the assets and brand of the school corresponding to the capital contribution.

Students of AISVN International School on the day they returned to school after a break due to lack of teachers.

REGULATIONS ON CONTROL OF INVESTMENTS OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Lawyer Nguyen Van Thai, Director of Nam Thai International Law Company Limited, Hanoi Bar Association, said that the collection of tuition fees for all levels and types of training, including foreign language centers such as Apax Leaders, are regulated by Decree 81 of the Government. In addition, the operation of foreign language centers is also regulated in Circular 21 of the Ministry of Education and Training, but does not mention the issue of tuition fees in detail.

"Therefore, regarding tuition collection, the unified management document is Decree 81. Based on Article 12 of this document, it can be understood that the centers' collection of full tuition fees is still in accordance with the law," said lawyer Thai.

Dr. Lawyer Nguyen Hong Thai, Director of Hong Thai International Law Firm LLC and colleagues from the Hanoi Bar Association, agreed that paying tuition fees at the beginning of the course is a civil agreement between the two parties and does not violate the law.

Also related to the issue of tuition fees, according to Mr. Hong Thai, there are currently only documents mentioning how domestic and foreign organizations invest in education, such as Decree 46/2017/ND-CP, Decree 86/2018/ND-CP, Decree 81/2021/ND-CP amended by Decree 97/2023/ND-CP, but there is no clear, official legal framework regulating how educational institutions use tuition revenue to invest in other areas.

This is a loophole that allows educational institutions, especially in the non-public sector, to freely invest without any constraints. This situation is completely different from the banking and insurance sectors, which also use customers' money to invest but must comply with issued regulations such as the Law on Insurance Business, Mr. Thai gave an example.

"In essence, this activity has two sides. If tuition fees are used for investment, profitable business, and then the profits are used to develop training programs and facilities, it is very welcome. But there are also cases where business fails, affecting learners. So instead of banning, we should minimize risks by adding regulations to control investments by educational institutions," Mr. Thai noted.

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