English center "hugs" billions of parents' money and then suddenly closes

In recent days, many parents in Ho Chi Minh City have reported that the Australian International English Center has closed and disappeared after they paid tuition for their children to study there.

Ms. NTTTh., in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, said that in mid-March, she registered her child for an English course at the Australian International English Center at Vo Van Ngan campus and paid in advance more than 37 million VND.

Parents gathered in front of the Vo Van Ngan campus of the Australia International English Center after it closed (Photo: PHCC).

After Ms. Th. completed the registration procedure and paid the tuition fee, the center committed to organizing the class on schedule.

However, on May 8, the center suddenly closed, the director and staff could not be contacted, and the signboard was removed.

Ms. Th. and many other students' parents did not receive any notice or tuition refund.

Ms. Th. also said that today she wrote a complaint about the center's fraudulent behavior to the police.

According to the list of parents paying tuition fees at the Australian International English Center, there are more than 200 parents who have paid tuition fees and sent their children to study at this center with billions of dong. The tuition fees paid by parents range from 7 million to nearly 100 million dong.

Among them, many parents had children studying at this center before and had just paid extra money to buy a new package as recommended by the center's staff.

Talking to Dan Tri reporter, Ms. D.TH, who registered her child to study here, said that the total amount she paid to the center was more than 84 million VND. In the first batch, she registered for 6 courses, her child has completed 4 courses, and has 2 courses left.

However, recently, the staff at the center introduced many summer promotions and convinced her to continue buying a new learning package for her child.

Seeing that the center has been operating for a long time and her child has been studying here for a while, Ms. H. continued to register her child for a new package of 7 courses for more than 40 million VND without thinking much.

The mother was bitter: "On May 7, I paid for my child's new package, but just one day later (May 8), the center closed. I couldn't contact anyone... I never thought that one day I would end up in the same situation as the parents who sent their children to study at Apax Leader Center before."

A leader of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City said that he had received information from parents about the incident that occurred at the Australia International English Center.

Parents have paid billions of dong in tuition fees to the Australian English Center (Photo: PHCC).

Australia English Center (AIES) is a subsidiary of Duy KhangEducation - Training Company Limited, with Mr. Ho Dang Duy as director. The company has been operating since 2007.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/trung-tam-tieng-anh-om-tien-ty-cua-phu-huynh-roi-dot-ngot-dong-cua-20250516151631617.htm