Private schools are not allowed to collect tuition fees for multiple years.

Non-public schools are only allowed to collect tuition fees based on the actual number of months of study, not cumulatively for multiple years, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has issued a regulation after an international school became insolvent.

On January 15, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City issued a document to rectify the operations of non-public schools, after inspecting the actual operations of these schools.

Regarding the collection and use of tuition fees, the Department requires schools to implement Decree 81 of the Government , only collecting a maximum of 9 months in a school year, not collecting multiple years or the entire school level. At the same time, schools must declare service prices, publicize tuition fees and other collections according to regulations.

In addition, domestically-funded schools must have at least 40% permanent teachers. Foreign-invested schools must teach the licensed curriculum, are not allowed to admit more than 50% Vietnamese students, and fully implement compulsory education content for Vietnamese students.

Parent-teacher meeting of American International School Vietnam (AIS) in October 2023. Photo: Le Nguyen — Parent-teacher meeting of American International School Vietnam (AIS) in October 2023. Photo: *Le Nguyen*

Ho Chi Minh City currently has 961 non-public schools, from kindergarten to high school, with 274,000 students. More than 20 schools teach general education programs from the UK, US, Canada, and Australia, and are often called international schools. Under this program, students take graduation exams to receive an A-level or International Baccalaureate (IB), or an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). Tuition fees at these schools range from VND100 million to nearly VND1 billion per year.

Before the Department’s request, some schools collected tuition fees in lump sums over many years or in the form of investment packages or capital contribution contracts with some incentives. However, this form of payment is fraught with risks if the school owner is unable to pay.

Last September, many parents gathered to demand debt from the American International School Vietnam (AISVN) because they had lent tens of billions of dong without interest for their children to study for free, but had not yet received repayment.

Le Nguyen

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