English center suddenly closed: More than 300 people ready to report

Hundreds of parents in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring areas are in a state of confusion and anxiety after the Australian Language Center suddenly closed. It is worth mentioning that many people have paid tens, even hundreds of millions of dong in tuition fees and now the risk of losing all this money is very high.

Ms. TTL (Tang Nhon Phu B Ward, Thu Duc City) could not hide her disappointment and anxiety when sharing about her family's situation. Trusting the center, she sent her child to study in Australia (Le Van Viet campus) from 2021 until now.

Recently, she continued to pay more than 108 million VND for a 30-month long-term course for each child (grades 2, 6, 10).

"The oldest child in grade 10 has only studied for 9 months, and the youngest child has just started school. Now, the center has suddenly closed without any explanation," Ms. L. choked up.

This incident not only caused financial loss but also affected her children's education.

"I was shocked because the amount of money was so large. Now it will be very difficult for the family to let the children continue studying at another center. Maybe I will have to let all three children drop out of school," the mother of three said sadly, expressing her hope that the government would intervene to help the parents get their money back.

She also choked up as she shared that to have the money to pay for tuition, her family had to save money and even borrow from relatives.

The tuition fees with the hope of a long-term learning path for her children have now been broken. Her children, especially the 6th and 10th graders, were also very sad to hear about the center's closure.

"My 6th grader told me he was taking a break from school so his parents could save money," said Ms. L.

Sharing the same sentiment, Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan Van (Tan Phu Ward, Thu Duc City) brought her young child to the center with a worried look in her eyes. Ms. Van said she had paid 72 million VND for the 35-month course for her 2 children (8 and 10 years old), but the children had only studied for 4 and 7 months.

"I was very sad and couldn't sleep all night. My child was studying but suddenly had to stop going to school. He asked me if he could go to school anymore," Ms. Van shared.

Ms. Van is at home taking care of her three children, her husband is a factory worker with a meager salary. All of their savings are put into their children's education, hoping that when they grow up, they will have less hardships like their parents. Therefore, the sudden closure of the Australian Center made her feel extremely insecure.

Ms. Pham Thi Trang (Tan Phu Ward, Thu Duc City), who is compiling a list of parents at the Le Van Viet facility, said that more than 400 people have spoken out as parents of the center, of which nearly 300 have submitted complete documents and invoices to denounce the center to the authorities. Ms. Trang predicted that the actual number could be much larger because many people do not have the information.

"Just one morning, 30-40 new parents contacted me to ask about procedures and send documents. Therefore, I think the number of parents who were harmed is even larger," said Ms. Trang.

Ms. Trang also shared that there are families with 3 children studying at the center, so the tuition fee is very large. Everyone is in difficulty, and pitiful. Among them, Ms. Trang remembers the case of a parent who had to borrow more than 40 million VND from the bank for her child to study, but the child had only been an auditor for 2 weeks, before he could officially start class, the center closed.

At the Kha Van Can branch of Australia School in Thu Duc City, Mr. Do Vu Huy (Linh Tay Ward) said that he is representing about 320 parents who have paid a total of more than 11 billion VND in tuition fees. These parents have submitted a report to the Linh Tay Ward Police and it has been accepted.

Not only parents in Ho Chi Minh City were affected, Ms. Vu Thi Luyen (Di An ward, Binh Duong city) had to run from Binh Duong to Ho Chi Minh City to find out information.

According to representatives of parent associations whose children study at the Australian Language Center system, the total tuition fees paid by hundreds of parents at the two facilities in Ho Chi Minh City to date is more than 16 billion VND.

Currently, Linh Tay Ward Police and Tang Nhon Phu B Ward Police are receiving petitions from parents regarding the suspension of operations of the Australian Language Center and Australian Language Center 1.

The Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City is also coordinating with the police to monitor and resolve the case.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/vu-trung-tam-tieng-anh-dot-ngot-dong-cua-hon-300-nguoi-san-sang-to-cao-20250521094305072.htm