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The number of international schools in Ho Chi Minh City has burgeoned over the last decade, but many, if not most of them do not meet the standards normally associated with them, experts say.

At a conference held on Expanding the International School Model in Ho Chi Minh City earlier this week, the city’s Department of Education and Training (DoET) said the schools have many shortcomings.

There are about 30 schools in the city that call themselves international, but in the absence of a well-established criteria set by the authorities, it has become a loose category.

Many schools do not invest into infrastructure but rent rooms that are not in accordance with the regulations on classrooms.

The principal of Viet Thanh Private High School, Doan Van Dien, said although international schools have modern infrastructure, it is not suitable for a school, since it is just a building with air conditioners without playgrounds.

Although the schools employ around 1,000 teachers, including 530 foreign teachers with university degrees, conference’s participants said many international schools were still hiring teachers without any educational expertise.

The conference was attended by representatives from the city’s international, public and private schools.

Dien said there are now many kinds of international schools.

Some 100 percent foreign-owned schools are still using Vietnamese (MoET mandated) curriculum, while some employ both international and Vietnamese curricula, he said.

There are those who call themselves international, but all they do is to use the Vietnamese curriculum supplemented by an English-strengthened program, Dien said.

Do Quoc Anh, head of the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET)’s representative office in HCMC, said it is wrong that some schools advertise that students will receive international certification when graduating.

The Education Law does not allow international schools financed by Vietnamese investors to use 100 percent foreign curriculum, according to Anh.

He said MoET and the HCMC DoET have never issued licenses to such schools.

Anh also suggested press agencies consult the education department before carrying international schools’ advertisements to ensure students’ rights are not violated.

HCMC DoET Director Huynh Cong Minh said international schools have to make public the educational conditions they offer and the standard of certification they provide.

More support needed

Representatives of the international schools asked for more support from the administration.

“While the investor has the goodwill to open schools to meet demand, the administrators should facilitate their development,” said Nguyen Thi Ngo, chairwoman of the Asia Pacific College.

Ngo said they would like support in acquiring land so that they can set up schools with playgrounds for students, but it seems to be impossible.

“If we have land, we are willing to establish standard schools,” she said.

The chairwoman suggested the Government issue specific regulations so that international schools can improve and contribute to the development of human resources in the country.

Nguyen Hoang Viet, principal of Phu Nhuan High School, said the ministry and department of education have yet to provide a clear-cut definition of international schools, so the public has no idea about their quality and the standard of education provided.

Only when the administration sets clear standards should the model of international schools be expanded with assured quality, he said.

International schools now are almost exclusively for students born in rich families, while education needs to be fair and available to everyone, he added.

It is estimated that 6,771 students now study at international schools from kindergarten to high school, the conference heard.

Minh said the city’s education department will organize a seminar next year on infrastructure for establishing schools in HCMC, including private and international schools.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, as of last year, 70 percent of international schools in Vietnam were run by embassies, international organizations and foreign investors.

But, in terms of management, international schools in Vietnam now can be divided into three groups.

The first one comprises schools invested in by foreign investors that use foreign curricula like the Ho Chi Minh City International School, and target children of foreigners living and working in Vietnam. Tuition fees at such schools range from US$10,000 to $14,000 a year.

Schools financed by foreign investors but using Vietnamese curriculum and international pedagogical methodology, like the Horizon Bilingual School, form the second group. School fees in this group range from VND5 million to VND6 million dong ($298.18-357.81) per month.

The last group is made up of schools created by local investors, offering both the MoET-mandated and international curricula. These schools charge between $100 and $200 per month.

Source: SGGP, Lao Dong

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