A college in Ho Chi Minh City over many years has been over-enrolling and opening classes without permission.

 

Officials at Saigon College of Economics and Technology (SAIMETE) said the school in 2008 enrolled more than twice the number of students allowed by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), which was more than 3,400 compared to the permitted 1,500.

 

And for several years, the school has offered classes on information technology and environment, though it was never permitted. This year, the school has announced classes on hotel and restaurant administration as well as finance and banking, which were not included in its license from MoET.

 

SAIMETE was established in 2007 as an upgrade from Saigon Private Vocational School of Mechanics and Metallurgy.

 

Professor and Doctor Pham Pho, the school principal, also individually set up officies of the school at several private training centers around HCMC, including one at Thanh Long Foreign Language and Computing School in Go Vap District. The school’s board of administrators were not informed of those establishements or had any ideas about that, the officials said.

 

Many students of SAIMETE have lodged complaints to the school officials about poor facilities around school.

 

The classrooms at the campus in Tan Phu District are not furnished with enough lights or fans. The ceilings have been broken and the walls were built so poorly that people in one room can clearly hear what is going on in the next room.

 

Neither local authorities nor the ministry has made any actions or comments over the violations.