A lot of students in joint training programs complain that they do not know what their fates will be when their schools suddenly close.

VietNamNet Bridge – A lot of students in training programs jointly provided by Vietnamese universities and foreign schools complain that they do not know what their fates will be when their schools suddenly close.

Students of AVIS school

In August 2009, H., a student who failed the uni entrance exams, decided to register at the College of Economics and Technology Sai Gon (Saimete) and Australian TAFE New South Western Sydney. H. studied in the program from September 2009 until July 2010, when Saimete suddenly announced its closure.

Students in the program already feel puzzled, because they do not know when they can resume classes. “My family once put high hopes in the training program. But now it has been interrupted. The school says it will resume when there are enough students. But when will there be enough students?” H. said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of AVIS (American-Vietnamese International School) are also worried after inspectors from the HCM City Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs proposed revocation of the company’s vocational training license, because many violations have been exposed.

Another student was told that a Vietnamese school cooperated with one foreign school, but was later told that it had joined with another foreign institution. He was confused by this switch and revealed that many of his friends have left for other schools because they do not believe in the program any more. Others still attend, mainly because they already paid tuition.

Not only students in joint training programs, but those in 100 percent foreign training programs, have encountered problems.

H., who is studying hotel management at Raffles Campus (Singapore) in HCM City, explained that, after one year, the school suddenly announced that it will close, citing a lack of students. “The school has introduced some other Singaporean schools in Vietnam where we can study, because the school will shut down at the end of this week,” H. commented.

Pham Ngoc Duong, Deputy President of Saimete, remarked that its Australian partner only sends lecturers when there are enough students. They need 80, but the 2009 class has only 30 students. Thus, the students must wait while the school attracts more students. It is expected that the program will resume in October, but if not, those who can meet English requirements will be transferred to RMIT University.

The Ministry of Education and Training, when allowing the college to operate, clearly stipulated that students must have English skills equal to IELTS 5.5 or be capable of fulfilling the program’s requirements. Yet, when enrolling students, the school “ignored” this requirement.

“The English skills of students are limited, and only several students can meet the requirement. Therefore, we also teach English during the program,” Duong admitted.

Meanwhile, the US partner with AVIS has not been accredited, so they are not allowed to join forces with the school. Even so, AVIS still enrolled nearly 100 students, some of whom paid $800, while others paid $2000. After the truth spread, the school claimed that it intended to cooperate with an institute in the UK. However, this school can only grant certificates, so the deal has failed.

Source: Tuoi tre