Vietnam - Schools discovered running illegal courses

Two local universities have been found illicitly running full-time junior college courses for hundreds of students during the last two years.

Your correspondent discovered that Hoa Binh University, which is located in Hanoi, had partnered with the Ho Chi Minh City-based Gia Dinh University to admit 380 students to three majors: business administration, finance-banking, and accounting, in 2010.

They then sent those students to study at the former’s representative office, which is also its center for international education cooperation, in HCMC’s District 5.

The Ministry of Education and Training has confirmed this is a violation of Vietnam’s education rules which state that a university can only offer full-time courses at its own campus, and that a representative office is not allowed to either enroll or teach students.

Gia Dinh told your correspondent it did not know anything about the courses, while Hoa Binh admitted that the two schools had agreed to teach the illegal courses.

An agreement between the two, witnessed by your correspondent, attests to this admission.

Hoa Binh is the main player in this illegitimate game, school president Dang Ung Van conceded.

The ministry said it was considering closing down the courses and would, at the same time, demand the two universities transfer the remaining students – 280 now, as the others have dropped out – to another school.

But the student’s fate is now a mystery, since the representative office has closed.

Locals living near the office told your correspondent that the classes have been moved to an unknown location.

The education watchdog has recently scrapped similar unauthorized courses.

It even banned three local universities from enrolling new students for the next school year, which starts in September, after they were found breaking education regulations.

TUOI TRE

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