SINGAPORE:
Some six years after a Singapore
education company had its branches in Vietnam shut down, another has suffered a
similar fate.
According
to media reports in Vietnam, Raffles Education Corporation - which is listed on
the Singapore Exchange - had its licence revoked last month by authorities in
Ho Chi Minh City after it had been found enrolling students for unauthorised
courses.
In
December last year, Raffles International Training Centre (RITC) Vietnam - a
design institute run by RafflesEducationCorp - was one of three private
colleges penalised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training for
allegedly offering illegal joint training programmes with foreign colleges.
RITC
was accused of cooperating with the Raffles College of Higher Education in
Singapore without the necessary licence. The three private colleges were
reportedly fined 220 million Vietnamese dong (S$13,100) and ordered to suspend
advertising, admission and training activities leading to the award of diplomas
and degrees from overseas.
Responding
to Today's queries, RafflesEducationCorp confirmed the revocation of its
licence. A spokesperson said: "The onset of regulatory tightening in
Vietnam is beyond the group's control."
She
said the group's priority is to "fulfil our obligations to Raffles
students and so, we have accordingly processed the permanent transfer of more
than 400 students from Vietnam to other Raffles Education Corporation colleges
in Singapore, Sydney and Phnom Penh".
The
spokesperson added: "We have offered to bear student airfares and
contribute partially to their living expenses in these cities. Our focus is on
the welfare of our students, first and foremost, and to minimise any disruption
to their continual learning process. Students who have chosen to discontinue
their studies with us have been given refunds for tuition fees paid."
RafflesEducationCorp
has so far refunded a total of S$5.6 million, according to the spokesperson.
The
Thanh Nien Daily also reported that there was an order barring RITC
director-general Edmund Hwong from leaving Vietnam. But the
RafflesEducationCorp spokesperson refuted this.
The
RafflesEducationCorp had previously clarified its position on the controversy.
According to the group, there were no clear regulations in Vietnam
"governing credit transfer processes leading to the award of diplomas and
degrees from overseas".
Following
the authorities' decision in December, RITC "fully paid the stipulated
violation fine".
Both
its centres in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh also complied with the suspension order.
Subsequently, it appealed against the fine and suspension, as well as sought
dialogue with the authorities. But all discussions "yielded unworkable
options".
In
2006, Today broke the news that the Singapore International Training
Consultancy (SITC) closed its branches in Vietnam after it had run into
financial difficulty.
It left
thousands of students in the lurch and the teachers' salaries were unpaid. The
SITC was funded largely by Singaporean investors but its operations were headed
by a Taiwanese, who had an international arrest warrant issued against him.
TODAY
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