Parents at HCMC international school propose online classes amid teacher walk-out

The 115 parents on Thursday sent the proposal to the school and the HCMC Department of Education and Training, hoping that letting the students study online would help them finish the school year.

Earlier this month, several teachers at the school began quitting. On March 18, students had to stay home as most teachers were not present at work over unpaid salaries and insurance. By March 20, 85 teachers at the school had quit. The school has 129 foreign teachers and 26 Vietnamese teachers.

Nguyen Thi Ut Em, head of the school board, on March 21 said investment funds would be called on to restructure the school.

Minh Anh, the parent of an 11th grader and representative of the parents' group, said that following the spring break (March 23-31), the students would return to school. However, AISVN has yet to provide any solution to ensure that it would operate properly.

There are only a few months left until the end of the second semester, and switching schools would be difficult, especially for seniors. Parents have agreed to pay tuition so that the school can teach students online. The exact amount of tuition paid would be determined once the proposal is passed.

"The amount of tuition that parents found to be most appropriate is at VND10-15 million a month," said Bui Thong, who has two children studying at AISVN.

Parents said online classes should work, given the school's experience with online classes during the pandemic, as well as its existing infrastructure. Parents would cooperate with the school to help with the operation, ensuring the rights of both students and their parents.

They also said that the International Baccalaureate Organization, which oversees the curriculum, accepts online teaching.

Established in 2006 in Nha Be District, AISVN offers the International Baccalaureate program. Tuition fees range from VND280-350 million (US$11,300-14,100) per year for kindergarteners, VND450-500 million for primary school students, to VND600-725 million for middle and high school students.

In October of last year, several parents gathered to demand repayment of debts from the school. They claimed that the school had borrowed tens of billions of Vietnamese dong without interest to enable children to study for free. However, even after the children graduated, the debts remain unpaid.

HCMC boasts 35 schools with foreign capital, predominantly utilizing curricula from North America and the U.K., supplemented by Vietnamese subjects. Tuition fees at these schools can reach up to VND1 billion per year.