Seven international schools willing to take in AISVN students amid teachers' walk-out

In a document sent from HCMC to the Ministry of Education and Training regarding the activities of AISVN on Wednesday, there are seven schools capable of receiving 1,088 students from AISVN.

They are the Australian International School, the European International School, the International School Ho Chi Minh City, the British Vietnamese International School, the International School of North America, the American School and the British International School.

The tuition at these schools range from VND500-900 million ($20,200-36,300) a year for those studying under the International Baccalaureate program.

HCMC authorities said the Department of Education and Training would continue to discuss with these schools, and there would soon be plans to increase the number of teachers for AISVN students in the International Baccalaureate program.

Over 1,200 students at the AISVN had to stay home on March 18 as teachers refused to go to work over unpaid salaries and insurance. The school later reopened, but there were not enough teachers to teach.

Several parents found themselves stuck in limbo as they had paid the school billions of Vietnamese dong, while switching schools is difficult as the second semester is about to end.

Nguyen Thi Ut Em, head of AISVN, on March 21 said that during the spring break (March 23-31), investment funds would be called upon to restructure the school.

Over 100 parents on Friday sent complaints to the school and the education department, requesting for their children to study online with an extra VND10-15 million a month so that the students could finish the school year.

AISVN, established in 2006, has over 1,210 students studying under the International Baccalaureate program.

The school's tuition is at VND280-350 million a year for kindergarteners, VND450-500 million a year for primary school levels, and VND600-725 million for middle and high school levels. The school has 129 foreign teachers, 26 Vietnamese teachers and 103 employees. But 85 teachers have stopped working.

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.