Another 52,200 IELTS certificates deemed mis-issued by British Council

The British Council Vietnam had organized hundreds of examinations nationwide from Jan. 1 to Nov. 17, 2022, issuing around 37,900 Aptis certificates and 52,500 IELTS certificates, according to the Ministry of Education and Training.

Both the IELTS and the Aptis are international English proficiency tests, provided by the IDP and the British Council in Vietnam.

Inspectors of the ministry said the organization of such tests by the British Council has violated governmental regulations. They have requested the British Council to do re-evaluation and to report the matter back to the Vietnam Education Quality Management Agency, as well as proposing ways to deal with the aforementioned certificates.

Earlier on Wedneday, inspectors of the education ministry said 56,200 IELTS certificates issued by the IDP in 2022 were improperly done so. In total, around 146,600 IELTS and Aptis certificates were inappropriately issued, according to the ministry.

The Vietnam Education Quality Management Agency at the ministry said Thursday certificates which ensure their quality can still be used for graduating high schools and entering universities however.

The problem with unauthorized certificates came following the suspension of IELTS examinations in Vietnam back in November 2022.

In accordance with governmental regulations, the issuance of foreign language proficiency certificates needs to be approved by the education ministry. However, not until July 2022 did the ministry issue instructions requiring exam-organizing units to submit documents to the ministry for approval.

As several units failed to provide the documents appropriately, the ministry made them suspend a slew of foreign language proficiency exams, including the IELTS, TOEFL, HSK and TOPIK.

Thousands of students were affected by the decision, as their certificates could not be accepted for the purpose of entering universities or graduating high schools.