Vietnam education ministry okays use of 56,200 mis-issued IELTS certificates

The Education Quality Management Agency at the Ministry of Education and Training said foreign language proficiency certificates, if they satisfy criteria that ensure their quality, can be used normally.

While the announcement did not specifically mention the 56,200 certificates issued by the IDP, an organizer of the IELTS test in Vietnam, the education ministry said it would accept all certificates issued before and after Sept. 10, 2022.

This means that people who used their IELTS certificates issued during the time period in order to graduate high schools and enter universities would not be affected by the issue.

Inspectors from the Ministry of Education and Training on Wednesday said over 56,200 IELTS certificates issued by the IDP from Jan. 1 to Nov. 16, 2022 were done so "inappropriately," as the education firm had organized exams since early 2022, before it was approved to do so by the education ministry starting on Nov. 17, 2022.

The move 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.