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who moved her three year old son there
from another in Hanoi. “It may not
have the biggest campus ever, but it
has the biggest heart.”
Other such schools include Hanoi
International Kindergarten, Rainbow
School, Concordia International School,
Horizon Billingual or Singapore Interna-
tional School.
International schools not only sat-
isfy the demand of expats, but those of
many local parents with high incomes.
At many schools, Vietnamese pupils
account for a high proportion of the
roll. Since 2010, most of the interna-
tional schools have been established
for Vietnamese students as bilingual
centres of education.
Ly Nguyen – an overseas Vietnam-
ese did not choose an international
school for her 2-year-old daughter at
first. One day, however, after complain-
ing about the quality of meals, the head
of the school invited her for a meeting
at which her daughter was weighed to
prove she was not losing weight. “That
is the reason I moved her to an interna-
tional school, despite the problems the
fees present us with,” she said.
She also affirms that demand for
international education among Viet-
namese is huge and growing: “At my
school, when most foreign kids are
picked up in middle class cars such
as Everest or Captiva, there is a long
row of Bentley, Phantom, BMW and
Mercedes cars waiting for Vietnamese
students,” she said. At her daughter’s
school, Vietnamese students account
for 50 per cent of the total.
This is not only the situation in
Vietnam, but in many Asian countries.
According to ICS Research, while 20
per cent of local children attended
international schools 30 years ago,
the number is now 80 per cent in
countries such as South Korea, Qatar,
Singapore and many more. This spells
investment opportunities.
The situation is complicated in Vi-
etnam, however, and the management
in education can be rather poor. 2012
was a tough year for foreign invested
educational organisations. According
to the Ministry of Planning and Invest-
ment, 172 FDI projects in education
have been registered with total capital
reaching $500 million, mostly concen-
trated in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Most of these are short term training
organisations with minimal capital.
In 2012, the licenses of some for-
eign invested establishments in Ho Chi
Minh City were withdrawn.
In the same year, a decree took ef-
fect to restrict the number of Vietnam-
ese children in foreign invested schools.
Furthermore, those under 5 years old
are not allowed to attend international
schools and Vietnamese students must
not comprise more than 10 per cent of
the total at international primary and
secondary schools.
Dr. Ho Thieu Hung, former director
of Ho Chi Minh City’s education depart-
ment, said he was “puzzled” about the
purpose of the restrictions.
According to Deputy Minister of
Education and Training, Tran Quang
Quy, the rationale for restricting those
under 5 is to protect Vietnamese cul-
ture and language. Regarding the re-
strictions at higher levels, Quy said
that high quality international schools
usually enroll about 10 – 20 per cent of
Vietnamese students.
This decree is not applicable for
100 per cent Vietnamese invested
schools and is not retroactive.
However, some investors of well-
known international schools apply the
international curriculum despite being
local, for example at ABC IS. Despite
having international accreditation, such
schools are not affected by this decree.
This means that while foreign in-
vestors are blocked from the potential
local market, some bilingual schools are
free to exploit the potential. Well Spring
or BVIS (British Vietnamese Interna-
tional School) are both good examples
which have large campuses and good
facilities. However, their high tuition
fees and uncertified programs cause
concern for parents.
“This is the reason why international
education in Vietnam is so costly,” said
Ly Nguyen. “One of my friends had to
take his family back to his home country
just because he could not afford educa-
tion for his kids here any more. It is also
unfair for those like me whose choice is
restricted by the soaring costs.”
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EDUCATION