Recently, a parent whose child studies at Rosemont American International Kindergarten, located at Hapulico building, Thanh Xuan Trung ward, Thanh Xuan district (Hanoi), was upset that the quality of care and education at the school was not commensurate with the hundreds of millions of dong that parents spent.

School keeps announcing closures

Specifically, this parent said that she paid more than 100 million VND/year in tuition, but her child had to sleep on the floor in cramped, deprived conditions. The children's food was served in plastic bags, "the children had to eat standing up without proper tables and chairs."

"Looking at those images, no one can accept it, especially when the school is international and parents have spent a lot of money with the hope that their children can study and live in the best environment," said the parent.

According to parents, the reason for this situation is that the school did not pay rent or teachers' salaries, so the building cut off electricity, reclaimed the premises, and teachers went to find other jobs. Children's education was interrupted, the school continuously reported holidays or had to go to school at a nearby playground.

Ms. Nguyen Thi H. (a parent whose child studies at Rosemont Vietnam American International Kindergarten) said that after Tet, her child had only been going to school for a few sessions when the school started to announce consecutive school closures.

On February 16-17, the school announced that the children would be off school for the reason of "disinfecting to prevent influenza A and Rota virus".

Then, on February 18-19, the school continued to keep students at home, citing cold rain and power outages, and scheduled to pick up the children on February 20. However, on the appointed day, the school was still unable to pick up the children and continued to extend the deadline to February 24.

Under pressure from parents, on February 24, the school temporarily moved the children to a playground near the school. However, Ms. H.'s child and other children had to "eat poorly, even without water". The school continued to promise to return to normal classes at Hapulico on February 26.

On February 26, the school announced that students would return to school as usual from March 3, but in reality, the school was closed and the lights were turned off. In total, parents received eight notices of school closure from the school.

According to Ms. H., these notices are often sent late at night so that "parents cannot protest and meet the school principal directly." The parents asked the school to hold a meeting, but the principal did not show up.

"We were very upset and had to invite the police to investigate," said Ms. H., who said that before Tet, she had paid 3 months of tuition, nearly 30 million VND, but in reality, after Tet, she had only attended a few classes. Now, her child has had to transfer to another school.

Meanwhile, Ms. D.TD (Thanh Xuan district) has also paid 104 million VND/year to the school since September 2024, but since after Tet until now, the number of days going to school can be counted on the fingers.

"The school always promises to refund tuition fees, but now no one is willing to meet. There is still no schedule for returning to school," said Ms. D.

What does the school explain?

Regarding the above incident, the Department of Education and Training of Thanh Xuan district has sent a report to the Department of Education and Training.

After verification, the District Department of Education and Training said that Rosemont Vietnam American International Kindergarten was established under Decision No. 3642 dated October 17, 2018 of the People's Committee of Thanh Xuan District; address at building 21 T1 Hapulico complex No. 1 Nguyen Huy Tuong, Thanh Xuan Trung ward, Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi.

The school has 74 students/5 classes with 16 teachers, including a principal, 10 teachers, 5 staff. The school's tuition is about 6-8 million VND/month, meals are 80,000 VND/child/day.

Immediately after receiving the information, the Department of Education and Training coordinated with Thanh Xuan Trung Ward Police to conduct a field inspection and requested the school owner to make an explanatory report.

At the time of the inspection, the school had no electricity in the building, no students, and no activities. The school owner explained that on February 14, the landlord sent a document requesting payment of the rental debt before February 15. If not, the premises would be reclaimed.

Immediately after that, the school owner sent a document requesting an advance payment of 50 million VND, with the remaining debt postponed to February 28, but was not approved and was asked to increase the rent by 15% per month starting from January 2025 and cut all services.

The school has asked to work and discuss with the leaders of the rental unit but was refused to resolve the issue. Therefore, the school has announced that the children will be absent from school and will refund 150% of the tuition for the days the children are absent.

In addition, the school owes February salaries to staff, teachers and employees. The school owner pledges to try to find a solution as soon as possible.

The Thanh Xuan District Department of Education and Training has requested the school owner to work with the premises leasing unit to reach an agreement; organize meetings and provide full, accurate, and public information to parents, staff, teachers, and school employees about the school's solution.

In addition, the school must have a commitment to a roadmap and timeframe for implementation to ensure the rights of students, staff, teachers and employees; promptly report the school's situation to management agencies.

The Department also introduces quality preschools in the area so that parents can send their children if needed, and coordinates with district departments and offices to strengthen inspection and supervision of the implementation of professional regulations of the industry and legal regulations for non-public preschools.