Shark Thuy failed to negotiate with parents in the Apax Leaders English School case

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thuy (Shark Thuy), Chairman of Egroup Corporation and owner of Apax Leaders English system, had an online dialogue with parents on the afternoon of February 26 but did not reach many agreements.

According to the reporter's investigation, until late at night on February 26, more than 900 parents in Ho Chi Minh City were still participating in voting in the Apax Ho Chi Minh City parents group about the options, after having a dialogue session that afternoon with Apax Leaders.

PH's parent said she was not allowed to attend the meeting on the afternoon of February 26 because she was not informed, and only heard from some parents. "We also wonder why some parents were informed and others were not informed about this meeting. We are all worried about losing tuition for our children," said Ms. H.

According to Ms. H, after the meeting, other parents discussed that at 2:00 p.m. the same day, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thuy organized a meeting via Zoom with parents whose children studied at Apax Leaders. During the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thuy, on behalf of Apax Leaders, apologized to the parents for the difficulties after the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the children's studies and made the parents worried and upset.

Mr. Thuy also affirmed that Apax Leaders will return to the Southern market and gradually recover. Apax Leaders will return as soon as possible and solve learning problems for children.

At the meeting, many parents asked: If they want to confirm the number of their child's lessons and the remaining amount, where should parents go to get confirmation? If the child wants to continue studying at Apax Leaders, when does the center plan to let the child study again, and how will the center support the child so that the child's studies are not interrupted further?

A representative of Apax Leaders said that as early as March 1, parents can come to Apax Leaders Phan Xich Long (Phu Nhuan District) to confirm the number of classes and the amount of money. If children want to continue going to school, by March 21 at the latest, Apax Leaders will reopen 4 branches in Ho Chi Minh City: Him Lam (District 6), Phan Xich Long (Phu Nhuan District), Phan Van Tri (Go Vap District), Le Duc Tho (Go Vap District) and a branch in Binh Duong.

For parents who no longer want their children to study at Apax Leaders, the center will gradually resolve the issue. However, the center cannot promise when the money will be refunded because the center does not want to break any more promises to parents.

Many parents continue to question the reopening of 5 centers that cannot meet the needs of more than 40 students. A representative of Apax Leaders said that opening 5 centers cannot serve all students. The center is planning to support children who live far away, for example, picking up and dropping off children, so that they can go to school. But these are just plans, Apax Leaders has not made an official decision.

Sharing with reporters, many parents said that the above answers were not satisfactory and not convincing. Currently, many children cannot interrupt their studies so they have turned to other foreign language centers but do not know when they will get their money back. It is known that many parents voted to get their money back from Apax Leaders, some chose to report to the authorities about signs of Apax Leaders appropriating their parents' tuition fees.

As reported many times, many parents in Ho Chi Minh City are in a state of shock, sending petitions for help when many Apax Leaders English Centers do not refund tuition fees to parents, close without giving a reason, and center staff turn off communication.

According to Laborer