Students in trouble because Atips English certificate is invalid

Thanh Vinh, a fourth-year student at Ton Duc Thang University, said on February 16 that he and many other students at the university are anxious because the English certificate issued by the British Council is not recognized by the university.

The male student said he took the Aptis General English certificate exam issued by the British Council with a fee of two million VND on November 25, 2022. In early December, Vinh was granted the certificate. He then submitted it to the school to register for some final subjects and at the same time prove that he met the output foreign language standards.

After Tet, the male student was informed by the school that this certificate was invalid, the reason being that the British Council was not licensed to organize the Aptis General certificate exam. The male student was surprised and found out that in November 2022, the British Council was licensed by the Ministry of Education and Training to organize the Aptis ESOL certificate exam, not the Aptis General one. Meanwhile, Ton Duc Thang University only accepts the Aptis General certificate.

"Before registering for the exam, I called a British Council consultant and was told that they would be holding the Aptis General exam until December 22, 2022. The certificate issued to me also clearly stated that it was Aptis General," Thanh Vinh said.

Affected students from Ton Duc Thang University came to the British Council center to ask for an explanation on the afternoon of February 16. Photo: NVCC

At the same exam period as Vinh, Ngo Hoang Quan, a 6th-year student, was also worried because he might delay his graduation by another year because his English certificate was not recognized. Phuong Thanh, a 4th-year accounting student, said that she might have her 3-month internship results canceled because her foreign language certificate was not in accordance with regulations.

Vinh, Quan, and Thanh said that this would greatly affect their study and graduation plans. If they had to retake another certificate, they would not be able to submit it within the school's deadline.

According to Phuong Thanh, students taking the Aptis General certificate exam from November 11 to December 22, 2022 have exchanged information, and the list is currently up to more than 700 people.

On the afternoon of February 16, about 80 students came to the British Council center in District 10 (Ho Chi Minh City), requesting an explanation of the value and legality of the English certificate they had issued. The representative of this unit noted that they were working with Ton Duc Thang University to resolve the issue and would officially respond on February 22.

On the morning of February 18, Dr. Duong Thi Thuy Van, Head of the Department of Testing and Quality Assurance, Ton Duc Thang University, said that she had sent a document to the Department of Quality Management, Ministry of Education and Training to verify the legality of the Aptis General certificate. The Department of Quality Management responded that the issuance of a certificate other than Aptis ESOL from November 11, 2022 is not in accordance with the decisions of the ministry.

On February 10, the school worked with the British Council, its test-organizing partners, and representatives of the Ministry of Education and Training. Ms. Van said that at this meeting, the British Council and its affiliated organizations confirmed that the issuance of Aptis General certificates during this time was incorrect, and pledged to support students who had taken the exam by re-organizing the exam and issuing Aptis Esol certificates, or refunding money if they did not retake the exam.

"The Aptis Esol certificate has just been organized in Vietnam. The school needs time to review and evaluate the suitability of this certificate compared to the output standards. Therefore, the school does not currently recognize the Aptis ESOL certificate," said Ms. Van. According to Ms. Van, the school will also allow students to participate in normal learning activities and extend the submission of international English certificates according to output standards until the end of October 2023.

Meanwhile, a representative of the British Council said that Aptis ESOL is the new name of the Aptis test and affirmed that this is an international English test recognized by the Ministry of Education and Training under Decision No. 3646 dated November 11, 2022. During the transition period to the new name in Vietnam, Aptis tests and certificates issued by the British Council are recognized and retain their legal value.

This unit believes that Ton Duc Thang University's decision not to choose the Aptis ESOL test for the purpose of assessing students' foreign language proficiency is the school's decision.

According to the list of units and locations that are allowed to organize foreign language certificate exams announced by the Ministry of Education and Training on February 7, the Atips certificate that the British Council has granted up to now is called Atips ESOL.

Atips is an English proficiency assessment certificate issued by the British Council since 2012, recognized in 85 countries and territories.

In Vietnam, many universities use Aptis to assess foreign language output for students such as Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Foreign Trade University, member schools of Hanoi National University, National Economics University. According to the output standards of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, the accepted Atips English certificate is Atips General. Meanwhile, on the British Council website, the test is introduced as Atips ESOL.

The fee for this certificate exam is currently from 1.4 to 2 million VND per time.

According to VnExpress