International school closed, holding 14 billion VND in tuition fees

Mr. Thai Viet Tuong, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Nam, confirmed the incident on September 7, saying that he had come to inspect and work with this school.

Green Shoots International School is located in Cam Chau Ward, Hoi An City, owned by British national Catherine Clare Mckinley. Catherine has returned to her home country, the Vietnamese principal is still there but has little to no influence on its management.

"If a school goes bankrupt, it must be reported to the Department, but they have left," said Mr. Tuong, adding that it is extremely difficult for parents to get back their tuition fees. The Department has reported to the Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee to request the British Embassy to summon Ms. Catherine Clare Mckinley, but she has not returned.

"The department has worked with parents and introduced similar schools for students to attend for the new school year," said Mr. Tuong. All students were accepted into schools in Hoi An City and Da Nang.

A parent whose child is in grade 2 in Hoi An said that from May to August, Green Shoots School organizes enrollment for both kindergarten and high school. The school announced that the new school year will start on August 22. There are 95 students, including 11 Vietnamese students. Tuition here ranges from 350-400 million VND per year, parents can pay monthly or quarterly.

"I paid 100 million VND before my child entered school," this person said, adding that according to preliminary statistics, parents had paid more than 14 billion VND in tuition fees.

On August 8, all parents were surprised to receive a notice from Ms. Catherine via email stating that the students were being transferred to an international school in Da Nang. She said she was no longer running Green Shoots, and did not explain or discuss anything about how the students would study in Da Nang or what the tuition fees would be.

Parents contacted the school in Da Nang, but the school refused, saying they do not accept tuition fees from Green Shoots students.

At the same time, the school dismantled all items at the rented location and ceased operations.

"To make it to the new school year, parents have to find another school for their children, and they don't know where to claim the tuition fees they paid to Green Shoots," said one parent. They have filed a complaint with the Quang Nam Provincial Police, requesting verification and clarification of signs of fraud and property appropriation.

Green Shoots International School was licensed by the Quang Nam People's Committee to enroll students from kindergarten to high school in 2014. Previously, it only accepted preschool children and opened in 2011. According to the license, Green Shoots teaches the British national education program (IPC, IGCSE) and the International Baccalaureate program (IBD and IBDP).

A parent whose child studied at Green Shoots for three years rated the quality of education as good. She said that although the facilities are not large, the teachers are good (both foreign and Vietnamese teachers). The school's curriculum follows Cambridge, has international certifications Cambridge, CIS and COBIS, which is suitable for the family's orientation.

"My family practices closed-loop agriculture, producing traditional foods. I send my child to this school to get early exposure to the outside world, so that he can later inherit the family's traditional business," she said.

Currently, there is no legal document that defines the concept of "international school". However, this term is quite popular, often used for schools with foreign investment, teaching British, American, Canadian programs..., taught by foreign teachers.