IDP Education, an organization that administers IELTS tests in Vietnam, was found to have granted more than 56,000 unauthorized IELTS certificates in 2022, according to the outcome of an inspection conducted by the Ministry of Education and Training.

The inspection focused on the organization and issuance of foreign language proficiency certificates by IDP Education, located in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.

Inspectors of the ministry found that IDP Education organized 458 exams in many localities nationwide and issued over 46,640 IELTS certificates from January 1 to September 9, 2022 without approval from the Vietnamese education ministry.

Besides, IDP Education ran 97 exams and granted an additional 9,600 certificates from September 10 to November 16, 2022 before it was officially granted a permit to issue such certificates in Vietnam.  

The inspectors noted that documents from an IELTS exam in Tien Giang Province, southern Vietnam on September 15, 2022 showed that the provincial Department of Education and Training had signed a dispatch allowing the firm to hold the test.

Meanwhile, in other localities, the provincial departments of education and training gave no approval.  

From November 17 to December 31, 2022, the firm was permitted to run the exams and grant certifications, so it held two tests each in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang City.

During this period, the company issued over 9,920 IELTS certificates.

In total, the inspection found that over 56,240 IELTS certificates it had granted in Vietnam in 2022 were not approved by the ministry. 

The inspectors proposed the education minister task the Education Quality Management Agency with instructing the firm on how to deal with the certificates that it had issued without approval.

Responding to the inspection result released on Wednesday, IDP Education made an announcement on Thursday that the over 56,000 IELTS certificates have been accepted in the world.

“IELTS is one of the world’s most prestigious and valuable English-language tests,” the announcement reads.

“We affirm that the certificates issued during the unauthorized period are still recognized by over 12,000 international organizations."

A representative of IDP Education said that the company would keep working with the ministry to ensure its compliance with all requirements.

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