After half a year grappling to survive through online teaching, many English centers in Ho Chi Minh City are preparing for a comeback as the city began gradually removing COVID-19 restrictions in October. However, they have yet to be out of the woods as hindrances still lay abound.

Passively waiting

Vietnam-USA Society English Center (VUS), one of the biggest language institutions in the southern city, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that they are preparing for reopening scenarios in the near future when local students are allowed to return to schools.

However, they still have to wait for city officials to design official plans and guidance before a concrete plan can be settled. 

School and training facilities in Ho Chi Minh City have been closed down since May 10 over fears of COVID-19 spread, which forced all classes to be moved to cyber platforms during the past few months.

School closures were part of the city’s strict measures to combat the fourth COVID-19 wave, which started in late April and has killed nearly 17,000 people in the southern metropolis to date.

In October, restrictions on many businesses and services were dropped as daily cases in the city started to plunge. However, the suspension of education centers has yet to be lifted.

According to a representative of English center chain APAX Leaders, several provinces in northern and central Vietnam have returned to a ‘new normal’ state, with some language centers welcoming back students in physical spaces.

Meanwhile, centers in southern provinces are operating in two modes: either thoroughly online courses or courses that stay online until in-person classes are reopened.

As witnessed at the Ho Chi Minh City-based language training centers of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), students can still sign up for the majority of courses and take the entrance exams online.

Several courses will be put on hold until the city lifts the ban on in-person classes.

Speaking with Tuoi Tre, Doan Nguyen Van Khanh, representative of IIG Vietnam – an official organizer of standardized English tests in the country, announced that in-person TOEIC and TOEFL iBT tests have returned to several municipalities, including Ho Chi Minh City. 

Examinees must fulfill ‘new normal’ rules, which include presenting proof of double vaccination against COVID-19 before taking the tests. Meanwhile, the examiners must fulfill requirements on room capacity and safe distances, which lead to limited slots for TOEIC and TOEFL iBT testing at the moment. 

The Foreign Language and Information Technology Center of Ho Chi Minh City, another organizer of standardized English tests in the southern metropolis, has halted all test dates in 2021 and announced that they will come back in early 2022. 

Tutor shortages

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, H123 was known as one of the most popular English training facilities in the southern Binh Duong Province, with eight centers situated throughout the locale. 

After half a year of wrestling with the aftermath of COVID-19, the business, as well as other education centers in Binh Duong, has yet to be allowed to reopen.

Their student count now only amounts to 30 percent of the pre-pandemic number, which has forced them to pinch pennies, offer less salaries and even let go 30 percent of their teachers.

As most sectors of the economy have started to revive, teachers of the center now see the opportunity to change jobs for more lucrative and stable incomes. 

On top of that, in case the in-person class shutdown continues, what H123 can offer after six months of struggle is merely not attractive enough.

“I had to use the savings accumulated over the past eight years to sustain the business, but that too would soon wear out.”

“I already resorted to loans to pay salaries, as losing teachers would be the endgame.”

The supply for teachers, especially foreign ones, after English classes switch back to offline, would be extremely sparse, as many had already returned to their home country during the pandemic, said Tran Quoc Toan, CEO of education group EQuest.

Additionally, complicated entrance procedures and uncompetitive salaries would also discourage foreign teachers to re-enter the Vietnamese market, Toan pointed out.

Parents’ safety concerns for their children are also a problem that needs to be addressed, a strategic consultant for Cambridge English Center in Mekong Delta’s Ben Tre Province said.

More specifically, parents remain anxious about transmission risks that can affect their children as many of them have yet to be vaccinated.

Only when the students receive the jabs can the situation of English centers change for the better, he added.

Online classes in demand

The approval for online classes is on the rise, according to EQuest’s CEO Tran Quoc Toan.

Seventy percent of EQuest’s existing customers said they prefer virtual training as it saves time while still providing quality education that matches in-person classes, the company leader said.

Such a result serves as the basis for the company to continue shifting its focus to online training, even when the pandemic has waned. 

Brick-and-mortar centers would play the supporting roles for online classes, with supplementary in-person classes to provide more interaction for the digital coursework.

“Online programs at English centers are carefully designed and streamlined to provide flexibility for learners, which is part of its charm to students and parents,” Toan stated.

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