The currently-suspended American International School Vietnam (AISVN), located in Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City, unexpectedly notified parents on Friday of its plans to reopen in January 2025, despite not yet receiving approval from the municipal Department of Education and Training.

The school has been subjected to a 12-month suspension since July 1 as a result of its failure to comply with educational regulations.

In an email to parents on Friday afternoon, Nguyen Thi Anh Thu, who claimed to be the acting chairwoman of the AISVN school board, stated that “the school board, parents, teachers, and staff have collaborated over the past two months to resolve the school’s difficulties and ensure it will reopen in January 2025."

The email outlined that the school has rebuilt its teaching staff and restructured its curriculum for the new school year despite challenges with local authorities and managing significant debts.

The updated curriculum has been submitted to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and the Department of Education and Training for approval.

This plan aims to allow students to continue their education without interruption.

Thu noted that renovations and upgrades to facilities and IT systems would begin next week, along with surveys to gather parental feedback on student transportation and facilities.

Ho Tan Minh, chief of the Office of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, confirmed later on the same day that AISVN recently informed the department of its renovation plans. 

“Renovating the school is the responsibility of the investors, but any reopening requires permission from local authorities,” Minh explained, adding that the department has yet to receive a formal application for such reopening.

The school has neither provided evidence of its financial recovery nor its ability to resume stable educational operations.

In August, Nguyen Van Hieu, director of the Department of Education and Training, said that Thu’s appointment to the school board was not official. 

For a new chairperson to be recognized, an application must be submitted to the department. 

The school had to address the financial issues that led to its suspension, including over VND100 billion (US$3.95 million) in tax arrears, Hieu said.

In the same month, tax authorities in District 7 and Nha Be District proposed the municipal People’s Committee revoke AISVN's establishment license.

Nguyen Bao Quoc, deputy director of the municipal Department of Education and Training, previously stated that the school could not meet educational standards and advised against running any educational programs during its suspension.

Despite these issues, the school has repeatedly assured parents that it is improving its operational conditions and plans to reopen soon.

Classes for all students had been halted in March due to teacher absences out of unpaid salaries, forcing up to 1,000 students to seek transfers to other schools to avoid disruption to their education.

Its number of teachers dropped from 400 to just 28 in August, and there was no principal. 

Previously, over half of the parents had invested in ‘education investment packages,’ lending the school VND3-5 billion (US$118,600-197,630) each without interest, with the promise of reimbursement after graduation.

AISVN, established in 2006, serves students from three years old to grade 12, according to its website.

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