Saigon Star International School (SGSIS) in Ho Chi Minh City is not listed among the private schools licensed by the municipal Department of Education and Training, the department said at a press briefing on Thursday.

The school got the nod from the District 2 People’s Committee to open on January 8, 2014 and was licensed for educational operations by the district’s Education and Training Division in April 2015. It was allowed to operate until March 31, 2020.

District 2, District 9, and Thu Duc District were merged into the current Thu Duc City on January 1, 2021.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, SGSIS became involved in a land dispute, so the municipal department opted to revoke its license for educational operations in line with regulations stipulated in Decree No. 86.

However, the department issued a dispatch allowing the school to maintain its operations at its location in Thanh My Loi Ward, Thu Duc City on October 24, 2023 in order to ensure the rights and interests of students.

The dispatch read, “To guarantee the rights of students, the municipal Department of Education and Training allows Saigon Star International School to maintain its operations at Residential Area No. 5 in Thanh My Loi Ward, Thu Duc City, with effect from the issuance date of this decision until July 31, 2025.

“The school must not enroll new students during the period.”

SGSIS includes a preschool and an elementary school.

To date, the school has not been re-granted a license for educational operations by the municipal Department of Education and Training and is consequently absent from the department’s list of authorized private schools.

In October, the department conducted an unannounced inspection of the school and addressed its violations.

Departmental inspectors summoned the legal representative of the school four times in November and December, but the representative failed to cooperate.

As a result, the inspectors were unable to book the school for administrative violations.

The department is adopting some measures to ensure the rights of students at the school, including issuing guidance on school transfers and student admissions.

Schools admitting students from Saigon Star International School were told to create favorable conditions for the new enrollees so that they could catch up with those learners who were already enrolled, and stabilize their schooling.

In mid-December, parents and students were shocked to learn that SGSIS would have to cease operations and relocate due to land disputes.

Its students had their winter break from December 14 until January 5.

However, the school announced in early December that the winter break would run until February 13 and it would reopen at a new campus in Hiep Binh Phuoc Ward, Thu Duc City, some 16 kilometers from the current location.

Some parents said that the plan to relocate and reopen the school would be difficult to implement as the new campus is currently empty.

Land disputes

Land Plot No. 94, 811 in Thanh My Loi Ward, where the school is located, is owned by ACB Asset Management Company Limited (ACBA).

On December 31, 2016, ACBA and SGSIS signed a land lease agreement, with the lease term running from January 1, 2017 to October 31, 2018.

In October 2018, based on an agreement between the two parties, ACBA and SGSIS entered into a land sale and purchase contract. 

However, SGSIS failed to make payments as agreed despite multiple requests from ACBA.

ACBA later filed a lawsuit seeking to annul the sale and purchase contract.

The suit requested the court to order SGSIS to return the land to ACBA and compensate for the accumulated rent during the period it occupied the property.

In January 2020, the People’s Court of District 2, now Thu Duc City, conducted a first-instance trial and ruled in favor of ACBA. 

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court later upheld the decision on appeal, rejecting SGSIS’ challenge.

On October 12, 2020, the Thu Duc City Civil Judgment Execution Sub-Department issued an order to enforce the judgment, instructing SGSIS to return the land to ACBA and pay the outstanding rent.

However, SGSIS requested a review of the judgment under the cassation procedure, which led the enforcement agency to temporarily suspend the judgment’s implementation. 

On May 7, 2021, the High People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City issued a cassation ruling, upholding the previous appeal judgment.

On May 3, 2024, the Thu Duc City Civil Judgment Judgment Execution Sub-Department issued another decision for the compulsory enforcement of the judgment, directing SGSIS to return the land to ACBA.

On July 29, 2024, the sub-department issued a notice to SGSIS instructing the school to publicly inform employees, teachers, students, and their families of the land handover. 

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