The winds of change are blowing in the regulation and oversight of education agents in Vietnam This is the result of recent scandals and demands from the public for closer scrutiny of education agents. It seems that the Wild West environment in which many of these businesses have operated is going the way of the dinosaur, which is good news for students, parents and those companies that conduct their business in an ethical and transparent manner.
According to Decision 05/2013/QD-TTg, proposed by the Minister of Education and Training (MoET) and issued by the Prime Minister on 15 January 2013, study abroad education consultancies will have to meet the following requirements effective 10 March 2013.
1) companies must have on deposit VND 500 million ($23,800) in a commercial bank; and
2) owners and agents must have a university qualification, be proficient in at least one foreign language and be certified by MoET
In addition, education consultancies must publicize all information about schools in foreign countries, among other requirements. Local departments of education and training (DoET) will be responsible for implementing this decision.
Here are links to a 18 January Việt Nam News article in English and the Decision 05/2013/QD-TTg in Vietnamese.
An International Educator in Viet Nam 
[…] 05/2013, which was proposed by the Ministry and approved by the Prime Minister, will provide for closer scrutiny of education agents. This is the result of recent scandals and demands from the public for more oversight of these […]
[…] 05/2013, which was proposed by the Ministry and approved by the Prime Minister, will provide for closer scrutiny of education agents. This is the result of recent scandals and demands from the public for more oversight of these […]
[…] winds of change are blowing in the regulation and oversight of education agents in Vietnam,” he wrote at the time. “This is the result of recent scandals and demands from the public for closer scrutiny of […]