HCMC tinkers around with foreign language center management

Education sector in HCMC is still tinkering around with foreign language and computer teaching center management while these centers have been mushrooming with various methods and textbooks. However, quality amongst them are not the same and some of them violated the educational regulations.

HCMC tinkers around with foreign language center management
According to the city Department of Education and Training’s statistic, the number of established foreign language and computer teaching centers has surged to 1,250 by January 31, 2019 increasing 96 facilities and 65 branches compared to the first semester.
Newly-established centers have been mushrooming in districts 6, 12, Thu Duc, Tan Binh, Tan Phu, Binh Tan, Binh Thanh and Hoc Mon. Specially, disadvantaged outlying district Can Gio has set up a foreign language teaching center, the first of its kind in the district.
Noticeably, of them, only 2 percent are by foreign-invested facilities and the remaining is invested by local enterprises and individuals. Head of the Continuous Teaching Department Ho Phu Bac said economic crisis will greatly make impact on centers’ quality of growth and vice versa.
The Department of Education and Training said that it has paid visits to most of centers in districts 9, 12, Tan Binh, and Go Vap from September, 2018 till now. Five illegally-established centers were asked to shut down and remove signboards as well as stop advertising the school.
Consequently, violators received administrative fine of VND90 million ($3,876).
Moreover, the Department liaised with its sub-divisions in authority in Tan Son Nhi Ward in Tan Phu District to suspend operation of Nhat My Foreign Language Teaching center following series of violations.
Additionally, the Department has warned of violations in tuition fee collection, firefighting, licence, and curriculum in other twelve centers
Regarding to training market, Director of Hop Diem Company Tran Huu Phuc Tien said that 700 centers were opened to meet learning demand of more than 50,000 learners proving it is an attractive market with more and more investors jumping into investment; therefore, competition is becoming fierce.
To improve teaching quality, Director Tien proposed the Department of Education and Training to organize clubs and unions for periodic meeting with the aim to share experience, especially in the time when centers include culture teaching and extra-activities in addition to language to help developing good character and train skills for small children.
Director of Thoi Dai Moi center Nguyen Trong Tuan suggested that managing agencies should take heed of establishment of foreign language and computer teaching center association.
He petitioned the Department of Education and Training to be harsher in directing to shape training activities in a bid to meet learning need of city dwellers.
First of all, to restructure foreign language teaching activities, Deputy Head of the Continuous Teaching Department Tran Thi Kim Thanh warned center managers to strictly follow regulations about legal activities including business licence, publicize tuition fee and name of teaching staffs with their degrees on the school’s website and reception room.

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