American International School Vietnam dissolved after prolonged suspension

The municipal administration on Monday announced the decision to dissolve AISVN located at 220 Nguyen Van Tao Street, Hiep Phuoc Commune, while requiring measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of students and employees.

The legal basis for the dissolution was cited under Point b, Clause 2, Article 51 of the 2019 Law on Education.

In August last year, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training proposed the municipal administration consider dissolving AISVN, citing the school's prolonged suspension of operations and failure to rectify violations.

AISVN had been suspended from providing educational services under a decision issued on June 28, 2024 by the director of the department.

However, after the suspension period, the school failed to rectify the causes that led to the suspension.

The municipal administration’s decision clearly assigns responsibility to American International Education JSC, the investor of AISVN, and the school to resolve all issues related to organizational structure, personnel, finance, assets, and land in accordance with the law.

They are also required to fully settle financial obligations and ensure the lawful rights and interests of learners and employees.

Specifically, the school must fully repay outstanding debts, particularly overdue social insurance, health insurance, and occupational accident and disease insurance contributions; complete all tax obligations; and refund tuition fees and other payments already collected but not yet used to parents and students.

For employees, the school is required to fully implement all regimes related to salaries, allowances, social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance in accordance with signed labor contracts and legal regulations.

AISVN must also hand over all educational records and administrative documents to the department for archiving.

The municipal People’s Committee tasked the department with working with relevant agencies to guide and support the transfer of AISVN students to licensed and qualified educational institutions, ensuring that their studies are not disrupted.

Also, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Home Affairs, the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department, and the Ho Chi Minh City Social Security Agency are responsible for supervising and urging the settlement of outstanding insurance contributions, tax obligations, and severance benefits for employees of American International Education JSC in accordance with regulations.

In September 2023, the department identified the school’s unstable financial condition, which severely affected teaching and learning activities.

The department held several direct meetings with the chairman of the school board and the principal to seek solutions in January 2024.

However, after reviewing the situation, the department determined that the school was no longer capable of maintaining its educational operations.

Although the department had cooperated with relevant agencies to help students complete the 2023–24 academic year, the department officially suspended AISVN’s educational activities for 12 months starting June 28, 2024.

In June last year, the department held another meeting with representatives of American International Education JSC and the school to assess their progress in addressing the causes of the suspension.

At that meeting, the department requested a report with evidence showing that the issues had been resolved.

On June 18, 2025, Ho Quang Trung, on behalf of the company and the school, submitted a report claiming the issues had been addressed and requested a 12-month extension of the suspension period, from June 30, 2025 to June 30, 2026.

However, the report failed to demonstrate that the causes of the suspension had actually been resolved.

According to feedback from related authorities, neither the investor nor AISVN submitted the mandatory mid-2025 labor usage report.

As of May 31 last year, the school and its owner owed more than VND31 billion (US$1.2 million) in social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance contributions.

The company also failed to fulfill its tax obligations for March and April 2025.

The department concluded that by the end of June 2025, the investor had not provided an effective financial plan to settle outstanding debts or ensure the school’s continued operation.

AISVN failed to meet the conditions to resume operations and had not demonstrated sufficient financial capacity, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training.

On March 18, 2024, AISVN halted classes for all students as most teachers did not show up due to 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 2025, and there was no principal.

Previously, over half of the parents had invested in ‘education investment packages,’ lending the school VND3-5 billion ($114,200-190,300) each without interest, with the promise of reimbursement after graduation.

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