Ho Chi Minh City ‘homeschooling’ centers offer full-day programs in cramped conditions

Education authorities raised the alarm after identifying serious gaps in children's legal protections and educational pathways under such informal arrangements.

To verify these concerns, Tuoi Tre reporters posed as parents for over a month, looking into various facilities advertising homeschooling programs across the city.

Full-day homeschooling programs, cramped settings

At the centers visited by reporters, students attended full-day programs, paid millions of dong in monthly tuition, despite inadequate conditions for studying and accommodating.

In mid-August, following recommendations from homeschooling parent groups on social media, your correspondents visited S.D. Academy, which operates in an apartment building in Tan My Ward, to inquire about classes and plans for studying in the U.S.

A staff member explained the schedule for the full-day program, which runs from Monday to Friday, and even outlined the legal steps parents could take if they wanted their children to return to public school.

The academy occupied an apartment of less than 100 square meters on the eighth floor. 

Excluding the kitchen, bathroom and balcony, the main classroom measured about 40 square meters.

It contained 10 long tables arranged in three rows, with 18 seats in total. A television and the academy's logo were mounted above the tables.

"Students take a placement test, and tuition varies depending on their level,” J.N., introduced as the academy's owner, explained.

“Here, homeschooling means studying online, but students gather at the center for a full-day program from Monday to Friday,” she added.

“There are about 10 students in a class. They have mats for their midday naps, while parents prepare lunch for their children to bring from home."

J.N. repeatedly touted her track record over the past three years, claiming to have successfully prepared several groups of students to study in the U.S.

In early October, your correspondents returned during the lunch break and found the apartment was stuffy and smelled strongly of food.

Only two students were in the "classroom": one was studying while the other lay curled up on the tiled floor, taking a nap.

Another facility advertising homeschooling was a Cambridge tutoring and test-preparation center on Le Quoc Trinh Street in Phu Tho Hoa Ward, where more than 10 students were enrolled in homeschooling programs.

The children were required to study, eat and rest at the center from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

Tuition was VND8.2 million (US$316) per month, plus VND50,000 ($1.93) a day for lunch and an afternoon snack.

Three floors of a house had been converted into classrooms.

The learning space was stuffy, with no visible emergency exits or standard fire safety equipment.

At lunchtime, the food was delivered from elsewhere, and the children served themselves.

During the midday break, dozens of primary and lower-secondary students took a nap on colorful beanbag chairs placed closely together on the floor.

At another facility operating under the name "Homeschool" in Trung My Tay Ward, the owner, identified as N., enthusiastically promoted its in-person, full-day program for children aged four to 12, claiming they would learn quickly.

Using the "international" label to persuade parents to pay

A common marketing tactic among these centers was to promote American and British curricula and claim that their teachers received internationally standardized training.

They repeatedly advertised the use of international curricula, painting an appealing picture of children becoming “global citizens.”

At S.D. Academy, H.A., a coordinator, said that although homeschooling meant studying at home, having teachers supervise and support students at the center would make their learning more structured.

"Students come here to study online through programs purchased from overseas,” H.A. said.

“The teachers at the academy support and guide them based on how their overseas instructors assess their performance,” he added.

“We monitor the students and help them interact effectively.”

A facility in Trung My Tay Ward used the Abeka curriculum alongside mathematics and Vietnamese lessons.

It also offered phonics classes and evening extracurricular classes.

Despite advertising an American curriculum, most classes were taught by Vietnamese and Filipino teachers.

To attract more customers, the center offered free transportation and appealed to parents looking for lower costs, claiming that "a week's tuition costs the same as four hours of classes at an English language center."

Legal risks and compulsory education concerns

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training had issued an urgent warning, asking local authorities to review all children of school age and strictly handle homeschooling centers operating illegally.

A culture and social affairs official in a central ward said Vietnamese law does not prohibit parents from teaching their children at home.

However, the national education system does not recognize any entity that independently provides general education to replace formal schooling or issues its own homeschooling certificates.

"Primary education is compulsory,” the official stressed. “Arbitrarily withdrawing children from school and sending them to unlicensed facilities deprives them of their legal right to attend school.”

“Parents need to understand that placing their children in self-established centers carries significant legal risks," he added.

"When children want to return to public school, missing school records and original documents from earlier grades can create a major legal barrier, directly affecting their rights and educational pathway.”

A representative from one of the centers Tuoi Tre investigated admitted holding only a study-abroad consulting license, not an educational operating permit. 

When reporters asked for credentials before signing a contract, the representative acknowledged lacking an educational operations license from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training.