VietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City Department of Education and Training has ordered illegal tuition centres offering training for university entrance examinations to stop enrolling students and return their tuition money.

They include the Tan Phu and Nhan Tai centres in Tan Phu District, Do Thanh and Dang Thanh Dat in Binh Thanh District, Viet International Company in Thu Duc District, and Quoc Tri Private High School in District 6.

The department said that they did not have licences.

It also ordered its offices in the districts to strengthen inspection to uncover illegal centres.

With the nation-wide university entrance exams beginning on July 4, many coaching centres have mushroomed.

They make all kinds of offers – including guaranteed admission to a university or the money back – and charge proportionately high fees.

At one centre in Dinh Bo Linh Street, Binh Thanh District, staff said the fee to enroll in a class with 30-40 candidates started at VND1.5 million a month for three subjects.

Coaches would even come around to a candidate's house to teach for around VND70 million (US$3,370).

At another centre in Nguyen Kiem Street, Phu Nhuan District, comparable courses cost VND1.7 million and nearly VND50 million.

Some centres also offer board and lodging for students from other provinces.

A staff at Nhan Tai Centre in Tan Phu District said the centre would take care of candidates' entire daily routine – waking them up 5am, providing breakfast, and having classes through the day until 11pm or midnight. The centre would also assign exercises for them regularly and score them.

All this would cost VND25 million, he said.

If someone failed to pass the entrance exam, the centre would refund VND19 million, he claimed.

However, some educationists warn that parents and students should be careful when choosing a centre to prepare for the exam.

Pham Anh Ba, head of the department's Continuing Education Office, said since many centres have sprung up ahead of the entrance exams, his agency lacked the manpower to monitor all of them.

Officials were also busy with other exams like the high-school graduation and entrance exams, he said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News