SINGAPORE: Some six years after a Singapore
education company had its branches in Vietnam shut down, another
has suffered a similar fate.
According to media reports in Vietnam, Raffles
Education Corporation - which is listed on the Singapore Exchange -
had its licence revoked last month by authorities in Ho Chi Minh
City after it had been found enrolling students for unauthorised
courses.
In December last year, Raffles International
Training Centre (RITC) Vietnam - a design institute run by
RafflesEducationCorp - was one of three private colleges penalised
by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training for allegedly
offering illegal joint training programmes with foreign
colleges.
RITC was accused of cooperating with the Raffles College of Higher
Education in Singapore without the necessary licence. The three
private colleges were reportedly fined 220 million Vietnamese dong
(S$13,100) and ordered to suspend advertising, admission and
training activities leading to the award of diplomas and degrees
from overseas.
Responding to Today's queries, RafflesEducationCorp confirmed the
revocation of its licence. A spokesperson said: "The onset of
regulatory tightening in Vietnam is beyond the group's
control."
She said the group's priority is to "fulfil our obligations to
Raffles students and so, we have accordingly processed the
permanent transfer of more than 400 students from Vietnam to other
Raffles Education Corporation colleges in Singapore, Sydney and
Phnom Penh".
The spokesperson added: "We have offered to bear student airfares
and contribute partially to their living expenses in these cities.
Our focus is on the welfare of our students, first and foremost,
and to minimise any disruption to their continual learning process.
Students who have chosen to discontinue their studies with us have
been given refunds for tuition fees paid."
RafflesEducationCorp has so far refunded a total of S$5.6 million,
according to the spokesperson.
The Thanh Nien Daily also reported that there was an order barring
RITC director-general Edmund Hwong from leaving Vietnam. But the
RafflesEducationCorp spokesperson refuted this.
The RafflesEducationCorp had previously clarified its position on
the controversy. According to the group, there were no clear
regulations in Vietnam "governing credit transfer processes leading
to the award of diplomas and degrees from overseas".
Following the authorities' decision in December, RITC "fully paid
the stipulated violation fine".
Both its centres in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh also complied with the
suspension order. Subsequently, it appealed against the fine and
suspension, as well as sought dialogue with the authorities. But
all discussions "yielded unworkable options".
In 2006, Today broke the news that the Singapore International
Training Consultancy (SITC) closed its branches in Vietnam after it
had run into financial difficulty.
It left thousands of students in the lurch and the teachers'
salaries were unpaid. The SITC was funded largely by Singaporean
investors but its operations were headed by a Taiwanese, who had an
international arrest warrant issued against him.
- TODAY