Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam, mother of a primary schooler in Binh Thanh District, shared that she decided to register her child into a full day summer program in Tomato Center, branched in Phu Nhuan District. According to her opinion, this center open its summer camps relatively early compared to others, and its programs will last until the middle of August, which is exceptionally convenient for parents who are officers like her. Its fee ranges around VND3,450,000 – 3,550,000 (approx. $148.7 – 153) per learner.
Similarly, Mr. Thanh Trung, whose child is learning in a private kindergarten in Tan Binh District, said that he and his spouse agreed to sign their child up in a full day summer program in NewSky Language Center, sited in the Children House of Tan Binh District, from June to the end of July with the fee of over VND7 million ($302) per learner. Since the operation time of this program is nearly the same as regular schools, there is no trouble for them to rearrange picking up time.
Renowned language centers like ILA or Apollo have their own summer programs, combining learning English language with art subjects. Parents can choose either a half-day or full-day program.
Other centers like Titan Education, Kumon, Ten Plus, Stem Center focus more on math and life skills.
Private schools such as Vinschool, Asian International School, or Western Australia School System welcome learners from inside and outside, offering diverse programs of in-class and field trip sessions. However, the fee there are around VND20 – 40 million ($862 – 1,724) per student.
It seems that different centers introduce different price ranges for quite similar activities in summer camps to serve various age groups from very young children of 3 years old to teenagers.
Ms. Ai Minh, mother of two primary schoolers in Go Vap District, advised that parents have to carefully investigate the curriculum and teaching staff before registering their children into these programs. She shared her own experience of carelessness when signing up her two children in such a program last year with a pretty high fee. After a week following the schedule, these kids showed signals of wariness and hunger. She then discovered that the center only provided qualified teaching in the morning session, yet the afternoon one as well as the lunch time was the responsibility of some part-time students who were hired as teaching aids. Due to the lack of ability and knowledge, they could not take good care of the young learners.
It is essential that parents particularly examine certain programs which promise to provide opportunities for children to have field trips in order not to waste their own money when these programs are not truly suitable for their offspring.
It is also worth mentioning that parents should not focus too much on their children obtaining academic knowledge in summer camps. Instead, children should be encouraged to discover their own strengths and hobbies while releasing stress unhappily accumulated in the previous school year.
