This morning, the Ministry of Education and Training coordinated with the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City to organize a workshop on state management of study abroad consulting services in 2024 at the campus of Saigon University in HCMC’s District 5 with the witness of Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc.
Addressing the workshop, Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Phuc emphasized the significant growth of such services in recent years. He highlighted that these services have not only captured the interest of parents but have also garnered attention from the entire society.
The demand for children to pursue education abroad is notably on the rise. Each year, Vietnam sends hundreds of thousands of students overseas, which significantly contributes to international integration and the cultivation of high-quality human resources.
According to the Deputy Minister, study-abroad consulting services are crucial for facilitating information exchange and assisting students with document preparation and visa applications. However, there have been numerous instances in the past where consulting agencies have disseminated inaccurate information, thereby compromising the rights of students.
To address these issues, it is essential to establish a robust, clear, and transparent legal framework. Additionally, local authorities must engage in thorough inspection, supervision, and strict enforcement against violations. This should be complemented by information dissemination, awareness campaigns, and educational initiatives aimed at parents and students.
Furthermore, amid the rapid expansion of consulting agencies in both quantity and operational scope, it is imperative to implement more effective management strategies to safeguard the rights of both parents and students.
According to the Department of International Cooperation under the Ministry of Education and Training, the country will have 3,423 business establishments providing consulting services for studying abroad in 2024. Of these, roughly 2,860 have been operating and the rest have temporarily suspended operations due to ineffectiveness.
As of September 15, 2024, 203 new organizations were granted registration certificates for providing consulting services in 2024. Of these, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City continue to be the two localities with the largest number of business establishments with 1,304 ones in Hanoi and 513 facilities in Ho Chi Minh City. Furthermore, study abroad advisory services have thrived in Nghe An, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hai Duong, and Ha Tinh.
According to the assessment of the Department of International Cooperation, in recent years, study abroad consulting businesses have improved the quality of their services, especially in supporting applications, applying for visas, and consulting on scholarship programs for students, contributing to creating a vibrant and healthy consulting market.
However, the number of enterprises publicly reporting on the Ministry of Education and Training's consulting service website remains low; many units only report when it is time to renew their operating licenses, posing challenges for state administration and service quality monitoring.
There are still instances where organizations have operated without proper licenses while others have been offering opaque consultancy that harm students and parents.
Additionally, some consulting companies have been breaching regulations related to the collection of fees including instances of collecting fees without prior consultation and subsequently disappearing.
Furthermore, several companies disguised to provide study abroad consulting services but they indeed unlawfully facilitated the sending of individuals overseas.
On the other hand, one of the problems of existing administration is that communities lack the necessary people to supervise enterprises in the region. Many communities experience challenges when study abroad consulting firms are founded elsewhere but market enrollment in the area through approved agents or social media.
In light of this situation, Deputy Director Le Thuy My Chau of the Department of Education and Training in Ho Chi Minh City emphasized the commitment of the education and training sector to actively provide guidance to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on developing policies and strategies aimed at enhancing the efficiency of state oversight of study abroad consulting services.
The market for study abroad consulting in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as throughout the nation, possesses significant potential for growth. Effective management by the Department of Education and Training is insufficient on its own; it is essential to foster collaboration with pertinent departments, and local authorities at various levels, and to enhance the awareness of the consulting units themselves, as stated by Ms. Le Thuy My Chau.
Last but not least, study abroad consulting establishments recommended that management agencies need to build a national database of international students to facilitate management work, and at the same time have more "red carpet" policies to encourage international students to return to serve the country as well as establish Vietnamese student communities abroad to provide practical and material support to international students during their study abroad.
According to statistics from the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam, 23,500 Vietnamese were studying in China in 2023. Similarly, according to the Australian Ministry of Education, some 32,948 Vietnamese students came to Australia in 2023, an increase of more than 46 percent compared to 2022.
According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the number of Vietnamese students in the United States in 2023 was 31,310. The Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI) said that in recent years, the number of Vietnamese students in Korea has fluctuated between 35,000 and 38,000.
