Most of the parents in urban Vietnam have sent their children to study in international kindergartens that provide foreign learning courses and everyday conversations for their kids who reportedly speak fluently foreign languages but not the mother tongue, state media said, citing an official. Nguyen Tien Dat, deputy head of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training said that local children account for nearly half in the city’s 36 foreign-related kindergartens which totally use foreign study methods. Dat said that the foreign-related nurseries should add more programs that focus on Vietnamese culture to enrich children’s knowledge. Dat gave an example that a five-year child, who learned at an international kindergarten, passed the Preliminary English Test (PET) by the U.K. Cambridge University but could not write down her name in Vietnamese. Meanwhile, Nguyen Kim Thanh from the department said that not every foreign-related nursery meet required conditions and training quality. Headmaster of Fosco International School La Anh Mai admitted that forein-related training centers somewhat failed to meet requirements for teaching methods and playgrounds. The department authorities have asked those schools to report training programs, the number of foreign teachers and Vietnamese learners, fees and school area to ensure quality, Thanh said, adding that the local government will revoke license of the violated units. Vietnam reports around 70% of foreign teachers working in local schools and training centers have not been licensed, the statistics from Hanoi’s Foreign Education Management Department said.
