Strengthening state management measures for study abroad consulting services

On the morning of September 30, at Saigon University (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City), 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 (TVDH) in 2024. Attending was Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the workshop, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc said that TVDH services have developed strongly in recent times, attracting the attention of not only parents but also the whole society.

In particular, the demand for children to study abroad is increasing. Every year, Vietnam has hundreds of thousands of students studying abroad, contributing significantly to international integration and the development of high-quality human resources.

"Study abroad consulting services play an important role in connecting information and supporting students in the process of preparing documents and applying for visas... However, recently there have been many cases where consulting units provided incorrect information, affecting the rights of students," informed the Deputy Minister of Education and Training.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc informed about the development of study abroad consulting services nationwide.

To minimize the above shortcomings, in addition to promulgating a strict, clear and transparent legal system, localities need to pay attention to inspecting, monitoring and strictly handling violations; combined with information and propaganda activities to raise awareness for parents and students.

In particular, in the context of consulting units growing rapidly in number and scope of operations, more appropriate management solutions are needed in practice to ensure the rights of parents and students.

According to a report by the Department of International Cooperation (Ministry of Education and Training), in 2024, the country will have 3,423 TVDH service business organizations, of which 2,860 are operating, the rest are temporarily suspending business due to ineffective operations.

As of September 15, 2024, 203 new organizations were granted business registration certificates for TVDH services in 2024. Of which, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City continue to be the two localities with the largest number of TVDH organizations with 1,304 organizations in Hanoi and 513 organizations in Ho Chi Minh City.

In addition, localities such as Nghe An, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hai Duong and Ha Tinh also have vibrant TVDH activities.

According to the assessment of the Department of International Cooperation, in recent years, TVDH enterprises have improved the quality of their services, especially in supporting documents, applying for visas, and consulting on scholarship programs for students, contributing to creating a vibrant and healthy consulting market.

However, the number of companies publicly reporting on the TVDH website of the Ministry of Education and Training is still limited. Many units only report when it is time to renew their operating licenses, leading to difficulties in state management and service quality monitoring.

Along with that, there are still cases of units operating without a license, providing non-transparent consultation, causing damage to students and parents; violations of collecting fees in violation of regulations or collecting fees without providing consultation and then fleeing; disguised study abroad programs, illegally sending people abroad...

On the other hand, one of the shortcomings of current management is that localities do not have a strong enough staff to supervise businesses in the area. Many localities face difficulties when TVDH companies are established elsewhere, but organize recruitment advertisements in the area through authorized agents or through social networks.

Faced with that reality, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City Le Thuy My Chau said that the education and training sector will proactively advise the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on policies and strategies to further improve the effectiveness of state management of TVDH service business activities.

Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City Le Thuy My Chau spoke at the workshop held on the morning of September 30.

"The study abroad consulting market in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and the whole country in general still has a lot of potential for development. For effective state management, the efforts of the Department of Education and Training alone are not enough, but there needs to be coordination with related departments, local authorities at all levels and the business awareness of the consulting unit itself," Ms. Le Thuy My Chau expressed.

In addition, according to the recommendations of TVDH units, management agencies need to build a national database on 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, establish Vietnamese student communities abroad to provide practical spiritual and material support to international students during their time studying abroad...

According to statistics from the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam, in 2023, there were 23,500 Vietnamese studying in China. Similarly, according to the Australian Department of Education, Vietnam had 32,948 international students in 2023, an increase of more than 46% compared to 2022.

According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the number of Vietnamese students studying in the United States in 2023 is 31,310 people. The Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI) said that the number of Vietnamese students studying in recent years has fluctuated between 35,000 and 38,000 people...

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Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/tang-cuong-bien-phap-quan-ly-nha-nuoc-doi-voi-dich-vu-tu-van-du-hoc-post761401.html