School fees quoted in USD

Answer is in your question 

I would imagine the school is aiming for foreigners with sack loads of cash to spend on what may or may not be a better education for their kids.

Shop around, both for price and quality.

If it's anything like here, the expensive schools don't always give the best value for money.
Make sure the school does internationally recognised exams, Cambridge or whatever, not just local stuff that could be of dubious value in other countries.

Firstly, it's actually illegal to advertise in a foreign currency, yet the government does the exact same thing,check the stamps in your passport it's in USD. The schools use the USD as it fluctuates a lot, they can also charge you the rate they want usually black market. Most schools in VN don't have morals and it's just about the buck, not education. My friend just lost her job at RMIT after 13 years,because they can hire a junior at a much lower rate. No morals at all.

Two somewhat rational reasons might be:

1)  If they pay teachers, their largest expense, in USD or USD equivalents, they protect themselves from currency fluctuation.  That is they pay out on the same basis as they collect.  In actuality the last major sudden devaluation of the VND was in 2011 but it seems to linger in people's minds.  Since then the change has been rather gradual.

2) Listing tuition in USD may be seen to have a certain cachet.  This may be particularly true for the moneyed class of Vietnamese.  In this case the school would be rational but playing on an irrational motive of the customer.

Then again, why does it have to be rational at all?

Thanks for all the replies. I suppose it's all about the exchange rate applied by the school when they convert their fees from USD to VND.

If they "adjust" the exchange rate from USD to VND down by around 500 dong per dollar then they will make more money.

A school with around 600 pupils and average fees of +/- 20,000 USD a year could pull in approximately 10,000,000 VND per pupil per year just by an exchange rate adjustment . If you multiply that figure by 600 then it could amount to 6 Billion VND a year in additional revenue.

Just had a school fee invoice from the HCMC school that publishes their school fees in USD. The exchange rate is not the same as what the banks in Vietnam are offering. Looks like the school will make about 100USD per pupil per year just on the exchange rate. Is there no end to their greed?

Of course an enterprising parents could get a better rate at a gold shop then show up at the school with crispy Benjamins.  The $100 US bill seems to be almost legal tender in Vietnam.  There has been talk by the US government of doing away with hundreds to stymie money laundering.  If that happens there will be a greater premium on the bills already in circulation.

The school should not be quoting in USD as it's illegal, but hey when has that ever stopped them.

Our children school give in VND price list, but as the same they use USD as the base and the exchange rate is more more higher then bank rate. They consider for whole year devalue of VND

Schooling in VN is a joke. You might be better off keeping your kids at home and let them watch Youtube.

Hypothalamus wrote:

Schooling in VN is a joke. You might be better off keeping your kids at home and let them watch Youtube.

I believe a few schools would probably like you to states the reasons for your wild opinion.

Here are a few reasons to consider the quality of education in Vietnam.

Vietnamese universities fall in South East Asia rankings

“I know many teachers playing tricks with their students. They only give limited knowledge at curricular lessons, and tell students to go to extra classes run by them to receive more knowledge,” the teacher explained.

A dramatic 59% of young people revealed they want to study abroad as they will receive a better education and more recognisable degrees in a recent survey released on June 23 by educational portal EasyUni.

Vietnam's academy dubbed ‘doctorate mill' as PhD students graduate en masse

In 2015, the average mark students received on high-school finals was ‘abnormally low'.

Yes, I am sure there are a few good schools in Vietnam. Most local people distrust the education system that is in place. In my opinion, the educational system is viewed strictly as a business, not a place of knowledge.

The thread is about international schools, so is the accusation aimed at them?

A school in HCM sets their exchange rate in June for a school year that starts in August. The exchange rate is given as 22,434 VND per USD. The Vietcombank rate today is 22,260. A difference of 174 VND per USD. If you take the stated fees as 25,685 USD per year, the difference is 4,469,190VND per school year. That is equal to about 200USD per pupil. Multiply by 800 pupils it amounts to 160,00USD per school year for nothing more than creative accounting. Is their no end to their greed?

Greed, or being careful?

The exchange rate could easily shift, leaning them with a loss.
That and your number is an out of date average rate, not the actual rate and not including fees.

Well, if these international schools are openly breaking the local laws by quoting in USD, then I would say they are part of the same education system that the locals do not trust. Perhaps the mentality goes beyond local schools, because quoting in USD is not allowed. Would a reputable international school openly break the law?

This school seems to operate two bank accounts, one Dong and one US$.
Perhaps we should check the legality of accepting Us$ into a Local bank's US $ account before making accusations.
There might well be exceptions to the rules in such cases.

http://www.ssis.edu.vn/admissions/fees/

Restrictions on foreign currency tightened

Maybe someone can find the schooling loophole.

If there is such a thing as a Schooling Loophole then why are other schools in HCMC not using it ?
It looks like a money making enterprise that has been allowed to continue for many years.
Perhaps it is time for the school involved to adjust their publications and quote fees only in VND.

7Steven wrote:

Restrictions on foreign currency tightened

Maybe someone can find the schooling loophole.

Currently, Circular 16 also specifies those cases in which foreign currency exchanges are allowed in Viet Nam and in which banks, non-bank credit institutions and branches of foreign banks licensed to do business and provide foreign exchange services are allowed to perform transactions, payments, quotations, advertisements, pricing, prices in contracts, agreements in foreign exchange within the scope of business and foreign exchange services permitted by the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) in accordance with the law.
Read more at http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/249711/re … uhB6kqo.99

Given the account in my link is a US$ account, there is a pretty fair chance it will be covered.

Only a guess.