The opening of the Vietnamese Market economy has attracted all economic sectors, including Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and capital flows. Unlike most of the investors from Singapore, Mr. Ricky Tan, Chairman of KinderWorld Group, did not choose to invest in industrial parks, real estate, production or trading in Vietnam, but in Education. He believes that providing high quality education in the country has loads of potential.
This is simply because he and KinderWorld have a vast experience in education and bearing in mind that education is the top priority of any national policy. Ricky is devoted to the principle of long-term investment for the purpose of creating good living and study environments for both foreign and Vietnamese students. When he set up his first school, the concept of a private-run school was quite new in Vietnam, especially a wholly foreign owned one.
In the first three years of operation, Mr. Tan invested hundreds of thousands of US dollars without major success. The total number of students in the first academic year was only five and 90 in the following year; modest figures for any investment. However, according to Mr. Tan, the largest difficulty at that time was the dubiousness of education regulations in Vietnam. At times, he did not know where to start which made it difficult for progress. But, advice from experts and local government authorities helped him understand regulations and procedures more clearly to pursue his goal.
As a fast progressing country, many Vietnamese are able to find jobs with high incomes. Together with strong economic development, society pays much more attention to education now than before. Parents want to find good schools to nurture the future of their children and they have entrusted KinderWorld Group in educating their children.
To date, the KinderWorld Group has grown from 5 to over 1500 students and 12 campuses which includes Kindergartens, Primary and Secondary schools, as well as Colleges in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, Hai Phong and Hue.
One advantage of the KinderWorld Group of International Schools is that with campuses all over Vietnam like Ho Chi Minh City, BinhDuong, VungTau, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Danang and Hue, students moving from cities to cities can continue their education in KinderWorld and expect the same quality of education among the campuses. Parents’ work circumstances will not have their children’s studies interrupted as they can continue their education program when studying at KinderWorld Group’s schools in other provinces.
Moreover, the KinderWorld Group is concentrating on developing the Singapore Education Metropolis (SEM) Project in Bac Ninh Province. This project will be developed on a 30ha land with full supporting facilities for all levels of education from Kindergarten to University.
Mr. Ricky Tan proudly stated “This will be a complete complex comprising of an International Kindergarten, School, College and University as well as supporting facilities like hotels, student accommodation, sport centres, entertainment centres and retail shops. The first SEM project is expected to be completed in 2012, it will attract vast number of students of all ages. Besides Bac Ninh, Mr Tan is also in the midst of developing the SEM concept in Danang, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City.
The KinderWorld Group’s achievement in Vietnam proved that Mr.Tan’s investment decision has been on the right track. The Vietnamese government has understood the importance of education and has instructed Universities and Colleges to establish close relationship with investors and enterprises to facilitate training courses. This move helped speed up the “socialization” of education; thus attracting investors to set up privately-run schools and speeding up the privatization of some Universities and Colleges.
The most valuable asset is the trust of the Vietnamese people in private education. Mr Tan admitted “Building a reputed private school is not easy. It takes time to earn the trust of parents and the best way is to show them how their children grow dynamically and developing self-confidence which are very important skills for any person’s success.”
The KinderWorld Group in a nutshell
The KinderWorld Group has been offering high quality international education in Asia since 1986, the unique curricula of Eastern and Western studies enhance the learning experience of students and provide them with fundamental skills for a technology driven and connected globalized world. KinderWorld has been active in offering a variety of classes ranging from Pre-school education to Junior High school.
Having operated in Vietnam since 2000, KinderWorld International Kindergarten provides Pre-school education for children from 18 months to under 6 years of age. It has more than 20 years experience in Pre-school in Singapore and other countries.
International Kindergarten classes are kept small and led by well qualified expatriate and local teachers. This ensures an optimal environment in which young minds are able to learn and develop.
Singapore International School (SIS) is one of the typical school models of the KinderWorld Group. The school has been built and developed in line with the “Smart school” concept. Students of SIS have the choice to choose either the Integrated program or the International program.
The International program has been developed based on the core subjects of the Singapore curriculum and incorporating some Australian subjects based on the Australian curriculum.
Specially developed for Vietnamese students, the Integrated program combines the best in Vietnamese education, retaining the core subjects required by the Vietnamese MOET. Vietnamese students will be taught by qualified expatriate teachers in some key learning areas of the International program. The students will also have the chance to join outdoor activities in an English speaking and multi-cultural environment. Further, students have the option of taking Chinese as a Foreign Language.
Students studying at SIS will be able to achieve internationally recognized qualifications. Among these, the iPSLE (Singapore International Primary School Examination) certified by SEAB (Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board) provides an opportunity for students keen on pursuing an overseas education in Singapore or other English speaking countries. The IGCSE (International Cambridge Secondary School Examination) and the University Preparation Programme, Global Assessment Certificate (GAC) which will allow students to enroll in more than 130 universities all over the world including Australia, the US and Europe.
“Eastern Values, Western Education” is KinderWorld Group’s slogan. KinderWorld Group celebrates its internationalism where students play and learn in an environment where the best of Western and Eastern cultures amalgamate to prepare the students for today’s challenging world” Mr Tan explained.
Mr Ricky said “We did not come here to only build schools and offer a different way of learning, we also want to bring opportunities for parents to give their children a better preparation for their future”.
Vietnamese
