VNExpress-Feb 5
The South Australia Education Department has stopped receiving applications from students in Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh following the disappearances of several students from the central Vietnam provinces. The education department of the Australian state on Monday said the decision was made after authorities took a look at the hometowns of the students who had abandoned their studies.A representative from the department said the decision falls in line with the law on education services for foreign students, and the decision helps to preserve the integrity of the Australian visa system. Applications from students in other parts of Vietnam will still be processed normally, the representative added. In January, a Vietnamese student named Sunnie Nguyen, 17, was reported missing by her host after dinner, adding that her bags, clothes, laptop and personal documents disappeared with her. Sunnie’s phone was turned off, and all her social media accounts were inactive. Australian authorities said Sunnie was the fourth Vietnamese student to disappear this way in South Australia since December 2023. The education department said that so far there has been no evidence that any of the students are in danger. Police said the students might be actively avoiding authorities’ detection, adding that investigators are cooperating with other entities to find the students and ensure their safety. By October 2023, there were over 31,600 Vietnamese students in Australia, ranking them in 6th place among the foreign student community in the country, behind China, India, Nepal, Colombia and the Philippines, according to the Australian Department of Education. Read more at: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/education/south-australia-stops-receiving-students-from-central-vietnam-localities-4709126.html
