Study and study and study again ! So spoke Lenin and the echoes of his words ring out across the land. Parents will do anything for their childs education. Lucky for those language teachers among us.

Thanks to VVAF for the photo!

President Ho Chi Minh wrote in 1945:

Eliminate the Plague of Illiteracy

Citizens of Viet Nam!

If we want to preserve our independence,

If we want to have a strong and prosperous people,

Every Vietnamese must know his or her rights and duties and must have a new level of learning to help build our country. Most of all, everyone must know how to read and write our national script.

Those who don’t know their letters should try their best to study. Husbands should teach wives, older brothers and sisters should teacher their younger siblings, and children should teach their parents.

Women should study all the more. Women have been held back. This is the time women must try to catch up with the men in order to become a worthy constituency with the right to vote and to stand for election.

I hope our youth will be zealous in this work.

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Common lore has it that in 1945 only 5% of all Vietnamese could read. Within 50 years this had grown to 95% ! Amazing ! Even in their darkest days when Vietnam was ranked extremely low on world economic index charts – their literacy level was as high as some of those in the top ten. It is not considered odd that a farmer or xe om driver would read a newspaper. Teachers, however are poorly paid and must be truly dedicated to make it a career.

International schools, and primary schools and secondary schools with foreign teachers have blossomed since Doi Moi and job opportunities abound for teachers and academic administrators. There are numerous language schools and cultural centres offering classes also. Under adult education are groups that have tours, lectures and hands on classes; just for fun.

photo credit: VVAF