Yesterday, a school for gifted students in Hanoi opened for
enrolment and the number of applicants stood at about 10 times the
school’s capacity, 480, meaning for each student accepted 10 fail.
Though it's not news, these battles have become a standard dinner table
discussion.
In Vietnam, South Korea and China, the most attention sucking
competition is the nationwide university entrance exam. The second to
best in terms of ferocity is the race for a place in a high school for
the gifted. One of them just took place yesterday, when
around 5,000 secondary students competed against each other for 480
places in a seemingly superior educational institution.
The ring for the academic battle was a university subsidized
gifted school. Although every province and city in Vietnam boasts one to
several schools for gifted students, the center of the universe remains
in the capital, where they accept applicants from other cities, not to
mention the better access to everything from educational materials to
high-profile teachers.
Parents from everywhere flock to the capital to support their
little angels in the high-octane event they have been preparing for
months, even years.
The kids sitting for the exams all aim for a future far better
than their peers, or at least that’s what their parents want. Most of
them will go to prestigious universities. A large part will study
abroad. Some take part in national teams to go up against other
countries’ teams in academic competitions. Part of their youth, what
some insist should be left to build character only, has been spared for
training so they can take part in a competition where the exam papers
are designed so even the country’s best prodigies will have to pay
attention if they don't want to be left behind.
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The scene found at many of Vietnam's elite schools this summer, and
all other summers. The end of an academic year marks the beginning of
the exam season. All students have to show up one hour in advance to
listen to the exam's regulation.
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Already burning with the enthusiasm residing in everyone at the
school, the exams during this time of year also have the support from
the sun.
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Inside an exam room.
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Exam check-in procedure. A non-academic error that renders one
ineligible for the exam is always the last thing anyone wants.
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According to the principal, there are only 454 places left
for 5,000 students, because 26 qualified for the school without having
to take the exam.
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The heat put many down.
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The students are the most nervous ones, followed by the parents,
who can only wait outside with thousands of their counterparts.
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Having arrived in Hanoi a few days prior to the exam, a dad
said that he would stay at the school that noon to save money. His
family falls under the poor category but still managed to take the
daughter to the exam due to her good performance at school.
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Quick revision with the son.
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Located inside a university, the exam caused a traffic jam because
the inner roads were never meant to take a pounding this hard.
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Photos by Hoang Phuong - Ngoc Thanh
