Nguyen Tat Thanh studied at Hue National School.

After graduating from primary school and obtaining a primary degree, Nguyen Tat Thanh took the entrance exam to Hue National School.

Hue National School was established according to the decree of October 23, 1896 of King Thanh Thai and the decree of November 18, 1896 of Governor General of Indochina Rousseau.

At first, the school was established by the Thanh Thai dynasty with the consent of the Protectorate Government, but two years later, the Protectorate Government took over and gradually turned the National School into an important French educational institution in Central Vietnam, with the purpose of training indigenous youth with a certain level of education and "good conduct", extremely loyal to the "mother country" to work in the administrative agencies of the protectorate government.

Therefore, the curriculum and teaching content are specially designed, different from other types of schools. The number one requirement for knowledge is to have a firm grasp of French grammar to do administrative work. Of course, other general knowledge must meet certain requirements to become "diligent" civil servants, effectively serving the "civilization work" of the "motherland of Great France" in Indochina.

Hue people consider Quoc Hoc School as"School Paradise" learn” for many reasons. First, this was the first and largest National School in Central Vietnam; second, it received special treatment from the French “protectorate” government; third, upon graduation, anyone who passed the baccalaureate would be highly regarded by the State.

Despite its reputation as a “paradise,” the school’s facilities were dilapidated. The thatched roof had some leaks; when it rained, the students had to gather on one side. The school was originally a converted barracks for the Royal Marines. In addition to the classrooms, there were lecture rooms, laboratories, etc. The surrounding area was covered with bamboo fences and thatched roofs. However, the outer gate was tiled with a sign in gold letters:"French National Academy of Sciences” (The gate of the French-language National School). That sign alone makes people question the nature of this school. The sign is written in Chinese characters, introducing itself as a “national” school, but teaching is in French?

Just entering school, Nguyen Tat Thanh was already fed up with this "school paradise".

But that formal shell is not as important as the "heart" of the school, whose core is the ranks of supervisors and teaching assistants.

Nguyen Tat Thanh was also told that several school inspectors were former prisoners of Hoang Hoa Tham's army! He was kept under house arrest by the army, without shackles, and given manual labor in the mountainous forests of Yen The. When this "hero" was released, the State promoted him to become the inspector of several of the largest schools in Central Vietnam. What irony! This inspector had a "very civilized" gesture that Tat Thanh remembered forever:

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I still remember that my cousins, who wanted to get into one of those “school paradises,” had to run around in all sorts of ways, sending one application after another to the Resident, the Resident, the director of the National School, the director of the elementary school. Of course, no one bothered to answer him. A few days later, he boldly brought the application to the director, a few Frenchmen, in charge of the school where I had been privileged to study a short time before.

Nguyen Tat Thanh

The "superintendent" saw how bold he was, got angry and shouted: "Who gave you permission to come here?" then tore the application into pieces in front of the astonished eyes of the whole class.

The personality of the school inspector was like that, and the teachers were also very rude to the students. Lui Peso, a teacher of General Science, often insulted the students. One day, he called a student “cochon” (pig), and immediately the whole class stood up in protest, skipped class, and stopped studying. That time, he was reprimanded by his superiors.

However, among the teachers, there are still some who are both good and have a conscience as teachers, such as Mr. Hoang Thong who teaches Chinese characters and Mr. Le Huy Mien who teaches drawing.

Speaking of Master Mien, when he studied with him in Vinh, Tat Thanh still did not understand much about him; now studying with him again, Tat Thanh realized his formidable stature. Previously, he was the founder of the "Hoan Chau Study Association", a branch of Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc, and often provided financial support for Trieu Duong Trading House in Nghe An. He had held positions such as: Hanh Tau Bo Cong, Te Tuu Quoc Tu Giam; therefore, people often called himMyanmarHe was the first oil painter in Vietnam, painted a portrait of King Thanh Thai and was invited to a banquet with the king.

Studying with Mr. Mien, at the end of each class, Tat Thanh often heard him tell many interesting stories. One day, he told that: in France, there are also poor people, every night, poor French girls have to go to the Luxembourg gardens to earn money to make a living; old men and women with no place to stay, walking along the streets with their canes rummaging through trash cans to find anything edible to eat... In the libraries and museums of France, there are many antiques, many valuable books. Especially, readers can go to the library to read books about the French Revolution and the world revolution. The French in France are different from the French in Vietnam. The French in France, from the Academician down to the working people, all respect the Vietnamese, as long as the Vietnamese have character, know how to respect themselves, work well, study hard...

Tat Thanh was very interested in hearing his teacher tell those stories. He asked his teacher: "How can I go to France to see how the French live?"

Although there were many sad events at school, with the encouragement and motivation of teachers Le Huy Mien and Hoang Thong and the advice of his father, Tat Thanh still tried his best and achieved good results.

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...Cung's (aka Tat Thanh's) academic performance at Quoc Hoc was more excellent than before. His memory developed in an extraordinary way. The teacher had just written a Récitation (Recitation by Heart) on the board. He read it a few times, then the teacher wiped the paper clean on the board, and he was able to read it again. When he wrote an essay, he often added rhymed sentences. Once, when answering an essay, Mr. Queignec (Quaynhec) held Cung's paper and introduced it to the whole class: "Cung has done this essay in verse. This is an intelligent and outstanding student."

Tat Thanh's classmate Le Thien recounted

Nguyen Tat Thanh, like many other patriotic Vietnamese youths who did not have the opportunity to study abroad, entered the National School, taking advantage of colonial means to broaden their knowledge, in order to become "the one who uses his own stick to beat his own back", fighting against colonialists who stole the country, gaining independence and freedom for the nation.