President Ho Chi Minh attended primary school in Vinh city?

On the afternoon of November 27, the Department of Science and Technology of Nghe An province organized a scientific workshop on “French-Vietnamese Vinh Primary School with Nguyen Tat Thanh”. Attending the workshop were Dr. Tran Thi Phuong Hoa - Deputy Director of the Vietnam Institute of History; Comrade Tran Quoc Thanh - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Director of the Provincial Department of Science and Technology and representatives of relevant departments and branches. Photo: Thanh Quynh

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Director of the Provincial Department of Science and Technology Tran Quoc Thanh affirmed the important role of the workshop in verifying many documents and information related to the French-Vietnamese Vinh Primary School.

Specifically, verify the origin and establishment of the French-Vietnamese Vinh Primary School in Vinh city; the role of famous people: Dao Tan, Cao Xuan Duc, Le Huy Vien in the formation and development of this school; the role of the French-Vietnamese Vinh Primary School in the new education of Nghe An and the region; the location and place where the school is located.

On that basis, re-verify historical documents to clarify whether or not President Ho Chi Minh studied here to create a premise to affirm the historical value of the school in order to find proposals and recommendations for appropriate forms of commemoration for this historical relic.

Director of the Provincial Department of Science and Technology Tran Quoc Thanh spoke at the Workshop. Photo: Thanh Quynh

Presenting at the workshop, Mr. Pham Xuan Can - former Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Nghe An province provided documents related to the origin and role of the French - Vietnamese Vinh Primary School. Accordingly, the French - Vietnamese Primary School in Vinh was previously known as the French - Vietnamese Cao Xuan Duc Primary School, or Cao Xuan Duc Primary School.

Based on the scientific report "Patriotic and revolutionary activities of teachers and students of Cao Xuan Duc School from the early 20th century" by author Truong Que Phuong, Cao Xuan Duc Primary School was founded in 1905 by the famous person, artist, and teacher Le Huy Mien and the first Director of Education, famous person Cao Xuan Duc was the patron and sponsor of the school.

Biographical chronicles and recent studies on President Ho Chi Minh also confirm that Nguyen Tat Thanh and his brother Nguyen Tat Dat (Nguyen Sinh Khiem) studied at the French-Vietnamese Vinh Primary School in Vinh from around September 1905 to May 1906.

At that time, Nguyen Tat Thanh was 15 years old and the time studying at this school had an extremely important meaning in forming the knowledge and personality of a patriotic young man. It was also here that Nguyen Tat Thanh first saw the words "LIBERTÉ - ÉGALITÉ - FRATERNITÉ" (Liberty - Equality - Fraternity) to gradually learn and know about the French Revolution of 1789 and find his own ideals and goals.

The photo is said to be of the French-Vietnamese Vinh Primary School at the Quai Branly Museum (France) collected by Mr. Pham Xuan Can and presented at the conference.

At the conference, delegates also provided initial evidence to confirm that the French-Vietnamese Primary School was the first educational institution following modern education in Nghe Tinh, along with Vinh National School (Collège de Vinh) and later private schools. This school contributed to making Vinh one of the most important educational centers in the Thanh - Nghe - Tinh region and the Central period during the French colonial period.

The French-Vietnamese Vinh Primary School is also the place where many revolutionaries and talented intellectuals of our country have taught or studied. First of all, two General Secretaries of the Communist Party of Vietnam have taught here, namely Tran Phu and Ha Huy Tap, in addition, there are famous teachers and revolutionaries such as Tran Mong Bach, Tran Van Tang, Bui Van Binh...

Besides, dozens of famous revolutionaries, scientists, and personalities have also studied at this school, such as: Phan Dang Luu, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Sieu Hai, Nguyen Ngoc Ba, Nguyen Thi Phuc, Nguyen Thi Xuyen, Nguyen Thi Nhuan, Tran Thi Lien, Nguyen Tiem, Chu Van Bien, Ho My Xuyen, Nguyen Duc Duong, Pham Khac Hoe, Nguyen Xien, Hoang Xuan Han, Dang Thai Mai... It is also the place that left the mark of famous artist Cao Xuan Duc and famous painter and teacher Le Huy Mien.

In particular, here, Nguyen Tat Thanh studied for nearly a year during a very important period in the formation of his knowledge, personality and revolutionary aspirations.

The location of the French-Vietnamese Vinh Primary School on the online map provided by delegates at the workshop. This is an area in Quang Trung ward.

In his concluding remarks at the conference, comrade Tran Quoc Thanh assessed that the research papers, data and opinions presented at the conference had many new, profound, comprehensive and valuable contents. These are important bases to verify the origin, birth, role and significance of the French-Vietnamese Vinh Primary School and to find suitable forms of commemoration for this historical relic.

In addition, more time and research projects and historical data will be needed to determine that this special school was once the place where the patriotic young man Nguyen Tat Thanh once studied. If this is correct, it will have an extremely important meaning in the research on the life, background and career of Uncle Ho as well as the school in the land of Vinh city in the past.

Thanh Quynh