Uncle Ho with education and students of his hometown during his two visits to his hometown.

Homeland is a place of great love and respect.

Those fifty years, how much love

He took advantage of every hour and every minute to visit many places, many professions, and all ages. In particular, he devoted his attention and deep feelings to education and the students of his home province.

After more than half a century of separation, in June 1957, Uncle Ho returned to his homeland for the first time. He spent time visiting the Southern Children's Camp (now the Nghe An Province Labor Culture House). Although the economic situation in the North was difficult at that time, the children were still given high priority: 20 dong per month including food and daily necessities. After two years of construction, when Uncle Ho returned to visit, the Camp had two long rows of houses, one row used as a specialist house and meeting room, the other row served as a place for the children to live, a dining room, and a medical station.

The camp grounds were neat and pretty. The nieces and nephews lined up to welcome Uncle Ho at the main gate, but he appeared through the back gate to see where the children lived. Then he went to the classroom, looked at the tables, chairs, and toys, and finally stood talking in the middle of the yard.

Uncle Ho kindly asked: "Are you all well? Are you studying well?". Then Uncle Ho advised the teacher: "You must maintain good hygiene and take good care of your feelings. You are far from your parents and relatives and lack affection." To the children, Uncle Ho lovingly advised: "You must listen to your teacher. Maintain good hygiene and be tolerant of each other." Uncle Ho gave candy to the children, hugging each child with the affectionate, warm feelings of a grandfather for the young generation of the country.

During a talk with people's representatives at the Provincial Hall (now Vinh City Stadium), Uncle Ho mentioned the education sector: "Our province has more than 70,000 students. That's quite good, but there are only 32 girls in high school and 865 girls in middle school, which is a small number. So girls must try hard, parents should not spare the effort to keep their daughters at home, not letting them go to school. Our province also has 50,000 children learning to read. That is the first step in cultural development."

Here, Uncle Ho praised two units with good mass education movements, namely Con Cuong district and Dien Lien commune (Dien Chau). Despite being busy with so many tasks, Uncle Ho always followed and encouraged and motivated in a timely manner. That concern was not only expressed in words but also through each action, in each specific work.

In December 1961, Uncle Ho returned to his hometown for the second time. He went to Vinh Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) and visited the commune's kindergarten. He gave candy to the children and told the babysitters: "To take good care of the children, first of all we need love, and all the children are lovely." Here, Uncle Ho advised the students to help protect the trees that their elders had planted: "You must help take care of the trees. When herding cows and buffaloes, don't let them break the trees." Uncle Ho's words were gentle and easy to understand. He also noted that they should be within the children's capacity: "Young people should do small tasks, within their capacity."

Also during his second visit to his homeland, Uncle Ho visited Nghe An Mountainous Pedagogical School (later Nghe An Mountainous Pedagogical College). His voice was slow and warm, asking each child about their health and diet: "Are you full? Do you have to pay for your food? Are you having fun studying?". Uncle Ho smiled, his eyes were bright, gentle, and warm. He advised: "The school must pay attention to even the smallest things. The pedagogical environment must be clean and standard." Uncle Ho's teachings were simple but profound, penetrating and valuable to every cadre and teacher, not only today but also in the future. Uncle Ho also asked about each child of ethnic minorities. He said: "The lives of the people in the mountains are still poor, and their children studying in Vinh are very difficult. The Kinh ethnic students studying here are also determined to go to the mountains to serve for a long time. The school needs to pay attention and encourage them well."

Uncle Ho wished the school: "Good solidarity; good learning, good teaching; improving life". Uncle Ho visited and wished the children progress. His words were so intimate, full of love and emotion, like a father talking to his child, like a grandfather talking to his grandchild. In Uncle Ho, we do not see a lofty leader but a close, simple, loving one.

During a talk with cadres and people of the province (December 9, 1961), Uncle Ho emphasized: "Culture and education have progressed, however, our province still has a number of illiterate people, which must be resolved as soon as possible."

Talking to tens of thousands of cadres and people of Kim Lien commune, Uncle Ho reminded: "We must take care of children, do not let them become skinny, weak, or have trachoma". Uncle Ho mentioned almost every issue and gave very practical advice. Every word, every question showed Uncle Ho's affection for teachers and students. Uncle Ho not only cared about learning, improving knowledge, and fostering capacity, but also cared about the health and daily life of teachers and students. Despite being busy with a thousand things, Uncle Ho always took time to care for the education cause of his province. His noble heart, warm and affectionate feelings warmed and gave strength to encourage the whole industry, teachers and students to overcome all difficulties and constantly strive. Uncle Ho is always the most beautiful, most respected, and closest image in every Vietnamese heart.

Imbued with Uncle Ho's teachings and moved by his affection, generations of teachers and students in the province have strived to achieve many high results. Nghe An is in the top 5 localities leading in excellent students at the national, regional and international levels. In 2022, Nghe An had 1 student winning the Gold Medal at the Asia-Pacific Informatics Olympiad, 1 student winning the Silver Medal at the International Informatics Olympiad; 1 student winning the Bronze Medal at the International Mathematics Olympiad; 97 students won national excellent student awards, including 6 first prizes. In the 2022 high school graduation exam results, Nghe An ranked 20th, up 14 places compared to 2021. Making an important mark in the national playground, encouraging students to be active, creative, and apply the knowledge and skills learned to life. During the year, 2 students won 2 first prizes and 3 second prizes in the "Traffic Safety for Tomorrow's Smiles" Contest; won 2 First Prizes, 3 Third Prizes, 2 Special Prizes and 3 Encouragement Prizes in the "Reading Culture Ambassador 2022" Contest; won 1 Second Prize in the "Youth Study and Follow Ho Chi Minh's Thought, Morality and Style" Contest. In addition, there was 1 project that won First Prize in the voting round and won Third Prize overall, the national contest "Students with Startup Ideas"; won Second Prize for the entire delegation at the National High School Students' National Defense and Security Education Sports Festival; won 2 Fourth Prizes at the National Science and Technology Competition. These are typical fragrant flowers respectfully offered to Uncle Ho.

On the occasion of the 67th anniversary of Uncle Ho's first visit to his hometown (June 16, 1957 - June 16, 2024), and the 63rd anniversary of Uncle Ho's second visit to his hometown (December 9, 1961 - December 9, 2024), let us remember together the teachings, feelings and wishes of Uncle Ho for teachers and students across the country in general and our province in particular. Each of his teachings has become a great motivation for generations of teachers and students to be determined to win. The education career has taken new steps of development according to President Ho Chi Minh's humanistic educational ideology./.

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