Parents from the highlands travel across the mountains to encourage their children to take the high school graduation exam

Even though it's late, I still want to take my child to the exam.

After traveling more than 500km and taking two bus trips, at more than 8am this morning, Ms. Lo Thi Thanh, who lives in Ke Tre village, Thach Ngan commune (Con Cuong district) was able to get to Ethnic Minority Boarding High School No. 2 to visit her child.

The road was long and the travel was difficult, so when she got there, her child had already entered the third exam. Not seeing her child yet, she sat behind the dormitory. Occasionally, she kept her eyes on the exam site, hoping that her child would calm down and do well on the test to fulfill her dream.

This trip of Ms. Thanh is not only alone but also with her husband and mother. 2 years ago, due to difficult circumstances, she decided to go to Bac Ninh to apply for a job as a security guard at a factory in an industrial park. The family has 2 children, Lu Nha Uyen, currently studying in class 12D - Ethnic Minority Boarding High School No. 2 is the eldest daughter. The second daughter is in grade 9 but this summer after graduating from junior high school, she decided to drop out of school to follow her mother to the industrial park. The family's hope for her education now rests on Nha Uyen.

During the years working away from home, Thanh and her children rarely saw each other. Her husband was responsible for her children's education and parent-teacher conferences. She did not know how good her children were at studying, but proudly said that in Ke Tre village, the number of children in the neighborhood who were good at studying and passed the boarding school entrance exam was not high. Every year, Uyen received a certificate of merit, which was photographed and sent to her mother.

Being away from her child for many years, Ms. Thanh always felt guilty for not being able to take care of her child. Therefore, when her child took the high school graduation exam, knowing that she could not help, she still decided to ask the company for 4 days off to visit home and encourage her child.

She took the bus at 9 pm from Bac Ninh to the Cay Chanh area (Anh Son). When she got there, her mother and husband were already waiting for her, and the three of them took the bus to the provincial boarding school for ethnic minorities. Accompanying her daughter, Ms. Vy Thi Nhung - Nha Uyen's grandmother added: Uyen is my eldest grandchild. I just hope she does well in the exam and gets into a foreign language school like she dreams. In the future, no matter how poor or miserable we are, I will try my best to get her into university.

Believe in your child and believe in the school

Because it is located far from the city center, these days, the dormitory of the Ethnic Minority High School No. 2 is used by the school for parents to stay. At 8am, while on the other side of the fence, the candidates are starting the second day of exams, the dormitory on this side is equally quiet. In the rooms, small groups of two or three parents gather together to chat quietly. Over and over again, it is still just about the children going to the exam.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Giang from Lau village, Chau Ly commune is the parent of Nguyen Xuan Hai (class 12C1). The day before yesterday, when his son started taking the high school graduation exam, he and his wife took the bus to the school. When they arrived, he was arranged to stay with his son, but for the first two nights, he asked to move to the next room to stay: Last night after the exam, my son was still studying until late at night. I wanted to be close to him but was afraid of affecting him, so I asked to move to the next room. I didn't want him to know that I was worried.

Mr. Giang and his wife are self-employed, and their economic life depends on a few fields. Luckily for him, his children are all obedient and hard-working. Unfortunately, his eldest son studied at Quy Hop High School and failed the entrance exam to the Police Academy. Later, his son joined the security service and now has left the army, and his job is not stable.

Hai is the second child and has been a good student since he was young. Therefore, since his junior high school years, Hai was admitted to the district and then provincial boarding schools. This male student now also dreams of entering the Police Academy, so he is determined to take the high school graduation exam.

Talking about his son, he said: During the 3 years studying here, the school and the homeroom teacher took great care of him. The family did not have to worry about anything. Before the exam, he told me that his father did not have to go down, he would only have to walk a few steps to the exam school, but I was not assured. For so many years, I have left my son in the care of the school and the teacher, now I have to go down to encourage him.

Yesterday, my child came back from the exam and said he did well, I was very happy. I believe in my child and in the school. We are hard-working manual workers, “sacrificing our lives to strengthen our children’s lives”. I want my child to pass the university entrance exam, get a job in a major, a profession, and work in the government to have a framework.

Together to encourage their children to take the exam, by chance after 37 years, Mr. Cao Xuan Tinh in Long Quang village, Tien Phong commune, Que Phong district - parent of Cao Thi Lam Oanh and Mr. Lo Tien Phong - parent of Lo Thi Khanh Hoa had the opportunity to meet at the same exam site of Ethnic Minority Boarding High School No. 2.

In the past, both of them studied in the same class but each of them had different jobs in life, one was a farmer, the other a teacher, so they rarely had the chance to meet. Now they met by chance, shaking hands and greeting each other when they shared the good news that Mr. Tinh's eldest son is now studying at the People's Police Academy, while Mr. Phong's eldest son is a student at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Hanoi).

This time, when going to Vinh City to encourage their children to take the graduation exam, both fathers continued to put their full faith in their daughter Lam Oanh, who had won second prize in the provincial excellent student contest and could now be admitted directly to university; meanwhile, Khanh Hoa was nurturing the dream of entering the Court Academy and she was very confident in herself.

Sharing about their children, Mr. Tinh and Mr. Phong happily said: We send our children to school, we really don't keep a close eye on them to know how they study. But we will always support them, hope they study well, do well in exams so that they can have a bright future.

My Ha - Duc Anh