Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High School
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Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High school (also known as Gia Long all-girls school, Áo Tím all-girls school) is a public high school in Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. The school was established in 1913 and is one of the best known high schools in Vietnamese education. It is named after
Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai (1 November 1910 in Vinh, Annam – 28 August 1941 in Hóc Môn, Cochinchina) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and a leader of the Indochinese Communist Party during the 1930s. Early life and education Nguyễn Thị Minh ...
. The present Principal is Ms Nguyễn Thị Hồng Chương.


History

In the early 20th century, traditional
Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
education in Viet Nam attached little importance to educating women. In 1908 some Vietnamese intellectuals proposed that the French colonial authority should construct a multi-level school for girls. The proposal was approved but owing to lack of funds, it wasn't until 1913 that the school began to be built on a large site in Legrand de la Liraye Street, Saigon (now is Điện Biên Phủ street, Ho Chi Minh City). In 1915, the construction of the school was completed and the first pupils were admitted. The Governor-General of French Indochina at that time was Ernest Nestor Roume and he, together with Governor Courbeil, cut the inauguration tape and declared the beginning of a new school year. 42 schoolgirls were enrolled in the first year.
Uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...
s at that time were violet áo dài, symbolising the purity of Vietnamese women. For this reason the school had also been called Áo Tím (Violet Dress) all-girls school. All pupils lived in Sài Gòn and nearby areas and only later were hostels provided for schoolgirls from further afield. The school was organised on several levels: Infants (Enfantin), Superior (Supérieur), Conference of Primary Education (CEP). Students had to pass the exam for the Certificate of Fundamental Education after graduating from senior classes. In 1918, because of the increase in student numbers, a new building parallel to the previous one was constructed. The new building was multifunctional with the lower floor being used as a hostel for students. At the rear was the infirmary, the wash-room and the kitchen. That was also the place where
domestic science Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences, is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as texti ...
and
embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen ...
were taught. In September 1922, governor-general
Albert Sarraut Albert-Pierre Sarraut (; 28 July 1872 – 26 November 1962) was a French Radical politician, twice Prime Minister during the Third Republic. Biography Sarraut was born on 28 July 1872 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. On 14 March 1907 Sarraut ...
started the first year of High-school First Grade classes. A marble stone that was carved "COLLÈGE DES JEUNES FILLES INDIGÈNES" (College of indigenous girls) was erected in front of the school gate, though the school continued to be known primarily as Áo Tím all-girls school. The first headmistress was a French principal named Lagrange. In order to enter the school, students had to pass essential education exams and school entrance exams. French had been taught since the beginning, being the official language used for teaching in High-school First Grade classes. Schoolgirls were only allowed to communicate in French with Vietnamese being taught in two Vietnamese literature hours per week. Despite the fact that the school was administrated by the French, a movement against
colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...
had been smouldering. In the 1920s, schoolgirls demonstrated at least twice. Once was in early 1920 when a French teacher asked Vietnamese students to give the top seats to French students and the other one was in 1924 at
Phan Bội Châu Phan Bội Châu (; 26 December 1867 – 29 October 1940), born Phan Văn San, courtesy name Hải Thụ (later changed to Sào Nam), was a pioneer of Vietnamese 20th century nationalism. In 1903, he formed a revolutionary organization called ' ...
's funeral ceremony. In the summer of 1940, the Japanese army took over the building and later the British army occupied it. The school was moved to the premises of Đồ Chiểu primary school in the Tân Định area. Also in the 1940s, the school changed name becoming Collège Gia Long then Lycée Gia Long. Before the
August Revolution The August Revolution ( vi, Cách-mạng tháng Tám), also known as the August General Uprising (), was a revolution launched by the Việt Minh (League for the Independence of Vietnam) against the Empire of Vietnam and the Empire of Japan in ...
in 1945, many schoolgirls directly participated in activities which were to encourage
Việt Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
such as Quốc ngữ (National Language) propagation, the north starvation assistance and passive defense. Among the students, sacrifices were made and some took on great responsibilities in the new government after the August Revolution. In 1947, after being returned by the British, the school was found to be so damaged that the provisional principal had to ask for financial help in order to repair the buildings. In 1949 the school was once again expanded and a two-storey building was constructed in Bà Huyện Thanh Quan Street in order to meet the increasing student numbers. Also in 1949, Trương Vĩnh Ký school students organised a student strike to commemorate Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa Date which led to the school being closed. In 1950, after a protracted struggle contributed to by students from other schools all over Sài Gòn-Gia Định (among whom many made sacrifices, such as Trần Văn Ơn of Trương Vĩnh Ký school), the school re-opened and marked a significant event: it was the first time a Vietnamese had been chosen as principal of the school, perceptress Nguyễn Thị Châu. In 1952, Vietnamese education replaced French education little by little and schoolgirls had to study in both English and French. The entrance exams were very hard and comparable with Lycée Petrus Ký school's entrance exams, with contestants coming from all over the south of Việt Nam including Sài Gòn, Chợ Lớn, Gia Định,
Biên Hòa Biên Hòa (Northern accent: , Southern accent: ) is the capital city of Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam and part of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area and located about east of Ho Chi Minh City, to which Biên Hòa is linked by Vietnam Hi ...
and Tân An. In a high school entrance exam in about 1971, there were 8000 participants who registered and took the test but only 819 of them passed. In 1953, the uniforms were changed from violet Áo dài to white Áo dài with an emblem of a yellow apricot blossom stitched to the dresses. At the same time, the French education was changed into Vietnamese and the school was renamed Gia Long All-girls High School. Throughout the following years, the school continued to develop. In 1964 it ceased to be a boarding-school and the residential rooms were turned into classrooms and in 1965 a new library was constructed. There were about 55 classes from 4th grade to 1st grade studying in the morning, and 45 classes from 7th grade to 5th grade studying in the afternoon with a total of 3000 students. At that time, many schoolgirls participated fervently in anti-war movements. For this reason, researcher Trần Bạch Đằng called many schoolgirl generations "Violet dresses throughout the country roads". After a ceremony on April 30, 1975, the school was officially renamed Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Junior-Senior High School. In the 1978–1979 school year, the Junior High School was dissolved and the school started to enroll both boys and girls. In 2003, the school was included in a list of 55 buildings in Sài Gòn to be preserved because of their historical and architectural interest. Currently, there is a special village built since 2000, about 20 km away from Ho Chi Minh City called Gia Long (the old name of Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai HS). It is a retiral village for generations of former teachers and students of Áo Tím - Gia Long - Minh Khai to gather in their old age.


Principal List


Education and widening relations


Education

The school is organised by the managing board, comprising headmistress Dương Thị Trúc Bạch and assistant principals Nguyễn Thị Kim Hoa, Trần Văn Khánh. There are groups of teachers in charge of literature, history, geography, civics, foreign language, maths, physics, chemistry, biology, technology, IT and physical education. Besides this there are other functional offices, the Labour Union and the Youth Union. Students take the entrance exams based on the general regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training in Việt Nam. There are a total of 68 classrooms divided to 3 grades 10-11-12 along with functional rooms such as the library, laboratories, computer rooms, subject rooms, practice rooms, teaching tools rooms, the playground, the judo room and the aerobics room, school owned swimming pool and basketball playground. .


Innovations

Since the previous decade, Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High School has been a pioneer in teaching methods with a whole series of innovations of which the significant is that optimal ways of teaching and the application of IT are used for designing lectures. Thanks to the development of IT at the school, in 2004, the school was invited by
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
corporation to attend new projects and ways of educating. Thereupon, VVOB and
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
corporation continued to propose that we attend other study projects in the next years. These projects were welcomed by students and teachers. Success was acknowledged by the visit on February 27, 2006, of Mr. Craig Barrett, the ex-chairman of Intel Corporation, the deputy Minister of Education and Training, Nguyễn Tấn Phát, and other superior officials. In 2008, VVOB corporation invited the physics group to record a lesson in order to provide teaching material for the other countries participating in the projects.


Exchanges and cooperation

The school welcomes 2 delegations of French schools every school year, and sends 2 groups to France for study exchanges. The school also links to famous universities in Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. It also cooperates in education, allowing the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University to hold teach-ins to introduce foreign study in Singapore.


Linked schools

Currently the school is twinned with about 20 French schools and 1 Australian school.


Culture

;Literature: Composer Phạm Duy in the song Con đường tình ta đi mentioned his lovers who studied at Trưng Vương and Gia Long schools: :''Hỡi người tình Gia Long,'' :''Hỡi người trong cuộc sống'' :''Con đường này xin dâng'' :''Cho người bình thường'' Violet dresses, or Gia Long's violet dresses inspired many artists to compose, like the poem Hoa Trắng Thôi Cài Trên Áo Tím by Hà Huy Hà: :''Mười năm trước em còn đi học'' :''Áo tím điểm tô đời nữ sinh'' :''Hoa trắng cài duyên trên áo tím'' :''Em là cô gái tuổi băng trinh.'' ;Film: Possessing an impressive and antique appearance, Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High School has been chosen as the location for several films and series, such as: * Mười: The Legend of a Portrait (released in 2007) * Kính vạn hoa (TV series, season 3) ;Music: * Ngồi lại bên nhau


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School Educational institutions established in 1915 High schools in Ho Chi Minh City 1915 establishments in Vietnam