30 years, hundreds of times I went to school to "demand" a university degree

Lawsuit against National Economics University, demanding 36 billion in compensation: Man recounts years of struggle because the school did not return his diploma

Recently, the Hai Ba Trung District People's Court has just issued a notice to accept a civil case requesting compensation for non-contractual damages, according to the lawsuit filed by Mr. Duong The Hao (65 years old, residing in Vinh Hung Ward, Hoang Mai District, Hanoi ). The defendant is the National Economics University - the legal representative is Mr. Pham Hong Chuong, the school's Principal.

Mr. Duong The Hao said that the 30 years of demanding back his diploma from the National Economics University was an extremely difficult time. Photo: Gia Khiem

The court said that Mr. Duong The Hao was a full-time student of the Faculty of Industrial Economics, K26-27, at the National Economics University. In 1989, Mr. Hao completed his graduation exam with all subjects. After completing the course, from 1989, Mr. Hao did not receive his diploma and many important personal documents. It was only when he filed a lawsuit that the school returned his diploma along with his records and personal documents.

That action of the National Economics University has caused a series of consequences and damages to Mr. Duong The Hao and his family for a long time.

Mr. Duong The Hao's diploma was awarded by the National Economics University in 2019. Photo: Gia Khiem

Mr. Hao requested the National Economics University to compensate for the loss of his university degree and personal records, causing him to lose the right to participate in establishing and owning a business, and managing and operating the business, in the amount of 5.4 billion VND.

In the lawsuit sent to the court, Mr. Hao listed in detail the amounts of money he requested the school to compensate, including: Loss of income from salary of 4.5 billion VND; loss of income outside of salary of 1.5 billion VND; damage to spirit, reputation, and honor of 2.5 billion VND; loss of opportunity to continue studying and improving professional skills of 3.6 billion VND; loss of opportunity to enjoy policies and incentives for veterans of 2.7 billion VND; loss of ownership and disposal of essential assets of 7.5 billion VND.

The 65-year-old man also asked the school to compensate for the cost of birth certificates and admissions for his children; the cost of requesting documents, hiring lawyers, the cost of repairing the marriage, loss of family happiness, etc. The total damage that Mr. Hao asked the National Economics University to compensate was 36,696 billion VND.

On the morning of October 22, we met Mr. Hao at his private house in an alley in Vinh Hung ward, Hoang Mai district, Hanoi. The house is 80 square meters wide, high-rise but deserted, Mr. Hao lives here alone.

In a conversation with Dan Viet reporter, Mr. Hao said that his 30-year journey to reclaim his university degree and related original documents was extremely difficult. It was also the reason why his life, work, and even his family encountered many changes.

In 2018, the National Economics University sent a document to Mr. Hao stating that Mr. Hao was not named in the Graduation Recognition Decisions and the list of students who were granted degrees being kept in the graduation certificate book, so there was no basis to grant him a degree while he was studying full-time at the school. After being sued by Mr. Hao in 2019, the National Economics University returned his university diploma and original documents to Mr. Hao. Photo: Gia Khiem

"In the early 1990s, I was appointed as Deputy Director, then Director of Hoa Binh Export Wood Industry Enterprise, but in 1993 I could not get a university degree so I was forced to hand over that position to someone else. After that, I had to do everything possible to stay in Hanoi (Mr. Hao is originally from Bac Giang - PV).

That year, I went to ask for my university diploma, but the school kept delaying it, making promises and promises, saying they lacked a diploma template. My original resume was also kept at the school. For many years, I encountered many difficulties and hardships when looking for a job and stabilizing my life due to the consequences of this incident," Mr. Hao recounted.

The arduous 30-year journey of "demanding" a university degree

According to Mr. Hao, when he got married and had his first child in 1991, because he did not have a household registration and his personal records were kept by the school, he and his wife could not register their marriage. From here, many more ironic stories occurred, the children could not get birth certificates, the couple had conflicts...

Only later was Mr. Hao able to get his household registration papers back. Photo: Gia Khiem

"My children had to be taken back to their hometown to register their birth. My first son, born in 1991, went back to his grandparents' hometown in Bac Giang to get a birth certificate and then studied there. My second child, born in 1998, was taken back to his wife's hometown in Thai Binh to register. My wife's reaction was very unpleasant, without a household registration, unable to get a birth certificate like an unrecognized marriage.

Then she took her 1-year-old daughter and left Hanoi for her hometown in Thai Binh to register her birth and find a job, and never returned. A marriage without a regular fire to warm it will inevitably fall apart. The children are all in different places, and it is difficult to directly care for and educate them because of the geographical distance. In the end, our marriage did not survive," Mr. Hao said.

Even when buying a house, Mr. Hao had to ask someone else to stand in his name. He could not remember exactly how many times he went to the National Economics University to ask for his diploma because there were too many. He said that the matter had gone through "many principals", through many heads and deputy heads of training departments, but no one had resolved his case.

"I must have gone back to school hundreds of times to get my diploma back. There were days when I went to school 3-4 times, asking one person or another for help. I really respected them. This was also the school I attended for 5 years. There were many teachers and staff there, so I had a good relationship. Because I respected their feelings too much, the process of getting my diploma back took longer and sometimes reached a dead end," said Mr. Hao.

After being sued by Mr. Hao, in 2019, the National Economics University returned his university diploma and original documents to Mr. Hao in court. Mr. Duong The Hao affirmed that he graduated from university in 1989 but was not granted a diploma, but only a certificate of completion of the course and graduation exam to apply for a job. From the time he "owed his diploma", from 1989 to 2019, when the Hanoi People's Court opened a trial for his lawsuit against the National Economics University, it was 30 years.

"After going to court, they (National Economics University - PV) returned my university degree to me. Then they announced that they had found the documents and returned my resume, union membership records, high school diploma, high school transcript, military record, and discharge decision to me. All are originals," Mr. Hao said, adding that he is keeping these documents ready to bring to court to demand compensation.

After receiving the documents, Mr. Hao continued to request compensation from the National Economics University.

"The above actions of the National Economics University have caused me mental and material damage over the past decades. My wish now is that the school must take responsibility for these serious mistakes because it greatly affects me personally, my family, children and relatives...", Mr. Hao added.

Next article: What did the lawyer say about the case of a man suing the National Economics University, demanding compensation of more than 36 billion VND?

Source: https://danviet.vn/vu-kien-dh-kinh-te-quoc-dan-doi-boi-thuong-36-ty-30-nam-hang-tram-lan-toi-den-truong-doi-bang-dai-hoc-20241022121107208.htm