Lifelong Learning: Dr. Kieu Tuan - 90 years old and his journey with education

Sir, many people still wonder what Dr. Kieu Tuan's childhood was like, the founder of theeducation system and also a famous education investor?

I am not a special person. But my life has its own special stories.

My birth name is Kieu Luong. "Luong" comes from the name of my mother's hometown, Luong Phuc, because my mother went back to her hometown to visit when she was pregnant and gave birth to me there.

Before the events happened, I lived in a big house, without having to worry about anything, and was taken care of properly for my education. My paternal family was a rich family in the village, with many houses, land, fields, and workers... But I started participating in the resistance war when I was young. Around 1948 - 1952, the French temporarily occupied Bac Ninh, and I organized a young pioneer team in the village. Because I was involved with a notoriously cruel village chief, I was arrested and tortured by French soldiers for half a year. After that, I escaped, and my family took me out of the village with the guerrillas to Bac Giang , then moved to Thai Nguyen to live and study.

Dr. Kieu Tuan Tuan - one of the founders of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

Photo: NVCC

The storms that followed came to my life one after another. My grandfather and uncle died, my parents had their property confiscated during the land reform, my family was broken up, my grandmother died without a piece of land to bury her. I was born into a wealthy, happy and prosperous family, and suddenly lost everything. In that "dirt poverty" situation, just to survive was an extraordinary effort. And at that time, education was the only way for me to rise up and change my life.

My brother and I were very active in studying and studied hard, always thinking that studying was to gain knowledge, to open up and progress. But my older brother was older, had joined the revolution early, worked as a local cadre, and went to the free zone, so he did not have a school record. When he went to study in Thai Nguyen , my brother had to use my records and resume to go to school. When I came with him, I was forced to use a different name and date of birth in order to go to school. After many days of careful thinking, I decided to take the name "Tuan" in "to obey", "to obey" with the meaning of "to act according to one's own aspirations, thoughts, and ideas, to do something one must think, to think then one must do, to follow one's own will".

I did all kinds of jobs to go to school, from working as a porter at the bus station, the train station, to working as a hospital assistant, digging wells, doing business... Even because I often pulled carts around town, my acquaintances called me "Mr. Tuan the ox cart", later when I became successful and visited the old place, they still called me that.

The nickname "Mr. Tuan the oxcart driver" is interesting. But did that stormy situation still affect your studies later, sir?

Yes! That "dirt poor" situation followed me until later in my journey to pursue my studies.

In 1956, I was preparing for the first university entrance exam of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to Hanoi University of Technology 1. Unfortunately, I had a stomachache, and the doctor diagnosed me with a liver abscess. Having an abscess on the skin was painful, but having one on the inside was even more painful. Holding my stomach while taking the exam, I finally passed the exam, completing 4 years of university in abject poverty. When I was in school, I always received a scholarship of 22 dong per month, not much but something to save. In the summer, I didn't have the scholarship, so I had to work more, but still not enough to eat, not enough to live on. In order to live and continue studying, my brother and I had to eat leftovers from students after they finished eating. Also because of poverty, there was a time when I was wrongly suspected of stealing.

In such desperate times, I remember the past, recite the poem I wrote on a sad Tet holiday when I was studying in Thai Nguyen and feel bitter about my fate. After many years, I still have not escaped that "dirt poverty".

Being put in such a situation, I was always tormented by the thought of how to decide, continue to endure hardships to study or quit school to work for a living. The conflict between the thought of giving up and the determination to try at all costs kept tearing me apart. In the end, I decided to continue working for a living, continue to earn a living, continue to study and finish university. Just like that, in 1961, I graduated from university with a degree in bridge and road engineering and was fortunately assigned to the Ministry of Heavy Industry, working at the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Construction Site.

Dr. Kieu Tuan, despite his old age, still participates in volunteer activities in the localities.

Photo: NVCC

So then, what was the opportunity that led you to found HUTECH, sir?

After working at Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Construction Site, I was assigned to be the principal of Technical Pedagogical School 5. After many difficulties, the school began to develop steadily. In 1995, Technical Pedagogical School 5 merged with Thu Duc Technical Pedagogical University (now Ho Chi Minh City Technical Pedagogical University) according to the decision of the Ministry of Education and Training. I was assigned to the Faculty of Mechanics. At this time, Mr. Trinh Phoi and Mr. Nguyen Quoc Bao asked me to join the Founding Council of Ho Chi Minh City Private University of Technology.

After some difficulties, the school was established in 1995. When the school was established, in addition to the headquarters at 357 Tran Hung Dao, it had to rent teaching facilities throughout the city, without a single piece of land to set up shop. The early days were very difficult, the first 3 courses had no money to pay salaries from the principal to the staff, had to mobilize everyone to lend but not much, mainly I had to advance money from my own pocket to pay salaries to retain lecturers. However, thanks to the school's stable and effective operation, the school has grown more and more, moving towards a better future.

When I was the Head of the Construction and Finance Management Board, the first thing I thought of was having land to build a school. And to have land to build a school, there must be sufficient legal documents. The land on Dien Bien Phu Street (Binh Thanh District) was 4,500 m2, but at that time, I could only buy 3,000 m2 due to lack of money. At that time, the city lent money to stimulate demand, which meant lending money without interest, so I decided to borrow money to buy more. The U-shaped building (area A) started construction on August 1, 2000.

After 5 years of renting facilities everywhere for students to study, we have set a memorable milestone for the journey of "settling down and starting a career". Just like that, HUTECH has developed and grown, becoming more spacious, modern, and colorful. The school has more and more students, is trusted and chosen by parents nationwide, and is trusted and cooperated with by domestic and foreign partners.

What Dr. Kieu Tuan is most proud of is building Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH) like a big family.

Photo: NVCC

More than half of your life has been spent at HUTECH, what are you most proud of?

HUTECH is truly a destiny in my life. And because of this destiny, according to common sense, fate is tied together. Therefore, I think that since there is a destiny, I must contribute to building the school to be worthy of that destiny.

What I am most proud of is building the school like a big family. Each unit is a smaller family, each member, no matter what unit or position they are working in, is a member contributing to the sustainability of that big family. Leaders and teachers love students, understand students, care for and support students like their own relatives, always hoping that each day they study, they will progress, become better and more comprehensive.

The success of students is the success of HUTECH. Without students, there is no HUTECH. Without successful, good students, there is no successful HUTECH. That is the truth, the cultural lifestyle that we have built.

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of HUTECH, I am no longer directly in charge of many of the school's activities. But with this school's lifestyle, I am still very assured when handing it over to the next generation. Let's work together to build the school, and it will certainly be successful and wonderful.

Having devoted your whole life to education, what is your view on learning?

For me, the only connection that makes everything seamless is studying. I have always been aware of the importance of studying, even though there were times when I sat silently for hours just thinking about whether to continue studying or drop out, the burden of making a living crushed my dream of studying, making me want to collapse many times, but I always picked myself up, always determined that studying was something I must do. That is also the proudest thing in my life. If I had not determined to pursue the path of studying at all costs, I certainly would not have the results that followed, I would not be who I am today.

I have always been very fond of and wrote down in my personal notebook the saying of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of Singapore: "Education is only allowed to be excessive, not insufficient". That thought is true for all education systems, and for each individual. Therefore, my most sincere advice to the next generation, from my own life reflections, is to study - try to pursue your education in all circumstances, and learn everything you can to expand your knowledge and soul, increasing your chances of success. Take advantage of studying anytime, anywhere, and self-study for life.

Life is a joke, people must be more courageous. Studying hard, people become more talented. Along with life, learning is a long journey, "only allowed to be redundant" and never stop. The greatest happiness of a person is to clearly define the dreams and aspirations of his life, to fight and win. The more difficult the situation, the more dare to dream.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hoc-tap-suot-doi-tien-si-kieu-tuan-tuoi-90-va-hanh-trinh-voi-giao-duc-185250420095323305.htm