Mr. Duong The Hao sued the National Economics University for compensation of 44 billion VND because he believed the school kept his degree for 25 years - Photo: THAN HOANG
On June 18, the People's Court of Hai Ba Trung District ( Hanoi ) reopened the trial of Mr. Duong The Hao suing the National Economics University (now the National Economics University) for keeping his diploma for 25 years.
The trial was opened in early May, but after half a day of trial, it was adjourned because the presiding judge requested that Mr. Hao provide a detailed assessment table, clarifying the basis for each compensation item so that the panel of judges could have a basis for full and close consideration and evaluation.
At this trial, the amount of compensation requested by Mr. Hao was adjusted to increase from more than 36 billion to nearly 44 billion VND, which according to the presiding judge is "a very large difference".
Since early this morning, Mr. Hao has been carrying a leather briefcase containing many files and documents related to the lawsuit, limping step by step to the court.
The 66-year-old said his difficulty walking was a result of a stroke after a 2019 appeals court hearing, when he sued the school for changing the graduation year on his diploma issued by the National Economics University.
"With my records held, I live like a homeless person"
The defendant in this case is the National Economics University, with Mr. Pham Hong Chuong (the school's principal) as the legal representative. However, the school authorized a lawyer to attend the trial on its behalf.
During the interrogation at the trial in early May, Mr. Hao changed his compensation request from 36 billion (according to the lawsuit) to 44 billion VND because he believed that the school kept his diploma for 25 years and kept his documents for 30 years, "causing a lot of damage" to him both economically and mentally.
According to the court, in 1977, Mr. Hao joined the army and served four years at the Technical Department of the Air Defense - Air Force. After leaving the army in 1981, he passed the entrance exam to the Economics Department of the University of Planning and Economics (the predecessor of today's National Economics University), class of 1984.
In 1989, he completed his graduation exams with all subjects, received a certificate of graduation and waited for his degree. After completing the course, Mr. Hao did not receive his diploma and many important personal documents.
He was the deputy director of an industrial cooperative and ran for acting director of another company. Because he did not submit a university degree to the company, he could not continue to hold the position.
Mr. Hao said that the National Economics University keeping his diploma caused a series of consequences and damages to himself, such as not being able to complete procedures for marriage registration, birth registration, and sending his children to public schools in Hanoi. He also could not access jobs, buy real estate, did not enjoy preferential treatment for demobilized soldiers, and had no opportunity for promotion.
Mr. Hao said he lives like "a homeless person, without an ID card or passport, unable to go abroad, unable to buy or sell real estate, has money to start a business but cannot put his name on it."
"Before filing the lawsuit, what actions did you take against the school?" - the judge asked during the trial in early May.
"Honestly, now that I think about it, I feel discouraged. I traveled a lot, frequently going to the school to contact people with positions and authority. Every year I went to the school many times to ask, because the company also urged me to get a degree, but there were no results," Mr. Hao confided.
It was not until 2019 that Mr. Hao received his university degree from the National Economics University, after filing a lawsuit and going through five conciliation sessions. At the trial, because the school returned the diploma, the court decided to suspend the settlement of the administrative case.
What did the representative of National Economics University say?
At the trial in early May, the school's representative attending the trial, lawyer Tran Hong Phuc, presented many arguments affirming that the National Economics University "did not keep Mr. Hao's degree" as alleged.
The lawyer presented some documents stating that Mr. Hao was originally a student of the 26th industrial class (1984-1988 school year). However, during his studies, he was held back and transferred to the 27th class.
Regarding the reason why Mr. Hao was not considered for graduation in 1989, the lawyer said that Mr. Hao violated the exam regulations, leading to the temporary suspension of graduation recognition. According to regulations, students who violate such regulations can be suspended for 1-2 years.
However, it was not until 1994, after 5 years, that Mr. Hao was included in the list of candidates for graduation recognition.
Explaining this lengthy process, the representative said the school could not find any documents related to Mr. Hao's application for graduation in 1989. It was not until 1994 that the school recorded Mr. Hao's name on the graduation list.
The lawyer continued to affirm that "it was not until 2017 that Mr. Hao sent a letter to the school asking if he could issue a diploma and retrieve his documents." The school held a meeting to assign a staff member in charge to directly search and found Mr. Hao's documents "in a cabinet slot."
The delay in returning the documents, according to the lawyer, was due to "objective reasons". During that time, the school continuously changed locations, many staff members retired or passed away, and managing the documents encountered many difficulties.
"From 1994 to 2017, Mr. Hao did not make any contact with the school. It was not until 2017 that a letter was sent to the school asking if he could get a diploma. Therefore, it was not until 2019 that the school first issued a diploma to Mr. Hao," the lawyer said, adding that the plaintiff's compensation requests were "baseless."
As for Mr. Hao, the former student said he was "surprised" when he heard the lawyer's information that he had been disciplined by the school.
"I was the deputy class monitor for six semesters, a member of the school's reward council, and an excellent student for five semesters, but now they say I was disciplined, citing some document saying my degree was suspended," Mr. Hao said and asked the school to provide related documents.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mo-lai-phien-toa-cuu-sinh-vien-kien-dai-hoc-kinh-te-quoc-dan-doi-boi-thuong-44-ti-20250618095028204.htm
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