73-year-old grandmother takes grandchildren to school and exams for 15 consecutive years, rain or shine

Ms. Vu Thi Bich Loan and her niece Nguyen Vu Gia Han at the exam site of Phan Dang Luu High School (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City)

Present at the examination site of Phan Dang Luu High School (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) during the 2024 high school graduation exam, among the parents with black hair, we encountered a figure with white hair, one hand carrying a basket of vegetables and meat, the other hand leading her granddaughter to school under the hot summer sun. That was Ms. Vu Thi Bich Loan, 73 years old, a "familiar face" to the school's supervisors and security guards for the past 3 years.

When we arrived at the exam site, Mrs. Loan still watched her grandchild until she entered the room. Only then did she put down her basket in relief and continue to wait outside the school gate. "Every time I come here, the security guards usually tell me to go inside and wait for my grandchild to come out of school, but today we had an exam so they didn't let me in, so I'm standing here," she said. Seeing that, we quickly found a chair for her to sit, then listened to more stories about her grandmother, a retired middle school teacher, accompanying her grandchild.

Ms. Loan said that her grandson's parents work in the Amata Industrial Park (Bien Hoa City), so they leave early in the morning and come back late at night. Therefore, she has taken over the job of taking her grandson to school for 15 years, from kindergarten to high school. "Every day, I drop him off at school and then go home, then I wait for the right time to pick him up. Luckily, the school is always close to home," said Ms. Loan, who lives on Nguyen Thuong Hien Street.

Not only accompanying her on the way to school, Mrs. Loan is also always present with her grandchildren in all matters of life with the "secret" of listening and sharing without forcing or pressuring. She is even clear about what happens on social networks, such as the groundless news of "leaking" the 2024 high school graduation exam. "At that time, my child was shocked, I told him not to believe it, it couldn't be leaked so easily. I immediately reassured him," said Mrs. Loan.

Candidates for the 2024 high school graduation exam burn incense before the statue of revolutionary Phan Dang Luu to create trust.

"At home, she often confides in me, but she refuses to talk to her parents. At first, the family wanted her to study pharmacy, but she refused and wanted to take the English language exam. I didn't doubt this decision because I knew she was very good at English. Before leaving Vietnam, she had already made friends with people from other countries online. At school, she was also praised by her teachers.

Last time, I also went with my niece to Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry to ask around. Some students there said that her scores were very high, and I hope she will meet the requirements. Once she goes to university, I probably won't be able to take her there anymore. It's too far and it's hard for her. But I've entrusted her to her uncle, who will take her there at first and then guide her to drive herself to school later," Ms. Loan confided. Then she added some advice for her niece on her university journey...

After about 2 hours of chatting, Mrs. Loan's only grandchild, Nguyen Vu Gia Han, a student of class 12A01 at Phan Dang Luu High School, also completed the exam procedures and left. The female student taking the D exam recalled: "Having her as my companion all this time, I feel very loved. She always supports me in every decision, from learning English to choosing a school. She also mentioned the story of studying abroad with me, but I still want to study in Vietnam, at a university near home."

Ms. Loan's story is also the story of more than 1 million parents accompanying their children during the recent 2024 high school graduation exam days. For example, 5 km away, Ms. Doan Kim Thanh (living in Phu Nhuan District) crossed the pouring rain to take her child to the exam site of Colette Secondary School (District 3), then chose to take shelter under the school's awning to wait for her child to finish the math exam.

A parent watches her child enter the exam room in heavy rain at Colette Secondary School.

Ms. Thanh said that even though this was the second time she took her child to the high school graduation exam (the first time was with her second brother), she was still worried so she decided to wait for her child despite the rain and wind. In addition, she also wanted to make her child feel that her mother was always there so that she could feel safe and confident to complete the exam as well as possible.

Wishing her child to take the exam with the most comfortable mindset, Ms. Thanh often tells her child not to review in the last days before the exam. "I don't want my child to keep studying the outline because every time he does, he feels pressured and nervous. I just hope he tries his best so that later when he looks back, he won't have any regrets," the female parent confided.

It can be seen that parents will not feel secure just by taking their children to the exam site safely and on time. These grandparents and parents always have many worries in their minds: "Did my child forget anything?", "I wonder if my child can do his best"... Others even try to ask volunteers to give their children water even though they are already in the exam room because, "My child is thirsty, I love him so much, please help me!".

All of these have created a beautiful and meaningful "layer of color" in the "picture" of the exam season over the past years, and also in the future.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-ba-73-tuoi-15-nam-lien-dua-don-chau-di-hoc-di-thi-mac-mua-nang-185240630104245134.htm