Nguyen Van Minh, 60 years old, has proven that there is no limitation when it comes to learning.
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| Minh returns home after failing to finish his exam. |
Three days ago, Minh set out to take entrance exams at Hue University of Sciences. Unfortunately, his teeth were aching so much that it denied Minh the chance to complete the last paper of his exams, a paper testing on chemistry.
Nguyen Van Minh was born in 1950 and lives at Tay Tri Street, Ward No.1, Dong Ha Town, Quang Tri Province. Thirty-six years ago, he enrolled at An Cuu - Thua Thien Hue Vocational School of Education, and became a primary school teacher for 15 years. His health took a turn for the worse, leaving him unable to continue teaching.
However, in order to support his children with his wife, Minh regained his strength and take on whatever jobs that were available to him such as manual labour. A few years ago, he was offered a job as a security guard at a broadcasting centre, which finally enabled Minh to lead a slower life and allow him some time to himself. This opened up the gates for his thirst for knowledge to come back. Everyday, he would find books to read and solve problems of mathematics, chemistry, and physics with his children.
After having done enough revision, Minh decided to try his luck at the 2008 university entrance exams in Hue with hopes of getting into the Architecture faculty at the university, but unfortunately he did not pass. Again, in 2010, Minh went for the entrance exams for the Physics faculty at Hue University of Sciences.
It seems that luck did not roll in his favour once again. After completing only his mathematics and physics papers, he was forced to give up on his last paper because of his aching teeth.
On July 5, when we arrived at Minh’s house, Minh was sitting at his table trying to solve the exam papers with concentration. After greeting us, he said he would have earned a 7 or 8 (out of 10) score for his physics paper, maybe a little less for his mathematics. On his chemistry paper, he said, he was not be able to sit for it, so he couldn’t determine what score he might have received.
Before we could ask Minh if he planned to sit for the university entrance exams next year, Minh informed us, “Of course, I will keep trying until I earn myself a place at the university. This year, if I wasn’t affected with my tooth problem, I might have already been going to university.”
So what is it that keeps Minh driving?
“First of all, it’s because I love exploring ideas and to have knowledge on different fields, physics in particular. Secondly, I want to help young students have more confidence in taking the exams, especially those who are fortunate enough to have an education, but do not like to learn,” Minh said with a beam in his eyes.
Nguyen Van Minh sets an example for people who neglect learning and are lazy to study. His passion for knowledge is something so extraordinary, that younger Vietnamese students can look up to and learn from him.
Minh trying to redo the exam papers and checking his answers.
“I will try again next year,” Minh said.