Describe any three problems faced by the French in the sphere of education in Vietnam. (CBSE 2017)

The French saw the sphere of education as a way of civilizing the ‘native’ i.e. the Vietnamese.

1. The French faced the dilemma related to the extent to which the Vietnamese had to be educated. Although the French needed an educated labour force, however, they feared that once educated, the Vietnamese would begin to question colonial domination. The French also feared to lose their jobs as teachers, policemen, shopkeepers to the – educated Vietnamese.

2. The powerful influence of the Chinese Culture upon the elites in Vietnam was another problem faced by the French. In order to consolidate power, they had to counter the Chinese influence. They, therefore, tried to systematically destroy the traditional education systems and put the French schools in place.

3. As the French sought to establish schools with the curriculum in accordance with their culture, teachers, as well as students, did not blindly follow it. As the numbers of Vietnamese teachers increased in the lower classes, they silently changed the text and often criticized what was actually written. Protest in schools, for example, in the Saigon Native Girls School is another example of resistance which the French had to counter.

NOTE – Schools became important places for the political and cultural battle which was fought with French who tried to dismantle the Vietnamese culture.