VietNamNet Bridge - About 3-5 percent of students are in a state of mild depression, while some suffer from severe depression and need medication and long-term treatment, according to a psychologist.

The image on the internet of a schoolgirl having a quick dinner in a schoolyard caught attention from the public. 

A teacher, who took the picture and posted it on the internet, said it was taken at 5:15 pm at a high school in HCMC. The schoolgirl had dinner during break time before she began the third learning shift of the day. 

“The schoolgirl had to work hard from 7am to 5pm and she still prepares for a new working shift. Are there any other students who are as unhappy as Vietnamese?” the teacher wrote.

Hoang Hoa, a parent in HCMC, said the scene is everywhere. “My daughter and all of her classmates also have to study hard,” she said.

Hoa sometimes tells her daughter to spend more time playing, but the girl refuses, saying that if she does not study hard, she will lag behind her friends.

About 3-5 percent of students are in a state of mild depression, while some suffer from severe depression and need medication and long-term treatment, according to a psychologist.

Meanwhile, a teacher in HCMC said the image does not surprise her. “I advise parents not to force their children to learn too hard, trying to persuade them that secondary schools students don’t need extra classes. But they ignore my advice, saying that in a society with high competition, no one can succeed if he doesn’t make efforts,” she said.


Pham Hien, a psychologist, commented that this is the typical image of students in large cities. Urban parents tend to force their children to study too hard to obtain the goals they set for the children.

“Parents now place excessively high expectations on children,” she explained. “I am afraid that the high expectations will turn Vietnamese students into robots in modern times.”

Some parents tell their children on the first day of school that they want the children to study at Harvard University after 10 years, and therefore, children need to study as hard as they can.

“The hard pressure on students will kill their enthusiasm and passion for studying. The pressure will make them feel too tired and make studying a burden,” Hien said.

Hien said she found from one of her mini tests that 3-5 percent of students suffer from mild depression, while many students show symptoms of severe depression who need to take medicine and long term treatment. 

About 30-40 percent of students show a don’t-care attitude and opposition to studying. 

The expert met several students who were so obsessed by schoolwork and exam scores that they suffered from emotional disorders. 

The students have problems in their behavior, such as regularly shouting and screaming.

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