VietNamNet Bridge – It’s exam time once again in Vietnam. And if students are feeling under the gun, they can take some comfort in knowing that they’re not alone. Vietnamese of all stripes, from parents to teachers to taxi drivers to policemen, are making hectic preparations for the national university entrance exams slated for early July.

Volunteers ready to help examinees travel in cities, look for rooms to rent

Students take buses to big cities for the university entrance exams.

The Binh Dinh provincial Youth Union has found 15,000 low-cost rooms for rent, 5,840 free places to sleep at guest houses, 1,000 free meals, 15,000 liters of free mineral water and many umbrellas.

The Tuong Quang Pagoda in Quy Nhon City has offered 1,000 free places to sleep for examinees from different localities, while Hien Nam Pagoda is supporting 600-700 examinees and their relatives. The Hoang Yen Hotel in the same city has announced it would reserve 1,000 free places to sleep  for examinees and their relatives.

In Hanoi, “Nguoi toi cuu mang” (“The People I Help in Their Need”), a volunteers’ forum, has announced that 2,000 free meals will be delivered to students who sit the 2014 national university entrance exams.

The forum administrator said that he hopes the students will see that compassion still exists in life, and that later, when those students make their way in the world, they will have a higher sense of responsibility to the community.

In Da Nang, pagodas and churches have opened their doors to accommodate examinees from outside provinces.

Nguyen An, Deputy Head of the Volunteers’ Management Board, said the volunteers from Quang Minh Pagoda began their preparations one week ago.

“There are five rooms available for examinees, each of which can accommodate 8-10 students,” he said. “All of them can have free accommodations and meals”.

Poor parent sell birds to get money for son to sit exams

With VND2 million only in pocket and a cage of 10 wild mynas, Lo Van Tuyen, a Tay ethnic minority parent, and his son two days ago arrived in Hanoi, where the boy will sit the entrance exam to Hanoi Economics University.

Tuyen, 47, who looks older than his age, said this is his first trip to Hanoi. Tuyen and his wife could only save VND2 million for the trip to Hanoi, which Tuyen figured would not last too long in the expensive capital city. So he decided to catch 10 mynas, hoping to sell the birds in Hanoi and get some extra money for his son.

“If I am lucky enough to sell out all the birds, I will have some VND3 million more to allow me stay in Hanoi for a few days,” he said, complaining that he still could not find a reasonable place to sell the birds.

Monk carries student who can only crawl to exam room

Nguyen Manh Duong, a student from Hai Duong province, cannot walk like normal people, but he can learn well and has always hoped to attend university.

Duong feels lucky because his family and friends have always supported his passion for learning. His mother carried him to school every school day of the last 12 years. And he has been carried from Hai Duong to Hanoi by Monk Thich Thanh Ngoc of Canh Linh Pagoda.

Duong hopes to can pass the exam to study technology at Hanoi National University.

Compiled by Kim Chi