21.Van Luong School Revolutionary Historical Relic

Van Luong School is a provincial revolutionary relic, located in Long Lam quarter, Long Dien town, Long Dien district, in the resistance field known as Van Luong Private Secondary and Primary School, currently Van Luong Secondary School. The school was established during the resistance war, under the direction of Ba Ria – Cho Lon Provincial Party Committee, to build a basis for legal activities to fight against the enemy, openly attract a number of intellectuals to participate in the revolution, train the younger generation to follow their fathers in dedicating themselves to the cause of national liberation and unification of the country.

The entire architecture of the school is a Level IV house, which is still quite intact today. The school was remodeled in 1993 and continued to be upgraded to expand its scope and scale, but the old school remained intact, with 4 classrooms and the school Board’s house. In 1999, the teachers’ and board’ rooms were also completely repaired, restored to their original state and used as the school’s traditional rooms. Every year, Long Dien District People’s Committee also coordinates with the Provincial Museum to renovate the gallery at the relic to serve visitors and be a place for teachers and students to learn about the school’s history, be proud, inherit and promote the valuable traditions of a generation of teachers who sacrificed for the work of cultivating people during the resistance war.

In early 1955, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long, former Head of Ba Ria Education (during the resistance war against the French), persuaded an acquaintance and borrowed a license from the local government to open “Van Luong hoc duong” and then changed its  Van Luong school, opening the first school year with 3 classes with 40 students in June 1955. Facility 1 is a textile factory lent by Mr. Nam Nguu’s family, a businessman in Saigon. The school continued to expand facility 2 at Ms. Sau Hinh’s house in Dinh hamlet, Long Dien town. Thanks to the prestige of the teachers and the quality of learning, in the school year (1956 – 1957), the Ministry of Education of the Saigon government approved the change to “Van Luong Private Secondary and Primary School”. In the school year (1957 – 1958), the school’s facilities were completed in time for inauguration on the first day of school.

Van Luong School was formed and operated openly right in the heart of the enemy. Although the enemy was always lurking and closely monitoring, the school’s revolutionary movement was increasingly developing in many forms: cultural performances, march on the street for political struggles, demand the implementation of consultations for general elections, civil rights, and not to arrest or detain teachers and students without cause…

The school taught according to the curriculum controlled by the Ministry of Education of the Saigon government, but the teachers cleverly integrated into the lessons Vietnamese literature, history, geography, civic education, ethics…lessons to foster moral qualities, enhance the tradition of national heroic struggle, love for the homeland, love for compatriots, progressive revolutionary ideology… for students. The enemy could not find any reason to close the school or incorporate it into illegal political activities. They were forced to admit it and allow the school to enjoy the same regulations as a public school in exams and granting scholarships to good students. The school prioritized scholarships for students from poor families whose fathers participated in revolutionary activities and studied well. With a progressive, scientific, dynamic and skillful pedagogical teaching method that combines learning, understanding, and practice, between in-school and extracurricular activities of teachers, Van Luong students were always exemplary, of good moral qualities, high academic results, and lively arts and sports movements. The teachers also opened a bookstore called “Propaganda” to publish and introduce healthy, patriotic literary works on the Public Forum and raise funds for activities. In 1958, the song “Van Luong Choir” by teachers and students of Van Luong school was born, with progressive content, motivating students and young people to study hard and practice to build their homeland. In the 1959 – 1960 school year, the situation of the Southern revolution changed from a period of political struggle to an armed struggle, a number of key teachers and students of the school withdrew into secret revolutionary activities and one by one went to the base to continue their activities. In the school year (1960 – 1961), teachers and students held a closing ceremony, but in reality it was a closing ceremony that successfully completed the task of a glorious revolutionary period. After that meaningful ceremony, teachers and students of Van Luong School departed from their compatriots to the base to participate inthe fight.

During the legal period of operation in the heart of the enemy, under the close direction of the Provincial Party Committee, Van Luong School’s teachers and students were brave, ingenious, creative in learning and fighting for general election compromise and civil rights. Many times the enemy suppressed, terrorized, arrested and imprisoned many outstanding teachers, but the learning and struggle movement still maintained and developed. In seven years, the school trained a generation of young adults to inherit the heroic revolutionary tradition of his father in turn secretly on the base, continuing revolutionary activities, dedicating their youth to the cause of fighting for the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country.

It can be said that Van Luong School was born to leave quite a bold mark in the education sector of the province, “Teaching well and studying well, struggling and still studying excellently”, which was the spirit and goal of action of teachers and students of Van Luong School at that time. Currently, Van Luong School Revolutionary Historical Relic is located on the campus of Van Luong Secondary School. A once heroic and enthusiastic journey is now proudly followed by many generations of students, not only striving in their study but following the example of the previous generation in cultivating morality and mutual love.