Tears caused by exam season

News that several students committed suicide recently because they had failed their high school final exams or university entrance exams has stunned the public. Why did they kill themselves when they were still so young? The answer is that they were under excessive pressure in the exam season.

Trinh Cong Sy, an excellent student at the Le Khiet Gifted School in Quang Ngai province, thought he did not do well on his university entrance exams, and decided to kill himself at just 18-years-old.

In the suicide note which Sy’s parents found after his burial service, Sy wrote: “When you read these words, I am in another world, where there is no voice and smile. I once led a life with no joy, and now I fail the university entrance. I dare not confront tomorrow”.

Le Nam, a close friend of Sy, related that though Sy was majoring in mathematics, he was very good at all subjects. Sy registered to take both A (mathematics, physics and chemistry) and B-group (mathematics, chemistry and biology) exams, but he really wanted to study at the HCM City Medical University. Because Sy did not do well at the B-group exams, he was devastated and committed suicide.

Tran Dinh Voi, Deputy Headmaster at the Le Khiet Gifted School, where Sy studied, said the news about Sy’s death came as a shock to everyone. Voi said Sy was an excellent and obedient student, and no one could imagine that he would commit suicide.

Voi said that it is true that students at the Le Khiet gifted school have been under great pressure in exam season because they all want to pass the exams to be able to enroll at prestigious universities. Some students have failed the exams on their first try, but they usually attempt to repeat the exams the next year. None have taken the route Sy chose.

Tuoi tre newspaper tried to contact students at Le Khiet Gifted School and Sy’s friends to find out about the life of the students of the gifted school.

Passing university entrance exams is a must

Le Nguyen Khanh, a student in the mathematics major class, which enrolls 35 students, said all the pupils in his class worked very hard to pass the entrance exams. No one wanted to be inferior to friends, said Khanh. If someone gets lower marks than others, he would feel very discouraged.

Khanh said he has a very heavy academic workload. He goes to school in the morning, and then goes to extra classes in the afternoon.

“I always had to have my lunch on the way to extra classes. Sometimes I did not have time to have lunch and I had to learn on an empty stomach. I only went to bed at 11 pm.”

“We had to learn hard because we needed to pass the university entrance exams,” Khanh said.

Pressure from the neighborhood and families

Nguyen Quoc Cuong said he studies in a class where all his friends were excellent students, therefore, he learned very well.

Cuong said his parents did not set any requirements for him, but he personally felt he needed to study well, or he would disappoint his parents. In addition, neighbors and relatives all hoped Cuong would do well academically and continue his higher education at a university.

Cuong has an older brother who was an excellent student in his first 12 years at general school who is now a student at HCM City University of Technology. Cuong said he bears pressure from his brother, because Cuong feels he must not be inferior to him.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Le Xuan Hung also said he has two sisters who are also very good at learning, and he needs to perform well in school like his sisters. One of his two sisters has finished her studies at the HCM City Medical University, while the other is now a third year student at the HCM City Economics University.

Source: Tuoi tre