To commemorate the 30th anniversary of DTU's establishment (1994-2024), Hero of Labor and Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co, DTU Chairman, (who also initiated and was a pioneering member in founding the university), has released his 11th book titled "From Humanitarian Spirit to University Happiness" (published by Writers' Association).
Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co chaired a press conference to introduce the
traditional bookshelf series "Responding to the Call of Rivers and Mountains".
The author argues, UNESCO has proposed a model of 'Happy School' focusing on the 3 Ps: People, Process, Place. The first P is People. To have a happy school, it is necessary to focus on building human values and positive behavioral standards among people.
The second P is Process. Whether the processes, policies, activities... designed to operate the school are reasonable or not. It's difficult for students to be happy when they face enormous homework every day and almost no time for play. Similarly, it's challenging for teachers to create a happy classroom with an overloaded curriculum, performance pressure, scarce teaching aids, and meager salaries.
The third P is Place. Physical and cultural spaces that help the school become a safe, student-friendly environment. This includes no dirty toilets, school violence, or scenes of teachers forcing students to drink water used for cleaning the blackboard... as has happened in some of our high schools."
In the context of a happy university
At the 30-year milestone (1994-2024), Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co believes "this is also a stepping stone for the founders of DTU and their colleagues to implement strategies to make Duy Tan University a happy university." The motto put forward is "Trust, spiritual support, role model, and love" to ensure a happy DTU in the near future!
In the context of a happy university, he asserts that DTU must "urgently complete, supplement, and establish new policy systems." First and foremost is the recruitment policy to attract talented individuals dedicated to education and retain long-standing contributors to the university. Focusing on STUDENTS "inside and out," there must be "scholarship policies for outstanding students, children from disadvantaged families, and high achievers. Policies to reduce or exempt tuition fees for the descendants of the university's staff."
And focusing on PEOPLE, there must be "policies for members reaching retirement age, capable and healthy, to continue contributing to DTU until they can no longer do so." The viewpoint on HAPPINESS in a UNIVERSITY, therefore, harmonizes both individual and collective aspects, present and future. A happy university is nothing more than creating (success) a truly academic environment to serve the nation and its people.
A happy university places everything on the foundation of humanism
In the book, the author scrutinizes the concept of HUMANISM from various perspectives: from traditional to modern. Starting with the value of religious humanism, "Humanitarian spirit predominant in Confucianism" or "Humanistic viewpoints enveloped in Buddhism." Next is a deep dive into humanistic values from the perspective of Vietnamese culture, including manifestations of the crisis of humanistic values during development.
It must be said that these are writings that have consumed a lot of the author's energy. Because it requires reading, studying, and comprehensively systematizing the journey of HUMANISM based on Vietnamese values. Before this, he also expended much effort to integrate humanistic spirit into the life of an educational institution, of which he was the pioneer. "When I applied for a permit to open the school, someone straightforwardly told me, 'Why bother? No one dares to license a private school!' Socialism never accepts private schools!" he recounted to me.
"On the principle of behaving according to the DAO character in becoming a person, I always think of the foundation of HUMANISTIC EDUCATION that every school, no matter how modern it may be, must have. Therefore, all management and training teams must adhere to the principle: 'Training linked to experimental research, based on Humanism - Modernity,' 'Practical training centered on business needs throughout the training and research process.' Transmitting knowledge, skills, and experience to students, although through advanced textbooks and methods with optimal support from modern teaching aids, all must stand firmly on the foundation of HUMANISM."
Teaching literacy and skills, while always accompanying the teaching of how to become a better human being. A true human being will treat others with respect, avoiding harm, and use their literacy and skills to serve society, thereby supporting themselves and benefiting the community. This ideal, this way of life, is something we must always keep in mind – and have suitable methods – to educate our young people effectively."
Why build a Happy University?
"A reputable university, asserting its quality education, must be built on the foundation of human values, to aim towards a happy university," emphasized Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co in his book, explaining: Where does a happy university begin?
But he also asked himself, why build a happy university only to say, "What shall we do with this value?" And the explanation is to meet the demands of the industrialization and modernization of the country in the current international context, and importantly, to build Vietnamese values on the international stage.
With a historical tradition, Vietnam has built national values in resisting foreign invasion and defending national sovereignty, recognized by the world. However, in the process of industrialization, modernization, and building a civilized society, despite achieving many significant successes, we have not truly succeeded in connecting and building national values, especially in industrialization, modernization, and the construction of a civilized society. This is a major issue in building Vietnam's development value system in the new phase. The important thing is to specify the overall value system according to the requirements of the current industrialization and modernization process.
The university before the requirement "People must create their own national values"
The author wrote: Many political, economic, social, and cultural achievements have been witnessed by the people, especially since our Party carried out the Renovation (Doi Moi) campaign. However, there is nothing without its downside. Economic and social openness, urbanization, modernization, international integration, and strong development of media, alongside positive impacts, have also left many consequences.
Society is in a crisis of values. From the crisis of values leading to loss of trust and orientation in society, that is the important reason for the moral degradation due to conflicts and crises of values and trust. All of which have left many future owners of society (the younger generation) confused in determining their ideals and lifestyles. Individualization trends are very different from the communal way of life once prevalent in traditional society. These are genuinely worrying issues. In this social situation, what role will universities play and what responsibilities will they have?
To build a deeply humanistic culture, the most essential issue is to achieve the first fundamental issue "To create a democratic, scientific, and humanistic education system so that every student's potential can be developed to the fullest."
The role of universities in the knowledge economy is to train ordinary workers with knowledge. This is almost an existence principle, a pressing requirement that cannot be denied when discussing the role of universities in the current global knowledge economy, especially in our country's case, as it enters the market economy. The time has come to completely abandon the "protectionism" mentality and set sail into the open sea... To achieve this, meaning to fully play and fulfill their roles, there must be certain necessary conditions.
One necessary condition for development and ensuring the quality of education at the university level is the autonomy of universities. In other words, it is "the right of universities to decide for themselves." We are not demanding complete university autonomy, as in Western countries. However, it is indeed backward not to allow universities some autonomy, particularly in certain areas.
Certain cases should allow universities autonomy; for example, in admissions, selecting suitable training fields according to societal needs, especially those of the region where the university is located. Universities must be flexible in adjusting the number of students appropriate to various fields of study during specific training periods. Multidisciplinary universities in each region must first meet the social requirements of both people and the land on which the university stands.
In today's practical situation, what can universities in our country do?
Collaborate with Upper Iowa University (USA). Photo: T.Ngoc
Teaching literacy and skills, while always accompanying the teaching of how to become a better human being. A true human being will treat others with respect, avoiding harm, and use their literacy and skills to serve society, thereby supporting themselves and benefiting the community. This ideal, this way of life, is something we must always keep in mind - and have suitable methods - to educate our young people effectively."
Why build a Happy University?
"A reputable university, asserting its quality education, must be built on the foundation of human values, to aim towards a happy university," emphasized Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co in his book, explaining: Where does a happy university begin?
But he also asked himself, why build a happy university only to say, "What shall we do with this value?" And the explanation is to meet the demands of the industrialization and modernization of the country in the current international context, and importantly, to build Vietnamese values on the international stage.
With a historical tradition, Vietnam has built national values in resisting foreign invasion and defending national sovereignty, recognized by the world. However, in the process of industrialization, modernization, and building a civilized society, despite achieving many significant successes, we have not truly succeeded in connecting and building national values, especially in industrialization, modernization, and the construction of a civilized society. This is a major issue in building Vietnam's development value system in the new phase. The important thing is to specify the overall value system according to the requirements of the current industrialization and modernization process.
The university before the requirement "People must create their own national values"
The author wrote: Many political, economic, social, and cultural achievements have been witnessed by the people, especially since our Party carried out the Renovation (Doi Moi) campaign. However, there is nothing without its downside. Economic and social openness, urbanization, modernization, international integration, and strong development of media, alongside positive impacts, have also left many consequences.
Society is in a crisis of values. From the crisis of values leading to loss of trust and orientation in society, that is the important reason for the moral degradation due to conflicts and crises of values and trust. All of which have left many future owners of society (the younger generation) confused in determining their ideals and lifestyles. Individualization trends are very different from the communal way of life once prevalent in traditional society. These are genuinely worrying issues. In this social situation, what role will universities play and what responsibilities will they have?
To build a deeply humanistic culture, the most essential issue is to achieve the first fundamental issue "To create a democratic, scientific, and humanistic education system so that every student's potential can be developed to the fullest."
In the current university education system, emphasis on applied training methods is indispensable. Universities themselves must focus on establishing a reputable learning environment, meaning they should consistently educate proficient students who possess high expertise and strong professional ethics.
Universities must educate students in the IT era to learn and utilize the advantages and agility of IT, while maintaining autonomy, self-belief, confidence in their own judgments, and the ability to innovate in facing life's challenges. This means universities cannot abandon the essential foundation of humanistic spirit in all their activities.
Multi-disciplinary universities in various regions need to make efforts to address the foremost issue: the quality of their professors and lecturers. Without capable teachers, there can be no outstanding students! This remains a challenging problem for both intellectual centers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, not to mention the scarcity of intellectual resources in the Central and Highland regions.
Secondly, there's a critical need for comprehensive reforms in exams, selections, and recruitments to tackle the prevalent issue of studying solely to pass exams or for the sake of degrees (which has led to the problem of genuine qualifications versus fake credentials, or worse, the buying and selling of degrees).
Thirdly, there should be a renewal of teaching and learning content and programs. Fourthly, each student should be encouraged to have a self-learning and research spirit, self-confidence in their own judgments and capabilities, rather than becoming "slaves" to IT or merely "parrots" regurgitating information to clear debts during exams.
In a reflective moment, Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co recounted how someone once asked him what motivated him to enter education and establish universities - was it just to be "rubber stamps" or something else? He expressed his heartfelt desire rooted from his days in resistance: the country was impoverished, devastated by continuous wars. He envisioned post-war reconstruction and the role education would play in transforming lives, especially for those who sacrificed during the war.
Over the past 30 years, establishing and developing educational excellence at DTU has been a challenging journey. The first challenge was personal endurance as one of the founding members. The difficulties faced by DTU over these 30 years are countless. Yet, DTU has managed to be mostly self-sufficient.
"From Humanistic Spirit to the Happy University" is the author's 11th book. The next publication, the 12th titled "University Spirit", is set to be released this year. Previous works include "Dream of Duy Tan", "Aspiration of Duy Tan", "Living Beautifully in a Time", "Some Issues on Agricultural Development", "Years of Giving", "Years of Humanism", "People of an Era", "Horizons of Aspiration", "Creativity for Innovation", and "From a School Building". Many of these books have been reprinted 2-3 times.
Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co is also the initiator of the traditional book collection "Answering the Call of the Mountains and Rivers". Twelve years ago, on the occasion of the 37th anniversary of the Liberation of Da Nang (March 29, 1975 – 2012), DTU and Youth Publishing House (Vietnamese Youth Union in HCMC) jointly introduced the first publications of this book collection (which, according to the general plan, will include a total of 30 volumes).
The "Answering the Call of the Mountains and Rivers" book collection. Photo: T.Ngoc.
"Answering the Call of the Mountains and Rivers" (from a line in the song "Student March", composed by musician Luu Huu Phuoc) is one of the main categories of the scientific research project on the urban struggle movement of students in the South from 1954 to 1975 by DTU.
During the launch of the book collection, Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co expressed in an emotional moment: "We hope this traditional book collection will contribute to igniting the flames of enthusiasm and dedication to the nation among today's youth. Our generation, responding to the call of resistance, dared to sacrifice for independence, dared to die for the homeland, because we answered the call of revolution."
Now, in this context, we must think more about education and how to inspire the younger generation. If they lose their direction, live without ideals or dreams, unable to express their aspirations or understand the purpose of learning, the consequences could be dire! Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co shared his thoughts candidly.
(Media Center)