Deep, calm, determined
As someone who worked directly with the late Professor Tran Hong Quan when he was the Minister of Education and Training, Professor Tran Van Nhung, former Deputy Minister of Education and Training, said he truly respected his former boss in many ways.
Professor Tran Van Nhung (left) and late Professor and Minister Tran Hong Quan
According to Professor Nhung, Professor Tran Hong Quan seems to be a person born to participate in the process of building and innovating the country. The specific "mission" that history gave him was to be responsible for implementing a series of policies to innovate university education, when he was the Minister of Universities and Vocational Secondary Education, and then the first Minister of Education and Training.
Professor Tran Hong Quan is the one who continues on the path that his father and many comrades, the revolutionary predecessors, had opened before. "Professor Tran Hong Quan is the youngest son of martyr Tran Van Bay, former Secretary of the Provincial Party Committees of Rach Gia, Can Tho, Vinh Long provinces, former Standing Committee Member of the Inter-Provincial Party Committee of Hau Giang. He was captured by the enemy in 1940, while preparing for the Southern Uprising and died a year later in Con Dao prison.
Professor Tran Hong Quan was then truly a "red seed", cared for, nurtured, and trained systematically by the Party and State (studying at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, doing a PhD in Hungary) to later become an educational manager," Professor Nhung shared.
Professor Nhung started working directly with Professor Tran Hong Quan as a subordinate since 1993. Before that, Professor Nhung was Vice Principal of Hanoi University of Science (one of the three universities that form Hanoi National University). As Director of the Department of International Cooperation, Professor Nhung accompanied Minister Tran Hong Quan and leaders of the Ministry of Education and Training to learn about the experience of developing university education in many countries such as Thailand, Australia, etc.
"He is a person who is always thinking of ways to solve difficult problems of the country's education, even after he leaves his role as minister. Mr. Quan's point of view is very good in that he not only learns from other countries to develop Vietnam's education but also looks at the lessons of the country's education to promote or learn from experience.
With my understanding of him at work, I can say it briefly like this: profound, calm, gentle and kind on the outside, but very determined in his role as a leader," said Professor Nhung.
The first minister to elect a university president
According to Professor Nhung, implementing the open-door policy of the Party and State, since taking on the role of head of state management of university education, and later the entire education and training system, Professor Tran Hong Quan has implemented a series of policies to reform and innovate university education.
Four months ago, despite his poor health, Professor Tran Hong Quan (left) was still very interested in educational issues.
In the summer of 1987, the Ministry of Universities and Vocational Secondary Education summoned the principals and party secretaries of universities to attend a conference in Nha Trang. The conference discussed a reform plan that included four training premises: training not only for state agencies but also for economic sectors; training based on forecasts of future human resource requirements; training to serve the learning needs of the people, without responsibility for assignment, students finding jobs themselves; diversified training, including non-formal training types, not only using the state budget but also collecting tuition fees.
One of the important goals of the reform of university education in Vietnam at this time is to increase the supply capacity of educational institutions and maximize access opportunities for learners. This is a period when the scale of university enrollment and training has increased sharply (if enrollment and training continue in the same way as before, many universities will be at risk of closing down due to too few learners).
"But in my opinion, the most noteworthy innovation that Mr. Tran Hong Quan has done is to elect the principals of universities managed by the Ministry of Education and Training: Hanoi University of Science, Hanoi University of Education, University of Transport, National Economics University...", commented Professor Nhung.
Professor Nhung also said that Hanoi University of Science was the first unit assigned to pilot the "universal suffrage" method to elect the principal in 1988. In that historic election, Professor Dao Trong Thi and the late Professor Nguyen An entered the second round and the late Professor Nguyen An was elected as the principal of Hanoi University for the 1988-1992 term. In April 1992, in the election of the principal for the 1992-1996 term, Professor Dao Trong Thi received a high number of votes of confidence and was appointed as the principal.
A loving husband and father
Professor Nhung said that Professor Tran Hong Quan is a very thoughtful person with his family, colleagues, friends, is very active in playing sports and is quite good at playing table tennis and volleyball. In particular, Professor Tran Hong Quan is a man who loves his wife very much, does not hesitate to express his romantic feelings for his wife. He wrote many love poems to give to his wife. "During a trip to Australia, I asked someone to translate some poems dedicated to his wife by Professor Tran Hong Quan and read them to international friends. They admired him very much", Professor Nhung shared.
From left to right: Associate Professor Nguyen Kim Hong (former Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education), Dr. Do Quoc Anh (former Deputy Chief of Office of the Ministry of Education and Training), Professor Tran Van Nhung, wife of Professor Tran Hong Quan, Professor Tran Hong Quan
Professor Nhung also told two funny stories, showing the witty personality of the late minister.
The first story is about Professor Nhung receiving the decision to appoint her as Director of the Department of International Cooperation signed by Minister Tran Hong Quan on April 1, 1993. Later, while sitting next to the Minister, Professor Nhung jokingly said: "There are 365 days in a year, why did you choose a lie day to appoint me?" The Minister was surprised and asked: "Did you appoint me on that day?" Professor Nhung joked: "Was it a coincidence that it fell on that day, or was it arranged?" The Minister wittily replied: "Yeah, that was a lie day, but you appointed me for real."
Another time, Professor Nhung sat to the right of the minister, and took the opportunity to tell a funny story about a person who liked to flatter his boss. Once, when sitting next to the boss, this person said: "I am always the boss's right-hand man". The boss said: "Unfortunately, I am left-handed". Then Professor Nhung turned to ask the minister: "What about you, which hand are you dominant with?". Minister Tran Hong Quan burst out laughing, then replied: "Him? I am right-handed".
Professor Nhung said that the last time he met Minister Tran Hong Quan was in April. At that time, Professor Nhung had to go to Ho Chi Minh City for work so he visited his former boss. "He was not well, but he was very happy to see us come, and he talked about education one sentence after another. But his demeanor was still the same, slow and humorous," Professor Nhung said.
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