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How did French make schools an important place for cultural and political battles in Vietnam?
In Vietnam, struggles against colonisers, French were fought in a number of ways and in many areas. In schools, also the struggle was inhabited. French colonisation was not based only on economic exploitation. It was also driven by the idea of a ‘civilising mission’. Like the British in India, the French claimed that they were bringing modern civilization to the Vietnamese. They took for granted that Europe had developed the most advanced civilisation. So it became the duty of the Europeans to introduce these modern ideas to the colony even if this meant destroying local cultures, religions and traditions, because these were seen as outdated and prevented modern development. Education was seen as one way to civilise the ‘native’. But in order to educate them, the French had to resolve a dilemma. This dilemma was about the extent to which the Vietnamese needed to be educated. The French needed an educated local labour force but they feared that education might create problems. Once educated, the Vietnamese may begin to question colonial domination. Moreover, French citizens living in Vietnam (called colons) began fearing that they might lose their jobs to the educated Vietnamese. So they opposed policies that would give the Vietnamese full access to French education.


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