Deputy Minister of Education and Training advised: Teachers today should be 'teachers who go to B' in peacetime

TPO - At a meeting with representatives of teachers who were mobilized to do educational work in the South during the resistance war against the US to save the country on the morning of August 22, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong expressed gratitude to teachers who "put down their pens and went" to the South and advised that each teacher today should be a "peacetime teacher", ready to go to the most difficult places for the students and for the country.

Báo Tiền Phong•22/08/2025

The Ministry of Education and Training said that from 1961 to December 1974, more than 3,000 teachers volunteered to leave their podiums, put aside their personal affairs, and go to the Southern battlefield (battlefield B), becoming "soldiers on the cultural and educational front".

When entering the battlefield, they not only built classrooms to teach but also fought against the enemy, even sacrificed, leaving behind immortal heroic epics in the history of the education sector.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong said that during the resistance war against the US to save the country, to gain independence, freedom and unify the country, when the people of the South needed support from the people of the North, besides the troops going to battle, there was a special force, the teachers who went to B, who were also "soldiers on the cultural - educational front" in the liberated areas in the South.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong presents gifts to "Teachers going to B".

Each of them has a separate story, but they all share the same ideal, bringing the light of knowledge and science , sowing the seeds of intelligence, to cadres, soldiers, and children of the people in the liberated areas in the South, contributing to training the young generation and nurturing the aspiration for independence and freedom for our compatriots; meeting the need to train human resources for the long and arduous resistance war.

Teachers have made great contributions to the task of eliminating illiteracy, supplementing culture, improving the knowledge of cadres, soldiers and people in liberated areas; training the young generation with cultural and scientific knowledge.

When the fight of our army and people entered the General Offensive phase in March and April 1975, the provinces and cities from Quang Tri to Ca Mau were liberated one after another, the Education Army present in all provinces and cities in the South promptly followed the soldiers to take over educational facilities and schools.

Within just 4 months, all schools in the South after liberation had re-established their management and leadership apparatus, rearranged their teaching staff, lecturers and learning conditions to simultaneously open the school year, and students could go to school. The Ministry of Education and Training affirmed that the success had an important contribution from the "B" teachers.

Expectations for the young generation of teachers

The Deputy Minister of Education and Training shared his emotions, mentioning teachers going to B is mentioning the marches on foot across the majestic and dangerous Truong Son mountain range. Those were days of hardship and danger that seemed limitless. On the shoulders of teachers were heavy backpacks full of personal belongings, rice and food.

Teachers walked for months, ate rice balls, drank spring water, slept in hammocks, and had to avoid enemy bombs and other unusual dangers. The march took 2-3 months, or even 4-5 months to reach the assigned location, depending on the route of each group.

The young teachers who “went to B” left behind their families with their old parents, young wives and young children, and many teachers had not yet had time to build a family life. When they went to the South to take up their duties, they had to do everything themselves, from building houses, digging shelters, transporting food, mobilizing people to send their children to school, and becoming soldiers when the enemy came.

Many teachers fought and heroically sacrificed their lives, remaining forever on the battlefield. They sacrificed their lives while teaching, sacrificed their lives on the way to work, sacrificed their lives while fighting the enemy on a sweep. In war, bombs and bullets like that, if they did not sacrifice, many people were injured, leaving behind after-effects on their bodies. Some people were disabled for life.

Leaders of the Ministry of Education and Training expressed gratitude for the great sacrifice of 80 "Teachers who went to B", representing an entire generation of teachers during the period when the country was at war.

Expecting and sending a message to more than 1.2 million teachers today, Deputy Minister Thuong said: Teachers are shining examples for students, knowing how to inspire and help students nurture their aspirations and love for their homeland and country.

"Every teacher today should be a "B-going teacher" of peacetime, ready to go to the most difficult places, take on the most arduous tasks for students and for the country," said Mr. Thuong.