Nguyen Huong Giang, an officer of an overseas study consultancy firm, yesterday received a special client.

NMT, a housewife in Cau Giay district in Hanoi, asked Giang about the procedures to enroll in a foreign school.

The mother seemed to be not too demanding. She just wanted her son successfully enroll in a foreign university, any schools, to avoid the military service. She wishes to receive the acceptance from the foreign school soon, so that the boy can leave Vietnam in June, before he receives the call for military service.

“My son’s learning capability is not really good. Therefore, I don’t think he would pass the national university entrance to enroll in a domestic school,” NMT said when she was asked about the boy’s ability.

“I have heard that from now on, all will have to join the army, even if they pass the entrance exams to domestic schools,” NMT complained. “If he has to join the army and begin the university education after the two-year military service, it will be too late for him.”

In the eyes of the boy, serving in the army is a kind of “torture” which doesn’t bring any good thing. “A neighbor of mine has been redundant over the last few years since the day he finished the military service. And he has no girlfriend, because girls don’t like this type of people,” he said.

Finally, NMT and her son decided to enroll in a medium-class school in Australia which requires the tuition of tens of millions of dong a month.

NTH, a parent in Thai Nguyen City had not thought of sending her only son to foreign schools until the day she heard about the compulsory military service.

“I previously did not intend of sending him abroad, because our financial capability is limited. However, I’d rather send him abroad and spend big money for the tuitions than letting him joining the army,” the mother said to an officer at the overseas study consultancy firm on Thuy Khue street in Hanoi.

“I am afraid that he cannot bear the iron discipline in the army. Since he is the only son of ours, we should create most favorable conditions for him,” she added.

The new regulation by the Ministry of National Defense that all the young people aged 18 and higher will have to join the army when receiving the calls has made a lot of parents change their plans.

Ho Phuong Lan, an office worker, said she has decided to send her son abroad sooner than initially planned. At first, the boy intended to leave Vietnam to follow university education overseas. However, Lan has changed her mind, deciding that the boy should leave Vietnam when he enters the 10th grade.

“We will have to pay hundreds of millions of dong for his tuition. However, we can be sure that he would not have to serve in the army,” Lan said.

To Nguyet Phuong from an overseas consultancy firm has noted that the number of high school students who came to ask about overseas training courses has been increasing rapidly in recent days.

“Many of them frankly said that they wanted to go abroad just to avoid the military service,” Phuong said.

Vietnamnet