Professor Ngo Bao Chau receives an apartment from the Government

VietNamNet Bridge – Professor Ngo Bao Chau, the renowned Vietnamese mathematician, who has won the Field Medal, has received an apartment from the government.

According to the government’s website, on November 2, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan and Deputy Minister of Education and Training Tran Quang Quy visited Professor Ngo Bao Chau and his family at the apartment awarded to him by the government.

The apartment has an area of 160 square meters at Vincom B building in Hai Ba Trung District in Hanoi.

The professor and his family members have moved to the new apartment since early November 2010. The expenses incurred while living in the apartment will be paid by Chau and his family.

Several days ago, as VietNamNet reported, in a meeting with Professor Chau at his home on the occasion of his returning to Vietnam, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan told him that the government wished to give the professor an apartment, where the professor will live and work when he returns to Vietnam.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that this is the first time the government has decided to purchase a house with the state budget and give it to a scientist for long term use. This reflects the government’s interest on the respectable professor and recognition of the important contributions made by Professor Chau to the development of Vietnamese sciences.

On behalf of his family, Professor Ngo Bao Chau expressed his joy and honor to receive the modern and comfortable apartment from the government. When talking with the Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Professor Ngo Bao Chau said he highly appreciates the government’s decision to expedite the establishment of the high grade mathematics institute in Vietnam.

Professor Ngo Bao Chau has accepted the invitation by Chicago University in the U.S to work as the university’s professor, and he will work there nine months a year. During the remaining three months, Professor Ngo Bao Chau will return to Vietnam to work as the head of the mathematics institute and will join other scientific research activities in order to help advance Vietnam’s mathematics.

The Fields Medal will encourage more people to devote themselves to scientific research and Fields Medal winners will have more important voice among scientists and government officials. Therefore, Vietnamese scientists hope that Professor Ngo Bao Chau winning the Fields Medal will serve as a catalyst to help Vietnamese sciences develop.

On October 12, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung chaired a Government’s meeting, where the establishment of a high grade mathematics institute was on the top agenda.

Prior to that, in a meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet on September 1, Professor Ngo Bao Chau said that in order to develop sciences, it is necessary to create a good learning environment to attract talent. Besides, it is necessary to apply a special incentives to encourage people to do scientific research.

After Professor Ngo Bao Chau won the Fields Medal in August, a statue in honor of Ngo Bao Chau was set up in the southern province of Binh Duong, though local residents do not have any personal relations with the professor.

Anh Ngoc

University students work hard, struggle to keep studying

VietNamNet Bridge – After school hours, many students rush to restaurants, pubs, bookstores or shopping malls, where they begin new working shifts. Work can bring them money, which allows them to keep studying, and valuable experience which will be useful in their later lives.

While her classmates spent time relaxing after a week of hard learning, Ta Linh, a student of the Vocational School in District 1, HCM City still had to go to work on Saturday and Sunday.

In a sweaty shirt, Linh told Nguoi lao dong’s reporter: “I served as a waitress at a wedding party in Tan Binh district, for which I earned 150,000 dong”.

Thu Thuy, an attractive student with a nice smile, who studies at  the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanity, said she has had two-years of experience  working as a waitress at wedding parties. “Sometimes I had to serve at three or four wedding parties which made short of breath. However, the job can bring me two million dong a month,” she said.

Phuong Thuy, a “colleague” of Thu Thuy, said that she is now a third year university student. Her parents are working in rice fields in a poor area of Nghe An province. Therefore, they can only give Thuy 1-1.2 million dong a month.

The sum of money is really too small to cover expenses in HCM City, while everything is getting more and more expensive. Thuy shares room-for-rent with a friend for which she has to pay 400,000 a month. She also has to pay at least 800,000 dong a month for meals and basic needs.

“Besides, I still have to spend money on foreign language learning, books and birthday parties. If I did not work, I would not be able to live and keep studying in HCM City for four years,” she said.

Even the students, who live in HCM City with their well-off families, also want to go to work. Minh, who lives in District 10, related that though his parents give him pocket money every month and pay for all his needs, he still decided to take a job at a wine company. Every day he goes to restaurants and pubs to introduce the products of the company. If he can find buyers, he will enjoy a commission which is equal to 20 percent of the sale prices.

All the students said that it is not easy to earn money. Thuy related that two years ago, she took a job as a waitress at a restaurant. At first, she was happy with the job, because she could earn 50,000 dong per night, while she also could get tips from clients. However, one night, a drunk man took inappropriate liberties with her. As she was too frightened, she dropped meals on the customer. As the result, she was fired immediately. 

Hanh, a student, who lives in District 9 in HCM City, related that when she was working for a bia hoi (draft beer) restaurant on Thong Nhat Road in Thu Duc district, she accidentally broke a tray. As the result, she was forced to pay 1.2 million dong to the restaurant’s owner, though the tray was worth 400,000 dong only.

Working proves to be the only choice for many students. Ta Linh admitted that since she began working, her grades have become worse. “However, I have no other choice. In order to survive in the big city, you have to work hard,” she said.

Source: Nguoi lao dong