(i) The Tonkin Free School was started in 1907.
(ii) It provided a Western style education. Subjects like science, hygiene and French were taught.
(iii) At the same time it was necessary to look modern. Hence, the school encouraged the adoption of Western styles such as having a short haircut (it was a tradition in Vietnam to keep long hair).
(iv) Many Vietnamese teachers and students opposed it. They did not blindly follow the curriculum and the teachers started modifying the text and criticising what was stated about Vietnamese.
(v) By the 1920s, students started forming various political parties, like the Party of Young Annan, and published several nationalist journals such as the Annanese Student.
(vi) Schools thus became an important place for political and cultural battles.
(vii) The battle against French colonial education became part of the larger battle against colonialism and for independence.
