Founded in 1913 as Ao Tim, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School is one of the oldest schools not only in Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City but across southern Vietnam.

Amid the constant motion of Ho Chi Minh City, some schools have stood for more than a century, witnessing the city’s many transformations while educating generations of students and intellectuals. Beyond their educational role, these schools preserve part of the memory and history of Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City.

From the Ao Tim school

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Grade 10 students at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School continue to wear purple uniforms. Photo: Courtesy of the school

Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School stands at 275 Dien Bien Phu Street, Xuan Hoa Ward, formerly District 3, within a block bordered by Dien Bien Phu, Ba Huyen Thanh Quan, Ngo Thoi Nhiem and Truong Dinh streets in Ho Chi Minh City. Founded in 1913, it is one of the oldest schools not only in Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City but across southern Vietnam.

The school was established through the dedication of patriotic intellectuals who cared deeply about education for girls.

More than a century later, its campus still retains many architectural features dating back to its earliest years, alongside additions and renovations made over successive periods.

In its early days, the school offered only Enfantin classes and Supérieur classes at the primary level. In 1922, its secondary section for girls was inaugurated under the name Collège de Jeunes Filles Indigènes, or School for Indigenous Girls.

Purple was chosen for the girls’ uniform. The distinctive color of their dresses gradually gave rise to the school’s popular name, “Ao Tim,” meaning “Purple Dress.”

From Gia Long to Minh Khai

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Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School is located at 275 Dien Bien Phu Street, Xuan Hoa Ward, formerly District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Minh Hoa

In 1940, the school was renamed Lycée Gia Long. With the new name came a change in uniform: the girls’ purple dresses gave way to pristine white, accompanied by a bright yellow apricot blossom badge.

After 1975, the school was named after Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, a steadfast revolutionary who became secretary of the Saigon-Cho Lon Party Committee while still in her twenties.

Initially, it continued to educate girls at both lower and upper secondary levels under the name Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Girls’ School. In 1978, the lower secondary section was dissolved and the school began admitting both boys and girls, becoming Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School.

Its three names - Ao Tim, Gia Long and Minh Khai - have thus come to represent three chapters in the history of the school, while remaining inseparable memories for generations of its students.

A legacy shaped by generations of students

Through different periods of its history, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School has retained the distinctive architecture, atmosphere and traditions of an institution more than a century old. Rows of buildings, tiled roofs and arched windows give the campus its characteristic appearance, while generations of students and teachers who studied and worked here have become part of its collective memory. Among its alumni are many who later made their mark in economics, politics, culture, science and education.

They include Nguyen Ngoc Dung, former head of the Press Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnam’s first ambassador to the United Nations; Bui Thi Me, former deputy minister of War Invalids and Social Affairs and a Vietnamese Heroic Mother; Vo Thi Thang, former director general of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism; Doan Le Huong, former president of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Red Cross; Dr. Vu Thi Nhung, former director of Hung Vuong Hospital; and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, director of a maternity hospital and a Labor Hero.

Distinguished educators such as Tran Thi Ty, Pham Thi Thiet, Tran Van Khanh and Nguyen Bach Hong also left a lasting imprint on the memories and affections of generations of students.

As Vietnam’s education sector has evolved, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School has also made adjustments to its teaching and management. Modern facilities and a green, clean campus provide a favorable environment for both teaching and learning. Management practices and teaching methods have also changed in response to the requirements of the education curriculum. The use of information technology in classrooms and learning has become routine for teachers and students alike. The school also employs project-based learning to encourage students to take a more active and creative role in their education.

Once a school exclusively for girls, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School is now one of the most sought-after public high schools among students and parents in Ho Chi Minh City. For many consecutive years, its Grade 10 admission score has ranked among the five highest in the city, and in some years it has been second only to Nguyen Thuong Hien High School.

Le Huyen