VietNamNet Bridge – While the majority of parents have become indignant at the behaviour of Tran Thi Xuan Nu, the teacher who put a child into a lift, thus causing serious injuries to the boy, others have called on the family of the victim to forgive, so that the teacher can continue her work.

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The parents whom VietNamNet’s reporters met said that their children used to attend Tran Thi Xuan Nu’s classes, and that the image of Ms Nu in their minds is quite different from the image of a teacher who could maltreat a child.

Tran Thi My Anh, 35, who lives in Tan Phu District in HCM City, described the teacher’s behaviour as a “precarious mistake”. Anh related that nine years ago, she also sent her two daughters to Hoa Lan classes, where MsNu worked.

“In my minds, Nu is a good and devoted teacher who loves her students,” Anh said.

Anh said she had read the articles about the recent incident involving Ms Nu, but she thinks it was just an accident. “People should be tolerant to young teachers, so that she can have other opportunities to work and improve herself,” she said.

Bui Huy Cuong, 38,from Hoc Mon District, when talking to VietNamNet’s reporters, stressed that he did not think that the teacher deliberately hurt the boy.

“I was much surprised by the information about teacher Nu, because my son, who is now a second grader, used to be in Ms Nu’s class,” he said.

“It is clear that in this case teacher Nu made a mistake, but I am sure that Nu did not deliberately hurt the boy,” he said.

The man related that some years ago, he and his family rented a house in Tan Phu District. Since he and his wife both were very busy with their jobs, they always went to pick up their son late in the afternoon. Sometimes they were nearly an hour late.

“When I came to the class, I saw both the teacher and the son huddling themselves up in the school’s yard under the rain. I felt sorry for the teacher and at the same time, was really grateful to her,” he recalled.

“I once visited the teacher’s house and felt sorry for her. She lived together with five younger brothers. She earns only two million dong a month and she has to feed the brothers and fund their studies,” he said, adding that the teacher is being treated badly more than she deserves.

“I felt indignant at the behaviour of Tran Thi Xuan Nu when when I read the story. Then,I realized that Nu is also the teacher of my son,” said Nguyen Cong Sang, 28, from Tan Phu District.

“When I first saw the pictures of the injured child, I told myself that if my son were the victim, I would have beaten up the culprit or sue him,” he said. “But after that, I realized that Nu is also the teacher of my child, and Vinh, the injured boy, is my child’s classmate.

“I tried to call my wife and ask her to check if there are any injuries on my son’s body. However, I later realized that I made a foolish thing. If Nu deliberately maltreated students, there would be more than one victim.”

“My wife, after hearing the story, still insists that Nu is a very good and devoted teacher,” he added.

Right after the boy was injured, the teacher went to see the boy’s parents. She went down on her knees and asked for forgiveness, but the parents refused. At that time, Nu lost consciousness and was hospitalized.

Minh Dung