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A young man from Hanoi’s outskirts who came first in his university entrance exam wishes to delay his mandatory military service to continue his studies but has met with opposition.

Nguyen Huu Tien, from Phuong Tu Commune of Ung Hoa District, has been accepted to Hanoi Medical University. While this was good news to his impoverished parents, who have taken on debts of over VND70 million (USD3,303) to support the studies of their four children, it was quickly tempered by a notice Tien received in the mail notifying him that he must join the army.

“We were hoping that he could wait until after his studies were complete to fulfill his military duties. The whole situation is really confusing to us. Now he may have to delay his university studies," said Tien’s grandfather.

The notice said that Tien was required to stay at his hometown until September 15 to wait for further news of his enlistment.

“I’m afraid that I might forget a lot and lose my study habits after two years of military service. What I want is to do well at school and find a good job to help my family repay their debts,” said Tien.

Do Van Thanh, head of Dong Phi Hamlet, said they would seek approval from authorities which would allow Tien to delay his military obligation and prioritise his higher education.

Nguyen Thien Minh, Director of the Ministry of Education and Training’s Military Education Department, still maintains that Tien should join the army before studying at university.

Tien's family troubled by his predicament 

“It would be a good idea for Tien to attend university after completing his army service. In the meantime local authorities should take measures to help his family deal with financial difficulties.”

He cited Circular 13 jointly issued by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Training and Defense that does not extend exemption from army service to young men who have graduated from high school but have not yet entered into higher education.

“Only those who have completed procedures to enter university before receiving their army call up are given a delay to their military obligations. Those who try to avoid or delay their obligations are in breach of the regulation and would not be admitted by the university,” Minh emphasised.

He noted that willingly accepting military obligation is a good chance for a citizen to get another kind of training in an army environment. This, he said, would provide them with experience and skills for their future study at university.