Surveys conducted recently have all led to the same finding: that the number of students with psychological problems has increased rapidly.

The latest survey, carried out by the Da Nang Mental Health Hospital through the internet and direct interviews at three high schools in the city, showed that 20 percent of male students suffered psychological disorders. The figure was 10 percent for girls.

The survey said that pressure put on students and the amount of school work had contributed to the problems.

Though the survey was conducted in Da Nang, analysts believe the high percentage of students with psychological problems is a common problem in all big cities in Vietnam.

Experts said students who were interviewed for the survey had said their parents were putting undue pressure on them.

Hoang The Anh, a 10th grader, told interviewers that he was afraid of his parents.

“Why did you get an 8 on the test, while the other classmates got 9 and 10?” was one question that his parents had asked, Anh said.

Anh said they would also say “You have three meals a day, but a you only get bad mark. The other children go to school with an empty stomach, but they still can learn better.”

The “bad mark” was 8/10, which, according to the current marking scale, means “good”. To satisfy his parents, Anh needs to get 9 or 10, the marks given to excellent work.

What if Anh had received a 10? He would not be scolded by his mother but he would not receive compliments, either. “My mother is very sparing with her praise. She believes that it is my duty to get 10 marks on all work,” Anh said.

Hospital admission

Hong Anh, an office worker in Hanoi, said she was one of the few parents who had not  set such high requirements on her children. She explained that her father, who is a psychiatry professor, had seen many excellent students end up in the hospital.

“A neighbor beat his son just because the son failed the entrance exam for a class for the gifted at a local school, while the other children in the same residential quarter passed the exam,” she said.

“All parents want their children to become talents, while forgetting that many are not,” she continued.

A report from the HCM City Mental Hospital showed that in 2011 it received 25,000 patients who were children of school age (aged 3-15). The figure rose to 28,000 in 2012 and 32,000 in 2013.