(i) The French sought to strengthen their rule in Vietnam through the control of education.
(ii) They tried to change the values, norms and perceptions of the people, to make them believe in the superiority of French civilisation and the inferiority of the Vietnamese.
(iii) Vietnamese intellectuals, on the other hand feared that Vietnam was losing not just control over its territory but its very identity; its own culture and customs were being devalued and the people were developing a master-slave mentality.
(iv) The battle against French colonial education became part of the larger battle against colonialism and for independence.