Vietnamese school denies entry to Christian boy

 HANOI, Vietnam — A school in central Vietnam has denied entry to a fifth-grade boy because he is a Christian, according to a letter from an elementary school principal to the child’s parents, natives of the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

Tran Van Ha, principal of Ka Dang Public Elementary School in Quang Nam province, wrote in a July 2 letter to Phong Hong Phong’s parents that the child could not take an entrance exam because the school district had announced a new rule barring “students who follow a religion.”

In the letter, he asked the parents for their “understanding and sympathy,” saying that the decision was outside of his control. A source in Vietnam said that other parents received similar letters. He added that although Vietnam has shown some progress in religious freedom, “ethnic minority Christian students still meet with considerable official discrimination.”