The Minister of Information and Communications (MIC), Nguyen Manh Hung, during the 15th National Assembly’s second sitting, claimed that the national digital transformation programme prioritises work in education and training. The programme, which was launched last year, aims to develop a digital government, economy, and society and form Vietnamese digital technology enterprises capable of going global.
Under the strategy, the government aims to use technology to help deliver better quality services, support efficient decision-making, formulate better policies, optimise resources, and aid socio-economic development. Other tasks include operating specialised network infrastructure securely, connecting four administrative levels from the central to the commune level, and building a government cloud computing platform.
As per a news report, the Minister noted that MIC and the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) are collaborating in digital transformation processes for the education sector. The two ministries are compiling assessment criteria and information safety standards for the online learning platforms. Over the past few months, the government has installed Internet connections to facilitate online learning at 1,000 locations, and installations at the remaining targeted regions will be completed by January 2022. As around eight million households currently have yet to gain access to fibre-optic cable Internet services, MIC has urged providers to ensure fibre-optic Internet connection for all households in Vietnam before 2025.
A programme launched by the Prime Minister has handed over more than 100,000 computers to help students learn online. It will also accelerate the installation of Internet connection in remaining locations with a budget of some VND 3 trillion (US$131.54 million), together with reducing online learning tuition fees totalling VND 500 billion (US$22 million) for some student groups until the end of this year. Hung said that Vietnam has developed six online learning platforms, which are being used by about 10 million students.
Earlier this week, OpenGov Asia reported that the Ministry of Information and Technology is collecting suggestions for the draft Code of Conduct to protect children on the Internet, considering that virtual spaces possess both useful information and harmful content for the young. Vietnam now has around 15 million under-16 children, who are the most vulnerable to cybercrimes like bullying, attacks, and scamming.
Reports from research firms reveal that in Vietnam, the most popular websites for children under 16 are audio-visual sites, social networks, and computer games (accounting for 44.7%, 32.5%, and 8.6%, respectively). Given the high frequency of Internet use among the young, the Code of Conduct to protect children will be released to regulate behaviour on the Internet and shield children from potential risks.
The Code introduces methods to report suspected activities that could be abusing children and to raise the public’s awareness of possible dangers. The Code of Conduct has clear regulations for businesses, organisations that provide Internet services, online platforms, and digital content creators to prioritise the protection of children in cyberspaces. It also includes policies and ethical standards to promote safer cyberspaces. Digital platforms have made important contributions to the national digital transformation and the digital economy and society. However, information and data leakages on digital platforms still occur on an increasingly large scale.