Socialist Republic of Vietnam

HA NOI — Education is the key to limiting the potentially adverse effects the Internet might have on the country, said Culture and Information Minister Pham Quang Nghi.

Speaking at the National Assembly’s Q&A session on Thursday, the minister said that only through familiarity of its Internet users could the country halt the infiltration of damaging online content while still reaping the considerable benefits of the global network.

He made the remarks in response to concerns from deputy Phan Thi Thu Ha from Dong Thap Province about the proliferation of harmful information from cyberspace.

Nghi said the ministry has been promoting campaigns to improve the public’s awareness about the adverse impact harmful information might have on society and young people.

"It is important for family and school to be involved in teaching children and young people to use the Internet for the right purposes," Nghi said.

Although the educational efforts have made some progress, he warned that the penetration of unwelcome information from the Internet was alarming.

The world wide web is flooding Vietnamese young people with massive amounts of information. The dearth of education and awareness, though, has caused many young people to be lured by pornography and other unhealthy content, he said.

Minister of Culture and Information Pham Quang Nghi.

The ministry recently issued a regulation holding owners of Internet cafes liable for any breach of Internet-related rules in their shops, Nghi told the NA.

Other deputies also asked about the ministry’s efforts to curb the spread of indecent products in the country.

Minister Nghi pledged a continued crackdown on pirated entertainment and pornography, adding that a Government-issued decree on cultural management had reduced the number of pirated tapes and compact discs in recent years.

By late April this year, inspectors in 15 provinces and cities had co-ordinated with local police in raiding over 3,800 shops, confiscating a number of pirated tapes and discs and fining shop owners almost VND500 million (US$32,000).

Nghi added that the ministry was making suggestions to the Government for stricter penalties for violators.

The ministry will also continue to prevent copyright violations while encouraging artistic and cultural creation, thus clearing the way for Viet Nam’s entry into the World Trade Organisation, he said.

He called on local authorities, border defence forces and the police to co-ordinate their inspection efforts in an effort to overcome shortages of manpower. The ministry has only 250 inspectors to cover all aspects of culture and information-related activities.

Nghi offered solutions including improving laws, creating more art and cultural products of good quality, and educating people.

In response to the legislature’s questions about the slow progress of construction of cultural houses at the grassroots level, the minister explained that the projects were dependent upon a series of factors such as local demand, available funds and the budget allocation.

He acknowledged that next year’s target of having cultural houses in 78 per cent of villages and city wards would be difficult to attain.

The network now covers 40 per cent of rural villages and urban wards, he said.

Improving the quality of education

Minister of Education and Training, Nguyen Minh Hien.

At a question-and-answer session with the education and training minister last Friday, National Assembly deputies focused on improving the quality of the nation’s education system.

Minister Nguyen Minh Hien said many of the deputies’ concerns had already been addressed, including cheating, fee increases, and extra teaching (Teachers hold classes outside school to earn extra money. Though their students are not required to attend, many fear they will fall behind in lessons if they do not). However, he said that despite some positive changes, shortcomings remained in the education sector. He listed them as: "slow reform in thinking and methods among education managers, a cumbersome legal system, and inadequate implementation of decentralisation."

He acknowledged the ministry’s responsibility, and his own, for the failures.

"It takes time and participation from each family and the whole society to address these problems," he added. Low incomes and limited State investment in education also hinder education quality, Hien said. "Our country is among those with the largest education programmes in the region—nearly 24 million students out of a population of 80 million. But the average spending per capita is among the lowest."

Deputy Tran Ngoc Duong from Kien Giang Province asked the minister what "breakthroughs" the nation should adopt to improve education quality, both in secondary and tertiary sectors. Hien replied that there needed to be more and better teachers. Le Van Cuong from Thanh Hoa said that the problem with teaching methods involved "too much theory and too little practice."

Hien also explained that the disbursement of education bonds, designed to build more solid schools, was slow because of loose co-operation, ineffective guidance from the central steering board, and poor implementation by localities.

Sudden floods and market upheaval also stunted the construction, Hien said. However, he said that in the last two months, the PM has dispatched Government officials to examine and guide the programme’s implementation.

In addition, the minister addressed problems relating to the privilege policy for volunteer teachers in remote and mountainous areas.

Before he answered questions from the deputies, Minister Hien talked about the implementation of the seven promises, which he presented at the previous NA session.

Hien said the ministry has asked the PM to raise the annual number of minority students selected to attend college from 1,500 to 2,500. "Such students would also get more scholarships," he added.

The ministry, in co-operation with the Ministry of Culture and Information, has issued a regulation stating that books with exercise answers or sample literature compositions are not allowed to be published. They are also attempting to improve the quality of reference books. "As of the end of this April, the ministry has examined 104 reference books from different publishing houses to correct mistakes," he said.

Addressing the rampant problem of extra teaching, Hien said regulations are underway to punish these teaching violations. "Teachers are prohibited from compiling and issuing documents for study review used in extra teaching" he said. The ministry has also devised final exams for different grades, which are designed to be less stressful. Hien said most of the promises have been well fulfilled, but extra teaching remains a widespread problem.

Health minister hears drug queries

Minister of Health, Tran Thi Trung Chien.— VNA/VNS Photos Tri Dzung

Health Minister Tran Thi Trung Chien told the National Assembly last Friday that prices of imported pharmaceuticals, which were inflated to begin with, had stopped rising in recent months, but she said it would take time and effort to make them affordable for everyone.

The minister reported that only 1.6 per cent of the 4,200 types of imported medicine increased in price, while almost 2 per cent decreased.

Many deputies said they were not satisfied with the minister’s report because prices were still far from affordable for most people.

Minister Chien explained that the domestic drug market relied heavily on foreign supply, making the problem difficult to solve.

"We have to play within the rules of the market. We want to control the price, but there is not enough medicine to regulate the market. We can supply only 40 per cent of the drugs we consider indispensable, and we can’t supply specialised medicines," she said.

She told the NA that it was important to break up the distribution monopoly on imported drugs, which she attributed to shortcomings in current policies.

International drug patents, which give foreign companies exclusive rights to manufacture and set prices for certain drugs, were hurting patients as well, she said.

"This is unavoidable because the distributors are allowed to monopolise some medicines. We cannot use administrative means to force them to lower prices," she said.

"Meanwhile, the process of negotiating with these companies about the pricing issue always requires time and even lobbying from foreign governments and other international organisations," she said.

Minister Chien’s solutions to the problem included publicising the retail and wholesale prices of drugs, outlining the bidding procedures for supplying drugs to hospitals, and more clearly defining punishments.

"We have issued no less than 30 legal documents and worked 15 hours a day to deal with the problem. But, it cannot be done overnight."

Minister Chien took responsibility for the ministry’s failure to predict drug demand and foresee the impact the fast changing market economy would have on the health sector.

Answering NA deputies’ questions about a reported decline in the ethics of the health workforce, Chien admitted, "A number of health workers are selling their consciences."

"These doctors, in collusion with pharmacists, write expensive prescriptions for patients in order to earn their commission," Chien said.

The minister attributed the decline in ethics partly to the low salary of health workers.

"Medical ethics are being challenged by the market economy’s negative effects. Our workers’ salaries ranked second from the bottom in a recent survey," she said.

"Doctors should not be paid directly by patients in hospitals. An independent agency should take care of payment," she said.

Chien expressed hope that NA deputies and society at large would fairly evaluate the efforts of most doctors and nurses to care for and protect the health of the population.

Chairman of the National Committee for Sports and Physical Education, Nguyen Danh Thai.

SEA Games concerns addressed

The legislature recently expressed their concerns about the quality, safety, and designs of the construction projects for the 22nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) to the Minister and Chairman of Sports and Physical Training Committee Nguyen Danh Thai.

The minister stressed that the implementation of all these projects was conducted in accordance with State regulations. He said that procedures and quality standards had not been bypassed to ensure early completion. Thai, who is also the committee’s director, confirmed that the sports venues were in good condition and there were no reports of deterioration.

The Prime Minister established a national ad hoc steering committee for the construction of the National My Dinh Stadium, headed by a deputy minister of construction. The stadium’s quality, which was verified by the State Evaluation Council, is one of the reasons that the Asian Football Confederation recently chose Viet Nam as a co-host with Malaysia for this year’s Tiger Cup football tournament.

Deputy Phan Duc Nhan voiced his concerns about the management of such a large-scale project without the support of public surveys and opinions. Thai explained that all sport revenues managed by the Sports and Physical Training Committee—including land clearance, feasibility studies, tenders, designs, construction, and evaluation—were strictly supervised by relevant ministries and authorised bodies.

He told the legislature that of its 72 projects worth VND3.8 trillion (about $245 million), the State Committee for Physical Training and Sports had directly managed the stadium, the sports and aquatic centre, the shooting range, the sport and physical training hospital, physical therapy projects, information systems and competition equipment.

Provincial and municipal People’s Committees guided the other major projects. They were instructed to ensure the pace and quality of the projects for the 22nd SEA Games.

Thai also addressed public criticism about the quality of the grass in National My Dinh Stadium. The stadium is a part of the country’s national sport complex, located in Ha Noi’s south-west. He said the stadium was overused during the 22nd SEA games and ASEAN Para Games last December.

Minister Thai rejected deputy Tran Van Kiet’s assertion that the price for the construction of the National Stadium had soared US$10 million over budget. Thai said the construction was completed on schedule after two years by HISG consortium—a joint-venture between Shanghai-China and Australian construction and design groups.

The State Evaluation Council said the project met the technical requirements and approved it. At the moment, the investor and contractor were composing the balance sheet. The State Inspectorate examined the sport venues and no official conclusions were made regarding construction wastes.

Any individuals and organisations found to be involved in wrong-doings relating to the management of the 22nd SEA Games projects would be given tough penalties, as stipulated by the law, Thai said.

Asked about the Committee’s responsibility for the scandal surrounding former vice chairman Luong Quoc Dzung, Minister Thai said the committee is determined to fight violations and will not protect guilty officials.

Former deputy chairman Luong Quoc Dzung was arrested and charged in Ha Noi with child abuse. — VNS