VietNamNet Bridge – The Public Security Ministry has started to check the personal information of mobile phone owners who use Ha Noi- Police-issued identity cards for their pre-paid subscriptions.

Staff from mobile service provider Vinaphone instruct clients on how to use their services. (Photo: VNS)

Checks in HCM City and Da Nang will follow.

The checks were necessary because numerous violations were still occurring two years after regulations for the management of pre-paid subscriptions had been introduced, said the deputy director of the ministry’s administration of social order department Nguyen Cong Son.

Many pre-paid mobile phone subscribers used the services to harass others; detonate explosives or illegally plug into other people’s networks, he told a workshop to review mobile services.

An example was a pre-paid mobile phone subscriber who used the service in an attempt to detonate a home-made bomb at a pagoda in northern Thai Binh Province last year.

The device did not explode because it was damp.

Warning

Pre-paid mobile phone users found to have registered incorrect personal information would be required to re-register or have their services denied, warned deputy Information and Communications Minister Le Nam Thang.

Subscribers who tried to register incorrect information for negative purposes would be punished and publicly named, he said.

The Information and Communications Ministry’s Communications Department deputy director Nguyen Xuan Tru said most of the transgressions occurred when customers bought their phones.

Vendors pre-registered millions of potential customers to entice them into making their purchases.

The most common transgression was not saving customer registrations or not committing the registration to paper.

Up to 80 per cent of vendors either did not have computers or their computers were not linked to the service provider network.

Information and communication ministry teams have inspected more than 26,000 customer registration points or agents throughout the country and imposed fines totalling VND1.1 billion (US$56,100) during the past two years.

They found 4,821 incomplete but authorised contracts.

The General Statistics Office says Viet Nam had more than 150 million telephone subscribers as of June – 80 per cent of them mobile phone users.

The number of pre-paid mobile phone users accounted for almost 90 per cent of mobile phone subscribers – one-third of them in Ha Noi, HCM City and Da Nang.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

VietNamNet Bridge – A primary school student has broken her collar bone because her book bag was too heavy.  This news has  concerns among parents, who believe that their children must bear schoolbags that are too heavy.

Xuan, 9, came to the hospital in HCM City for a medical examination after she felt pain in her shoulder.

Huynh Ba Linh, a doctor from Van Hanh Hospital, examined the X-ray and discovered that her left collar bone was broken. Linh believes that the main cause was her heavy schoolbag, which Xuan must carry everyday to school.

Physicians of Nhi Dong 1 Hospital in HCM City admit that a lot of primary school students have been found as hunchbacked or having altering spinal columns due to prolonged wear of heavy schoolbags.

“Children can only carry things equal to 1/10 of their weight. We have found that schoolbags of primary school students are much heavier,” a doctor noted.

Xuan’s schoolbag, for example, weighed 4.5 kilograms, while she is only 25 kilograms. Xuan walks two kilometers to school daily with the heavy bag.

Once news of Xuan’s injury spread, a lot of parents called newspapers and complained about heavy schoolbags.

Nguyen Thi Ha in District 4 in HCM City, said that previously, her third-grade daughter packed her schoolbag alone, so she had no idea it might be too heavy. After reading in the newspaper about Xuan, she weighed her daughter’s the schoolbag and, to her surprise, it weighed five kilograms

“I can say for sure that, except the small bottle of water, all the other things in the schoolbags were textbooks and necessities for lessons,” Ha observed. She intimated that the bag was too heavy because too many things were necessary for lessons. “It is lucky enough that everyday, my daughter only has to walk five minutes from our home to school,” she added.

With a child studying at primary school, Thao in HCM City, remarked that, each day, her daughter must bring a schoolbag full of textbooks to school. It is estimated that there are about 10 textbooks, and all are thick and heavy.

“I feel sorry for her and I walk with her to carry the schoolbag myself to school,” Thao revealed.

All parents have concluded that bookbags are much heavier than in the old days. They point out that textbooks and notebooks are much thicker, too.

“My son is now in fourth grade. He weights less than 30 kilograms, but his schoolbag alone weights five. The schoolbag would be even heavier on the last days of weeks, when he has to carry more things from school. It’s too heavy for me, let alone a small child,” argued Tuyet in District 4.

According to VnExpress newspaper, in HCM City, many schools ask parents to purchase two sets of textbooks, one set for school and one for home. With two sets, students will not have to carry heavy textbooks back and forth. However, it is not easy to implement, especially in suburban schools.

Source: VnExpress

VietNamNet Bridge – If anyone thinks that a barrier exists between children with disabilities and those who have none, they are mistaken.

Fun for everyone: Children with disabilities join in a lantern parade during a Mid-Autumn Festival party at the Disability Resource and Development centre in HCM City. (Photo: VNS)

In fact, most children see those with disabilities as potential friends with whom they can have fun.

On Sunday, a gathering of around 100 kids testified to this feeling.

The evening gathering was held as part of Tet Trung Thu (Mid-Autumn Festival), which is a children’s festival and falls on the full-moon day of the eighth lunar month.

The gathering took place in the yard of a mansion in District 10 where the Disability Resource and Development is based. The DRD (Doi Rat Dep) is a local non-governmental organisation providing support to disadvantaged people.

Visually and hearing-impaired, mentally impaired and autistic children mingled with others from nearby neighbourhoods in District 10’s Ward 12. They ranged in age from five to 13.

The enclosed yard was fully packed with children. Their boisterous laughter enlivened the space, while their hands were gesticulating wildly.

The kids also spilled onto the passage in the front, which was roofed to provide more space for kids during a lantern-making competition.

They were divided into 20 groups of five and provided with bamboo frames, cellophane of various colours, rayon, scissors and glue to build their own lanterns.

Twenty colourful lanterns of different shapes, most of them lovely animals like rabbit, peacock, swan, bird along with stars and flowers, were hung up in the air after they were completed.

"I wish that all of my friends were as gorgeous as swans in the Mid-Autumn Eve," explained one member of a group, describing the significance of their works to the jury.

All of the kids in the groups held conferences to discuss the significance of their lanterns, according to Nguyen Thi Loi, a fourth-year student specialising in social work at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

"We just gave them some hints, like what a flower or heart means," she said.

Loi and dozens of other volunteer students were assigned to supervise and support groups of kids.

"It takes them from one to two hours to complete the lanterns," she observed. "Some hearing-impaired kids are craftier than their other peers."

Most of the difficult parts of the job were done by those without disabilities, while the others did simple things like paint a little bit on cellophane or clean up garbage.

Some parts of the work required collaboration. One kid kept the frame steady for another to glue cellophane, and another kept cellophane stretched for the other to cut into different shapes.

Even though they found it hard to communicate with each other, they tried to express themselves or ask for scissors or glue through gestures.

At times when disputes emerged, they made concessions.

"Some of them liked different colours, and finally they used all colours on their lantern," said Loi.

"Even normal adults like us would find it hard to make lanterns, let alone kids with disabilities," she said, when asked why kids were provided with completed frames rather than separate bamboo sticks.

A flower lantern represented the children’s dream to have a beautiful flower to celebrate the festival, while a house-shaped lantern conveyed wishes to live in happiness.

"Every wing of this five-wing star represents each of us, given that they have our fingerprints on them," explained one child about his group’s work. "It means that when we joined hands together, we can make a brilliant star."

Tran Thi Ngoc Anh, who is 10 years old and lives nearby, observed that the children with disabilities had "fun to the max".

"I approached a cute-looking girl and asked her name," she added. "But she just turned back and gesticulated with her hands."

"Even though she knows that I do not understand her language, she did try to reply," she said.

Nguyen Ngoc Ha, 15, who listens and speaks with difficulty and lives at Binh Thanh District’s Hy Vong (Hope) School for hearing-impaired kids, said she tried to win the highest prize with her group’s lantern, which was in the shape of a fish in the paddy field.

"We love to sing and dance," said Ha, who performed dances and songs to celebrate the moon and legendary figures who live on it.

"I love other hearing-impaired kids so much and try to make them express themselves like me," said Ha, noting that it was not until she was nine years of age that she began to speak after being sent to a special school.

In fact, disabled kids love to approach celebrity singers who come to entertain them. They crave handshakes and pose for photos with them.

The party, performances of lovely songs and dances, a fashion show and parade with lighted lanterns were activities that spiced up a fabulous evening for the kids.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, a teacher of Hy Vong School who accompanied some kids, said hearing-impaired children were hungry to mix and have fun with other children.

"They rarely set foot out of school, so they never want to miss a chance like this."

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

VietNamNet Bridge – Only on September 16 did primary schools receive word from the HCM City Education and Training Department requesting schools to prepare for universal English teaching program. The department will not hold a meeting to discuss the plan until September 23.

Nguyen Ngoc Long, Headmaster of Hoa Binh Primary School, noted that the school has some basic equipment for English teaching, but lacks others like computers, TVs and cassettes or CDs. Long stressed that, besides qualified teaching staff, material facilities would play a very important role in the English teaching program.

According to Long, the biggest difficulty at his school is overcrowding. There are now 40 students in every class, while under current regulations state a class must not have more than 35. Too many students will lead to ineffective teaching.

According to Nguoi Lao Dong, most primary schools in the trial English program are facing difficulties. Some schools even say they don’t know how to begin.

Nguyen Thi Luong Thanh, Headmaster of Phan Dinh Phung Primary School, reported that his teachers attended an English teaching course organised by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). Still, English classes have yet to begin even though the new school year kicked off one month ago. Thanh pointed out that, since the document from the city’s education department has just arrived, only now can teachers begin drawing up plans for the program. 

Nguyen Thi Huynh Thoa, Headmaster of Duoc Song Primary School, confirmed that the school’s material facilities and teaching staff have been ready. Now difficulties lie in deciding on teaching methods and organizational options.

The English program for primary school students clearly stipulates its standards and goals. MOET has developed a syllabus and released a guide for the program’s implementation.

MOET also encourages teachers to use other textbooks, if they believe they can bring more efficiency and effectiveness to their teaching.

The goal of the program is to have students reach the equivalent of the A1 level of European language standards when they finish primary school.

Some question if such a teaching program and required English standards will put pressure on students. Nguyen Thuy Phuong Truc, an English teacher at Nguyen Thuong Hien Primary School, responded “No.”

HCM City Education and Training Department on September 23 will chair a meeting of leaders from districts’ education sub-departments, English experts and headmasters of primary schools to discuss the program.

The city education department has requested that schools inform parents about the trial program. They also released the names of three textbooks that are slated to be used, namely Let’s Learn in English, Let’s Go, and Family Friends.

Source: Nguoi lao dong

VietNamNet Bridge – Apple has implemented a “clean hand” campaign for over a month in the iTunes application market and this move has affected Vietnamese users.

Quang, one of the first iPhone users in Vietnam, couldn’t purchase anything from the iTunes store for over a week. He always saw the announcement, “Your payment method was declined.”

“I’ve been a customer of the AppStore for nearly three years, since I bought my iPhone 3G. Before August, I could buy applications on the AppStore very easily, with amounts worth well over $100 a month. I don’t know why I couldn’t make transactions for a month, although I still used my old account. All orders were denied, but the bank still deducted my money,” Quang complained.

Quang is not the only victim. Dealing with this problem has become a hot topic on many online forums in Vietnam.

Members of these forums say that this is a campaign from Apple to combat illegal accounts and hackers. Most IPs and accounts from Vietnam are refused. Perhaps they are denied because they used to be illegal accounts or they changed their account numbers too many times within a short period of time.

More iPhone users have complained when their account balances were deducted but they couldn’t buy applications. According to bank rules, clients will be compensated within 45 days after clients lodge their complaints. To claim the money, clients have to write to banks first.

However, this case shows that Vietnam e-commerce can be isolated because of the abuse of hackers and poor awareness among users who use illegal accounts to save money.

In 2002, all transactions sourced from Vietnamese IP addresses were refused and e-markets like eBay and Amazon crossed out Vietnam from the list of countries where customers can purchase goods from these markets.

Vietnam’s e-markets still have small advertisements offering illegal iTunes accounts. Users are advised not to buy these accounts because they are illegal and can harm Vietnam’s young e-commerce industry