Việt Nam News

School should be a happy place. A place for children to learn, develop and grow. But if that growth is being stunted by cutting corners when it comes to food hygiene, it will leave a bad taste in people’s mouths that will never go away. 

Recently, a top transport official said drivers who lose their licence should have to sit a driving test again. That’s lose as in misplace, not lose as in break traffic laws. Crazy, I know.

The second round of talks between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended early, with both sides unable to make concrete progress on denuclearisation. A definitive peace deal was just out of reach for the former adversaries. However, it’s worth taking a moment to consider the meaning of this diplomatic event for Việt Nam as host.

Like a rotten apple which spoils the barrel, travel scams have held back the country’s efforts to boost service quality-oriented tourism.

Years of rapid economic development have left Việt Nam with negative externalities – noise and poor air quality arising from pollution and road congestion.

Việt Nam is one of the most open economies in the world. Trade-led development has contributed to rapid growth, job creation and poverty reduction, helping the country achieve GDP growth of 7.1 per cent in 2018. But linkages between foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic enterprises are weak and may erode further unless Việt Nam puts the right policies in place to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic enterprises.

Somehow the most basic rule of driving is being ignored. Despite thousands of warnings, drunk and drugged drivers still risk theirs and other’s lives on the roads daily. Public health messaging about the dangers of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs is falling on deaf ears.

Tết gifts are an age-old tradition in Việt Nam, affording people the chance to pay visits to their seniors to wish them (and themselves) all the best for the New Year.

Public discourse has taken off over Hà Nội’s recent decision to forbid citizens from making audio or video recordings without consent during meetings with officials.

Đinh Bằng My, 57 years old, principal of Thanh Sơn District’s secondary boarding school for ethnic minority students in northern Phú Thọ Province, was allegedly reported to have molested dozens of male students in his office. The horrific truth would have been a secret forever without the involvement of the media.

Two journalists received death threats earlier this week for reporting on an alleged parking racket at Long Biên market, the biggest wholesale market in Hà Nội.

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates delivered a rousing presentation on the revolution of toilets in China last week, but the thing that grabbed international headlines was the props he used to drive the point home: a clear canister of human excrement. 

There is no doubt that drunk driving is a killer disease. Drunk drivers kill themselves and kill others.

The sinking situation of the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta in the south of Việt Nam—seen in the rising tides and worsening floods affecting the region—is obviously caused by climate change. But the mindset of planners that fostered the building of embankment systems around the delta decades ago has worsened today’s situation.

This is the time that needs active role of trade union and labour organisations in supervising overtime violations in order to protect employee’s rights. Hopefully the more independent organisations truly represent employee’s rights, the better supervising role of these associations will take effect.

For a child, they say their schooldays are the best days of their lives. But for the parents, they are fast becoming the most expensive days of their lives. Every parent wants the best possible education for their children, but at what cost?

Professor Dr. Trần Xuân Nhĩ, talks to Khoa học & Đời sống newspaper about a proposal to waive tuition fees for students from pre-school to the ninth grade in public schools

The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) set the maximum number of students per classroom no more than 35, but overcrowding in schools has been taking place for years, especially at pre-school, primary and even lower secondary education levels in big cities.