Various ministries and agencies have set up hotlines over the years to receive comments and recommendations from the public in order to improve the quality of their service. Hotlines help simplify some bureacratic procedures and signal the public that the ministries are heeding their complaints. But good intentions aside, running hotlines smoothly and effectively is a problem.
Much has been said and written about the travails of crossing the street in Việt Nam. Hotels hand out tip sheets to nervous tourists about navigating the endless swarms of seemingly unstoppable motorbikes clogging the streets, tour guides provide contradictory advice (one school of thought has it that it’s best to catch the eye of the motorcyclist bearing down on you in order to make him stop, another rejects this as nonsense).
Traffic violation images or video provided by private citizens will be used to help police identify and crack down on violators. The new measures take effect next month under a new Government decree on traffic violations.
The news of the deaths of three students from the Hà Nội-based Foreign Trade University during a volunteer trip to a mountainous district of the northern province of Quảng Ninh in early July has made people across the country feel sad.
One man in Hà Nội decided to teach his daughter English by speaking to her in that language for three years. His efforts paid off as his daughter can now speak English fluently.
Many parents have pushed their children to study during the three-month-long summer vacation because they are afraid the kids will otherwise spend all their time playing games. They think studying is the most important task for their children.
Over the past few years, obesity has spread at an unprecedented rate in the country, which just a few decades ago was stricken by wars and food shortage.
Parents of primary school children have already bought bilingual textbooks to for the next school year but an Education and Training Ministry official announced that the quality of the books has not been assessed and approved.
The recent visit of US President Barrack Obama to Việt Nam has led to a dramatic increase in the number of visitors to the Ngọc Hoàng Pagoda in HCM City. The number of bún chả (vermicelli and grilled pork) eaters in Hà Nội has also sharply risen.
In Việt Nam, security guards are normally less respected than other professions such as nine-to-five officers. The average income of a guard is modest at about VNĐ3-4 million a month. That might be the reason why it is difficult to attract young workers to this job.
The recent news of children drowning in some provinces has raised alarms about the severity of the problem as the hot summer months get underway.
Student-led parent-teacher meeting a relief for all.
Hương Liên Bún Chả Restaurant on Hà Nội’s Lê Văn Hưu Street became famous in a single night, after US President Barack Obama ate dinner there.
As an expectant mother, I read numerous books about childcare, but when my son was born, my brain either went blank or the facts just did not add up.
Last weekend, I had to have a two-hour talk with my friend, who is a young mother, about her 8-year-old child’s learning situation.
It is not rare for Vietnamese to turn to supernatural powers for answers regarding their life choices.
There is no merrier occasion of the year than national festivals. We pay tribute, pay homage and celebrate together. There wouldn’t be anything to fight over if it had not been caused by a giant bánh chưng (sticky rice cake).
Even if a marriage is harmonious, it doesn't guarantee a close bond between a wife and her mother-in-law. Women on both sides have admitted to feelings of resentment towards the "other" woman. Bùi Quỳnh Hoa reports.
