Hanoi (VNA) – More than half a million students acrossVietnam have been taught critical digital skills and how to stay safe oncyberspace over the last three years, according to a report by the VietnamNational Institute of Educational Sciences (VNIES).

The report was announced at a workshop on digital skillseducation at schools in Vietnam jointly held by the VNIES, the Vietnet InformationTechnology and Communication Centre (Vietnet-ICT) and Meta – Facebook’s parentcompany – in Hanoi on August 19. The hybrid event attracted some 380 participants,about 300 of whom were attending via teleconference.

In his opening remarks, VNIES Director Prof. Le Anh Vinh underscoredthe increasing importance of digital skills education today since the robustevolution of technology is impacting every aspect of life and changing the wayspeople teach and learn.

Students should be equipped with digital skills so they willbe able to seize the opportunity to become pioneers, he said, adding that theymust also be connected with the world of opportunities and provided withnecessary skills to succeed in a digital world.

Those with good skills are likely to be more comfortable andconfident in learning and their Internet safety will be enhanced as threats arealways present, Vinh explained.

It is also crucial for the students to be taught about theimportance of ethics of online communications and information exchange, hecontinued, as they are now facing challenges related to copyright, plagiarism,cyber-bullying, fact-checking and responsible interaction with others. It will nurturea generation of more responsible netizens, he emphasised.

The report provides an impact assessment on the “We ThinkDigital” programme, a key component of the #fb4Safety and Digital Literacy pillarof the Facebook for Vietnam campaign launched in 2020. The pillar includesprogrammes and partnerships to raise awareness about online safety and promotedigital skills needed to build a generation of strong citizens.

Under “We Think Digital,” Meta in partnership with VietnetICT trained more than 3,000 teachers from secondary and high schools in 39 citiesand provinces nationwide, who passed on what they had learnt to over 20,800fellow educators, from 2019 to June 2022.

A manual exclusively developed for teachers was alsointroduced at the workshop, providing instructions on how they can designexciting lessons to educate students about digital skills and Internet safety.

Ruici Tio, Policy Programmes Manager for Asia-Pacific atMeta, said over the last three years, the partnership with Vietnet ICT has enabledthe development of a model able to reach students and teachers on a largescale.

He believed the launch of the impact assessment report and the manualbook on digital skills and Internet safety for teachers will offer moreopportunities for the incorporation of digital citizen lessons into classes andextracurricular activities.

Dr. Ta Ngoc Tri, Deputy Director of the Ministry ofEducation and Training (MoET)’s Department of Primary Education, called forbetter coordination among schools, families and society in ensuring a safeand healthy cyberspace for students./.