The 2023 Southeast Asia Report, titled “Technology in Education: a Tool on Whose Terms?” was launched in Hanoi on May 24, 2024 by UNESCO and the Vietnam National Institute of Educational Sciences in partnership with the Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) and the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report Team based in UNESCO.

The 2023 GEM Report for Southeast Asia, titled “Technology in Education: A Tool on Whose Terms” covers analysis of 11 countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. The report emphasized the fact that technology has changed many facets of education in the region, and recognized that technology has helped enhance learning access to students in mountainous and remote areas and in emergency cases. The report also highlights that technology is not a comprehensive tool to handle major challenges in the sector.

In his keynote speech, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, stated that the report’s findings put forth a framework to review the use of technology in Vietnam in a comprehensive manner, adding its recommendations help the country head towards a fair, integrated and quality education for all learners amidst rapid digital transformation. The Vietnam country case study is included as part of the GEM 2023 report (link to Vietnam country case here).

At the launching event, CEO of OMT, Ms. Dau Thuy Ha, participated in the panel discussing the report, together with Mr. Arnold John Siena, Deputy Director for Programme and Development, SEAMEO (South-East Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO); Dr. Ton Quang Cuong, Dean of Faculty of Educational Technology, University of Education,  Vietnam National University in Hanoi and Mr. Nguyen Nam Hai, Director of Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training’s ICT Department.

Ms. Ha discussed the role of public-private partnerships in Vietnam that promote and enhance technology-based learning and the success factors for such partnership. She cited a number of best practices from Google Foundation’s partnership with the Ministry of Education’s Teachers Management Department to promote and mainstream the Internet safety program for primary school students, Be Internet Awesome that introduced fundamental principles of online safety to one million Vietnamese students over 2 years through engaging activities.   She also shared about the challenge of regulating and ensuring children’s online safety, privacy and data protection; the role of private sector actors in ensuring children’s safety on the Internet, a safe and inductive online learning environment.

The panel and participants discussed the way forward to promote digital transformation in the education sector. Full text of the GEM 2023 report for Southeast Asia “Technology in Education: a Tool on Whose Terms?” can be downloaded here.