VietNamNet Bridge - A plan by the Hanoi Education and Training Department to set up telecom wave interfering equipment in some places to ensure security of high school finals has raised controversy.

The Hanoi education department, at a working session with city’s leaders on April 24, asked for permission to set up a taskforce to ensure security for the exam question compilation council. It also proposed to install machines to obstruct telecom waves to prevent cheating at exams.

Commenting about the “initiative”, director of the Hanoi Education and Training Department Nguyen Huu Do said the national exam needs to be supported by high technology.

“With modern technology, one just needs to press ‘enter’ to transmit texts and images of exam questions to other objects,” he explained, adding that the exam question-printing units should be put under strict protection.

The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) believes this is a reasonable proposal. 

“It quite a reasonable initiative which would ensure the national exam can go smoothly and safely,” said Tran Van Nghia, deputy head of the MOET’s Examination Department.

However, the solution initiated by the city’s education department has faced strong opposition from policymakers and critics, who said this would affect local residents’ activities.

An official of the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) reminded policymakers that under current laws, the trade of wave interfering devices is prohibited, and machines must not be used for civil purposes. 

He also pointed out that anyone using devices which harm mobile service providers’ and mobile service users’ benefits will be considered illegal.

The question here is if the solution would have an impact on the lives and daily activities of local residents in areas where telecommunication waves are blocked.

Nghia also noted that the feasibility of the plan will depend on technical solutions.

Dr. Duong Xuan Thanh, a critic, while noting that it is necessary to apply measures to fight against fraud, commented that the measure suggested by the Hanoi education department was “extreme”.

“The wave jamming devices are mostly used in national defence. If the devices are used for civil purposes, this would be costly and inconvenient,” he said. “The unnecessary measures will disturb the public.”

He said that the suggested measure could not be seen as a sustainable solution to build a healthy education system.

A teacher at a high school in Hanoi noted that the suggestion shows the watchdog agency’s poor management in organizing national exams.

“If it can do well in organizing exams, there will be no need to apply such extreme measures,” he said.

Thanh Mai