South Australia law to protect foreign students

South Australia is set to have the toughest laws in the country protecting international students, says the state’s Minister of Further Education and Employment, Jack Snelling.

Snelling, who began a weeklong trip to Vietnam last Friday, told Thanh Nien Weekly: “The most important cooperation during my official visit to Vietnam is the signing of an agreement between TAFE SA (Technical and Further Education Institute, SA) and the Da Nang Vocational Training College (DVTC) for the delivery of three diploma programs in IT programming, Business Administration and Tourism.”

“This agreement allows Vietnamese students from DVTC who can't afford to study overseas to receive training of the above programs without having to leave their country. It is also an opportunity for teachers at DVTC to further develop their skills.”

Education is one of the biggest industries in Australia, and schools and colleges there are attracting a large number of overseas students.

Snelling said that since he took up his current portfolio in March 2010, he had acted to introduce tough new laws to protect international students.

About the Vietnamese market, Snelling said it is a strong one with specific needs, one that requires high quality, affordable education.

Reported by To Van Nga

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New law expected to increase food safety

VietNamNet Bridge – Food production establishments and processors will be required to implement advanced food safety management systems to ensure food safety under the new safety bill.



Inspectors check the origin of eggs sold at Intimex Supermarket in Ha Noi. The new food safety bill, which comes into effect next July, will require advanced food safety management systems. (Photo: VNS) Under the law, which will take effect in July next year, food safety management systems such as the Good Management Practice (GMP), Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), Good Hygiene Practice (GHP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point standards could be applied, said Director of the National Agro-Forestry and Fisheries Quality Assurance Nguyen Nhu Tiep.

A national strategy on ensuring food safety and the planning of a safe food production zone would be developed, while different resources mobilised to invest in scientific research and the application of new technologies to improve food safety, Tiep said at a donor co-ordination forum on food safety yesterday, Dec 1.

The forum is aimed at sharing information and experiences in food safety among international donors, projects and Government agencies to ensure the effective use of international funding.

In order to effectively enforce the law, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development would finalise its inspection systems and instruct localities to promptly establish and invest in improving capacity among local departments of Agro-Forestry and Fisheries Quality Assurance, he added.

"The ministry plans to organise training on the quality of agricultural materials and food safety for agro-forestry and fisheries products as well as increasing communications through the media, documents and websites," Tiep said.

Counsellor of the Canadian Embassy Andrew Smith said Viet Nam was confronting the issue of food safety and hygiene and if the problem was suitably addressed, the country would improve the quality of farm produce and have better opportunity to access world markets as well as reduce health risk for consumers.

A website on farm product safety and hygiene, from the growing process to consumption, was launched to help consumers make better-informed choices over products, while also providing producers with good production practices.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News